Southern CA Counties Begin Checking Immigration Status of Inmates
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego will be the first in the state to begin checking the immigration status of all inmates booked into the county jail system as part of a national effort to identify and deport immigrants with criminal records.
Law enforcement officials in the 3 counties will begin running inmates’ fingerprints and cross referencing them through federal databases to determine if they have had any applications pending with the US Citizenship & Immimmigration Services (USCIS).
Law enforcement officials will contact the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) so that immigration holds will be placed on inmates believed to be in the country illegally. Once the inmates have finished serving their sentences, they will be transferred to immigration custody to begin deportation proceedings.
Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently told Congress,
“The program gives our state and local partners a powerful tool to identify criminal aliens in their custody.”
“The program is much more accurate than the previous system because all inmates, not just those who say they are foreign born, are screened for immigration status. Convicted felons who have multiple aliases or have lied about being born in the U.S. are being identified under the new program.”
