The Los Angeles Times reported today that all inmates who are booked into the Orange County jail system will now have their immigration status checked through a new biometric identification program that was implemented yesterday. The program started in late 2008, and is currently in use by over 120 counties in 16 states across the United States.
The Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura county jails have already been using this program since 2009 and now, Orange County joins in their ranks.
The program is part of the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s (USICE’s) Secure Communities Program in which local law enforcement and correctional facilities check the status of inmates against various U.S. federal government databases to identify and deport undocumented immigrants and other criminal aliens who end up in their jails.
According to USICE officials, Secure Communities has identified more than 18,000 immigrants charged with or convicted of Level 1 crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping, 4,000 of them have already been deported from the United States. Most of the criminal aliens who have been identified but not yet deported are serving their sentences and will be deported at the end of their sentences are over.
The program is part of the nation’s internal enforcement of the immigration laws and will be implemented in more jurisdictions as local law enforcement complete the required training to use the program.
Related posts:
USICE’s Secure Communities Program Identified Over 110,000 Criminal Aliens
Obama Administration Expands Program to Verify Immigration Status of Inmates
Southern CA Counties Begin Checking Immigration Status of Inmates
