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Jail deportation effort surges
'Bout friggin time! RTWT. I'll spare Sherry the usual graphic. Just this onceHundreds of San Diego County jail inmates are being targeted for deportation every month now that federal authorities have posted immigration agents in local lockups. In January, when the program began, agents identified 59 illegal immigrants among local inmates. In November, that number ballooned to 845. That same month, 579 local inmates were transferred to federal officials for removal from the United States, according to federal statistics. We can just nab them right there and get them into deportation and remove them immediately, said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Before January, agents in charge of screening inmates were focused on investigations rather than deportation, Mack said. Those agents mostly tried to identify illegal immigrants by poring over booking logs, an imprecise method at best. Now, agents trained in deportation interview the inmates as well. The goal is to better determine the immigration status of everyone accused of a crime. San Diego, because of its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, has become among the most efficient at expelling illegal immigrants who break the law since the changes almost a year ago, Mack said. Felons in the country illegally, including rapists, burglars and armed robbers, long have faced deportation after they have served their sentences. The increased screening means illegal immigrants arrested on charges that ordinarily don't carry jail time, such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence, also face deportation why hasn't this been going on everywhere along the border?? Cripes! Posted by: Frank G 2006-12-31 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=176559 |