U.S. to Expand Immigration Checks to All Local Jails

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Washington Post

The Obama administration is expanding a program initiated by President George W. Bush aimed at checking the immigration status of virtually every person booked into local jails. In four years, the measure could result in a tenfold increase in illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes and identified for deportation, current and former U.S. officials said.

By matching inmates' fingerprints to federal immigration databases, authorities hope to pinpoint deportable illegal immigrants before they are released from custody. Inmates in federal and state prisons already are screened. But authorities generally lack the time and staff to do the same at local jails, which house up to twice as many illegal immigrants at any time and where inmates come and go more quickly.

The effort is likely to significantly reshape immigration enforcement, current and former executive branch officials said. It comes as the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress vow to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes, rather than those who otherwise abide by the law.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has made it "very clear" that her top priority is deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, said David J. Venturella, program director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803172.html?hpid=topnews

[AlphaCentauri]

1. U.S. to Expand Immigration Checks to All Local Jails

Source: Washington post

The Obama administration is expanding a program initiated by President George W. Bush aimed at checking the immigration status of virtually every person booked into local jails. In four years, the measure could result in a tenfold increase in illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes and identified for deportation, current and former U.S. officials said.

By matching inmates' fingerprints to federal immigration databases, authorities hope to pinpoint deportable illegal immigrants before they are released from custody. Inmates in federal and state prisons already are screened. But authorities generally lack the time and staff to do the same at local jails, which house up to twice as many illegal immigrants at any time and where inmates come and go more quickly.

The effort is likely to significantly reshape immigration enforcement, current and former executive branch officials said. It comes as the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress vow to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes, rather than those who otherwise abide by the law.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has made it "very clear" that her top priority is deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, said David J. Venturella, program director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803172.html

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[ixion]

2. ah yes, continuing in the footsteps of the Worst pResident in US history

brilliant. :sarcasm:

[Xithras]

3. Disagree. Most people have no problem with this idea.

I draw a fundamental line between those who come here to work and build a better life, and those who come here to commit crimes. If someone comes here illegally, gets a job, and tries to build a better home and life for themselves and their family, I (and most liberals) are willing to work on ways to get them legalized so they can contribute to the country without fear of deportation.

If someone comes here illegally and starts committing crimes that get them jailed, I have little sympathy. We don't need to be importing other nations criminals. We certainly don't need to be releasing them back into our country when they're freed.

[ixion]

8. no, it has to do with the continued erosion of civil liberties

and is nothing more than a "no-fly" list, hand-crafted for the folks of Mexico.

Like that list, it will not be used for the intended purpose, but as an easy way to make people disappear into the belly of the beast.

[Raskolnik]

9. Could you point out what civil liberty is at issue here? n/t

[AlphaCentauri]

5. ha, at the end of President Obama term

ex President Bush may start looking like a hero

:sarcasm:

[ixion]

7. it would be difficult to out-do chimpenfurher... he was the worst of the worst

which is why I find it so bemusing that Obama continues his backward looking policies.

[Raskolnik]

4. It's hard to have too much of a problem with this.

I know that local police generally have no interest in becoming an arm of ICE, but if they can set it up so that the checks can be done without imposing a significant burden on already overstretched jails, then it seems like a good idea.

[proteus_lives]

6. Good Idea!

Criminals belong in jail and illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be shipped back to their countries of origin.