Inmates checked at Palm Beach County jail to determine whether they're here legally (Sun Sentinel)

Inmates checked at Palm Beach County jail to determine whether they're here legally

1,900 could be deported after serving time

By Jerome Burdi | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 24, 2009

Cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is working in Palm Beach County, where more than 1,900 jail inmates were targeted for possible deportation in 18 months, officials said Friday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have an office at the county jail and pore through arrest reports looking for people who list foreign home countries. They then interview the inmates to determine whether they are in the United States illegally or are U.S. residents whose crimes warrant deportation.

Since the Criminal Alien Program began in June 2007 in the county jail, officials said they have identified 1,936 people for possible deportation. Nationally, immigration charges have been filed against more than 385,380 people.

"Those folks are brought into this facility off the street based on some local charge," said ICE field office director Michael Rozos, who oversees operations in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "We don't go around picking people up willy-nilly."

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said working with ICE was crucial when the gang task force was formed years ago.

"These are people that have committed crimes and come to our facility," Bradshaw said. "ICE is making sure they don't go back into the streets."

A convicted criminal will serve jail or prison time for the local charges before facing federal immigration charges or possible deportation.

Immigrant advocates back the government's push to identify and deport criminals. But they are concerned that people booked into the jail on minor offenses end up being deported.

"I think everyone agrees that we need to make our communities safe and make sure those people who should be deported are deported," said Randy McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Charities Legal Service in Miami. "I'm worried that they're going to cast too long of a net and get people who aren't a danger."

Anyone who is not an American citizen, whether a legal resident or not, is subject to a review by immigration officials, said Rita Aleman, a West Palm Beach immigration attorney.

"It's just another method that the government uses to identify those who are here illegally," she said.

ICE officials say many of the people detained through the program are caught on serious charges including murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault.

"The numbers are sign enough to promote public safety," Rozos said. "A lot of these people are here [in jail] for heinous crimes."