Program finds illegal aliens (Battle Creek Enquirer)

Program finds illegal aliens
Operation designed to remove those in local jails
Trace Christenson • The Enquirer • February 5, 2009

In a collaborated effort, federal and local officials are working to identify illegal aliens in local jails, officials said Wednesday in Battle Creek.

"We want to keep the dangerous ones off the street," said Vincent Clausen, Detroit field office director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Clausen said the Criminal Alien Program is designed to identify, process and remove from the country criminal aliens incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons. Agents routinely screen the names of aliens to determine if they have criminal records and pose a threat to the public.

Sheriff Al Byam said his deputies have conducted similar checks for years because they have a close working relationship with ICE. The county jail has been used for years to house about 200 aliens a day as they are held by immigration officials, who rent space at the facility.

Clausen said the federal program is designed to send information about people arrested by local agencies to ICE agents for review. About 68,000 names were submitted to ICE last year from jurisdictions in Michigan and Ohio overseen by Clausen's office.

Each is screened and in some cases agents conduct interviews by phone or in person.

Clausen said the program was begun in June 2007; 2,000 people were identified that year, 4,000 in 2008 and 1,400 in the first four months of fiscal year 2009, which began Oct. 1.

Across the country, ICE issued 221,085 charges against criminal aliens during the fiscal year 2008.

In a demonstration Wednesday, Jesse Sicotte, an Immigration and Enforcement Agent, interviewed a Mexican citizen who entered the United States illegally for the second time in July and was caught Jan. 25 in Battle Creek after a traffic stop.

Sicotte said the man could be deported but also might face prison because of his second illegal entry.