Orangeburg County joins immigration effort (The Times & Democrat)

Orangeburg County joins immigration effort

By T&D Staff The Times and Democrat | Posted: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:30 am

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has started using the Secure Communities program in Orangeburg and other counties to help identify criminal aliens in local jails by running their fingerprints against federal immigration databases.

"Secure Communities enhances public safety by enabling ICE to identify and remove criminal aliens more efficiently and effectively from the United States," Secure Communities Acting Assistant Director Marc Rapp said. "As we expand ICE's use of biometric information sharing nationwide, we are helping to keep communities safe and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

With the expansion of the program to Kershaw, Lancaster, Orangeburg and Richland counties, ICE is using this capability in 26 South Carolina jurisdictions. Across the country, ICE is using this capability in 1,188 jurisdictions in 41 states.