DaJudge
March 28th, 2008, 10:20 AM
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March 28, 2008
304,000 Inmates Eligible for Deportation, Official Says
By JULIA PRESTON (http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.com/printer-friendly&pos=Position1&sn2=336c557e/4f3dd5d2&sn1=7e169cc6/cc066dcb&camp=foxsearch2008_emailtools_810901d-nyt5&ad=UTSM3.19.8&goto=http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/)
At least 304,000 immigrant criminals eligible for deportation are behind bars
nationwide, a top federal immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) official said Thursday.
That is the first official estimate of the total number of such convicts in
federal, state and local prisons and jails.
The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie L. Myers, said the
annual number of deportable immigrant inmates was expected to vary from
300,000 to 455,000, or 10 percent of the overall inmate population, for the
next few years.
Ms. Myers estimated that it would cost at least $2 billion a year to find all
those immigrants and deport them.
This week, Ms. Myers presented a plan to the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Homeland Security intended to speed the deportation of
immigrants convicted of the most serious crimes by linking state prisons and
county jails into federal databases that combine F.B.I. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_bureau_of_investigation/index.html?inline=nyt-org) fingerprint files with
immigration, border and antiterrorism records of the Homeland Security (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/homeland_security_department/index.html?inline=nyt-org)
Department.
In an interview on Thursday, Ms. Myers said the plan would bring ?a
fundamental change? by streamlining deportations of foreign-born criminals.
Representative David E. Price, Democrat of North Carolina and chairman of
the subcommittee, wrote a five-page letter on Thursday saying that the
agency?s plan did ?not meet the legal requirements? of the 2008
appropriation that gave the agency $200 million to deport criminals.
Mr. Price said the plan failed to focus mainly on illegal immigrants who
committed crimes, did not provide for any coordination with immigration
courts and justice officials and included huge unexplained cost increases.
Based on the schedule in the plan, Mr. Price said, he did not see evidence
that the agency ?shares my sense of urgency about removing criminals from
our country before they victimize Americans again.?
In the intensely contentious debate over immigration, one point that
generally draws broad agreement is that federal authorities should deport
illegal immigrant criminals as swiftly as possible. But considerable confusion
prevails about how fast that might be. Immigrants convicted of crimes ?
including illegal immigrants and those who had legal immigration status at
the time of the crime ? must serve their sentences before they can be
deported. Many immigrant convicts are naturalized United States citizens
who are not subject to deportation.
Ms. Myers said her agency, known as ICE, was seeking to expand
operations to identify jailed immigrant criminals. The agency is working in all
federal and state prisons, but reaches just 300 of 3,100 local jails, an
official said.
[U]The agency plans a major effort to use new technology and databases at
local jails so law enforcement officers can determine at booking whether
immigrants have previously committed serious crimes or immigration
violations.
ICE officers bring charges while immigrants are serving their sentences so
they can be deported as soon as they complete their terms without being
released from custody.
?We will identify individuals who pose the greatest risk as quickly as
possible,? Ms. Myers said, including in jails that the agency cannot visit
regularly.
Surprised by Mr. Price?s letter, she rejected his criticism of the plan?s
legality. She was supported by Representative Harold Rogers of Kentucky,
senior Republican on the appropriations subcommittee, who said the plan
could be refined.
In fiscal 2007, 164,000 immigrant inmates were charged with immigration
violations to prepare the way for deportation, and 95,000 immigrants with
criminal histories were deported, according to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement figures.
Immigration lawyers warned that unless local law enforcement officers were
trained in immigration law, the ICE plan could focus on many immigrants who
committed minor violations that did not make them deportable.
?Immigration law is confusing and convoluted and not user friendly,? said
David Leopold, a vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association. ?To turn that over to local law enforcement without training is
asking for trouble.?
March 28, 2008
304,000 Inmates Eligible for Deportation, Official Says
By JULIA PRESTON (http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.com/printer-friendly&pos=Position1&sn2=336c557e/4f3dd5d2&sn1=7e169cc6/cc066dcb&camp=foxsearch2008_emailtools_810901d-nyt5&ad=UTSM3.19.8&goto=http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/)
At least 304,000 immigrant criminals eligible for deportation are behind bars
nationwide, a top federal immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) official said Thursday.
That is the first official estimate of the total number of such convicts in
federal, state and local prisons and jails.
The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie L. Myers, said the
annual number of deportable immigrant inmates was expected to vary from
300,000 to 455,000, or 10 percent of the overall inmate population, for the
next few years.
Ms. Myers estimated that it would cost at least $2 billion a year to find all
those immigrants and deport them.
This week, Ms. Myers presented a plan to the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Homeland Security intended to speed the deportation of
immigrants convicted of the most serious crimes by linking state prisons and
county jails into federal databases that combine F.B.I. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_bureau_of_investigation/index.html?inline=nyt-org) fingerprint files with
immigration, border and antiterrorism records of the Homeland Security (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/homeland_security_department/index.html?inline=nyt-org)
Department.
In an interview on Thursday, Ms. Myers said the plan would bring ?a
fundamental change? by streamlining deportations of foreign-born criminals.
Representative David E. Price, Democrat of North Carolina and chairman of
the subcommittee, wrote a five-page letter on Thursday saying that the
agency?s plan did ?not meet the legal requirements? of the 2008
appropriation that gave the agency $200 million to deport criminals.
Mr. Price said the plan failed to focus mainly on illegal immigrants who
committed crimes, did not provide for any coordination with immigration
courts and justice officials and included huge unexplained cost increases.
Based on the schedule in the plan, Mr. Price said, he did not see evidence
that the agency ?shares my sense of urgency about removing criminals from
our country before they victimize Americans again.?
In the intensely contentious debate over immigration, one point that
generally draws broad agreement is that federal authorities should deport
illegal immigrant criminals as swiftly as possible. But considerable confusion
prevails about how fast that might be. Immigrants convicted of crimes ?
including illegal immigrants and those who had legal immigration status at
the time of the crime ? must serve their sentences before they can be
deported. Many immigrant convicts are naturalized United States citizens
who are not subject to deportation.
Ms. Myers said her agency, known as ICE, was seeking to expand
operations to identify jailed immigrant criminals. The agency is working in all
federal and state prisons, but reaches just 300 of 3,100 local jails, an
official said.
[U]The agency plans a major effort to use new technology and databases at
local jails so law enforcement officers can determine at booking whether
immigrants have previously committed serious crimes or immigration
violations.
ICE officers bring charges while immigrants are serving their sentences so
they can be deported as soon as they complete their terms without being
released from custody.
?We will identify individuals who pose the greatest risk as quickly as
possible,? Ms. Myers said, including in jails that the agency cannot visit
regularly.
Surprised by Mr. Price?s letter, she rejected his criticism of the plan?s
legality. She was supported by Representative Harold Rogers of Kentucky,
senior Republican on the appropriations subcommittee, who said the plan
could be refined.
In fiscal 2007, 164,000 immigrant inmates were charged with immigration
violations to prepare the way for deportation, and 95,000 immigrants with
criminal histories were deported, according to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement figures.
Immigration lawyers warned that unless local law enforcement officers were
trained in immigration law, the ICE plan could focus on many immigrants who
committed minor violations that did not make them deportable.
?Immigration law is confusing and convoluted and not user friendly,? said
David Leopold, a vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association. ?To turn that over to local law enforcement without training is
asking for trouble.?