California state jails to deport non US visa holders
March 17 2010 by Liam Clifford
A total of 12 counties in California are checking the US immigration status of their jail inmates in in order to determine who can be deported.
Jails in Orange
County have joined those in counties including LA, Ventura and San Diego, in
using a federal database to check the US visa status of the inmates. The jails
will begin with a fingerprint identification programme, which is part of a wider
national programme to identify unregistered immigrants living in the US, who end
up in jail.
The scheme will check inmates’ fingerprints against FBI
records and records kept by the Department of Homeland Security. These databases
hold details on people who have contacted the government with immigration
issues.
In the past, inmates were screened upon arrival at jails in
Orange County, with extra checks carried out on foreign born inmates living in
the US.
The programme has actually been running since 2008 and since its
introduction, 18,000 immigrants illegally living in the US, who have committed
serious and violent offences, have been identified. Some 4,000 of these have
been sent back to their home countries. An additional 25,000 illegal immigrants
charged with less serious crimes have been deported.
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