Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is quoted in the Press Release Issued today by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

News Release

Record number of criminal aliens targeted for enforcement in Southland jails
ICE teams with local law enforcement to process more than 35,000 criminal aliens in 2008

LOS ANGELES – The number of criminal aliens identified and processed by federal and local officers in Los Angeles-area jails and prisons reached record levels this year, up more than 10 percent compared to the year before, according to statistics released today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE officials attribute the gain to expansion of the agency’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP) and the continued success of ICE’s 287(g) partnerships with the sheriffs’ departments in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.  Under those partnerships, specially-trained sheriffs’ personnel interview criminal aliens in the county jails, lodging immigration detainers against those who are potentially deportable to ensure they are turned over to ICE upon release from local custody. 

“We made a commitment to the American people to embark on an ambitious enforcement strategy aimed at securing our borders and strengthening our nation’s immigration system,” said Julie L. Myers, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE. “The record results seen across the country reflect significant, steady progress toward this goal. The men and women at ICE, along with our law enforcement partners, deserve our thanks for their hard work and dedication.”

In fiscal year 2008, ICE officers and sheriffs’ department personnel processed a total of 35,562 criminal aliens in the seven-county jurisdiction covered by ICE’s Los Angeles Office of Detention and Removal Operations, an increase of 12 percent compared to fiscal year 2007.  Of that number, a little less than one third were cases identified by sheriffs’ department personnel.  The remainder were criminal aliens identified and processed by ICE personnel at local, county and federal facilities throughout the Southland.

“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is proud of our partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. “Our Cross-Designation program has assisted us in identifying thousands of undocumented foreign nationals who have committed crimes and are booked into our jails. This collaboration keeps criminals from returning to the streets and increases the safety of our communities.”

The local growth in criminal alien cases is consistent with the national trend.  In fiscal year 2008, the number of criminal aliens charged by ICE while incarcerated nationwide soared to more than 221,000, more than three times the total from just two years before.  Ensuring criminal aliens held in the nation’s jails and prisons are targeted for removal rather than being released onto the streets is one of ICE’s top priorities through its Secure Communities program. 

The cornerstone of Secure Communities is the implementation of interoperable technology that will provide local law enforcement agencies immigration history information contained in DHS databases.  By spring 2009, it is estimated that some 50 law enforcement agencies will be utilizing this new process, with a target of 100 percent participation by 2011.  Already, 100 percent of inmates at federal and state facilities are being screened as part of CAP.  This new link to immigration databases ensures a virtual ICE presence at local jails as well.

Another ICE enforcement priority is reducing backlog of immigration fugitive cases and ensuring that deportation orders handed down by the nation’s immigration judges are enforced.  Today ICE has more than 100 Fugitive Operations Teams deployed nationwide to pursue these types of cases, including seven teams here in the Southland. 

In fiscal year 2008, the Los Angeles-area Fugitive Operations Team accounted for 3,300 arrests, a 23 percent increase compared to the previous year.  Nationwide, the teams recorded approximately 34,000 arrests, more than double the figure from just two years ago.  As a result of these efforts, the nation's fugitive alien population continues to decline.  Estimates now place the number of fugitive alien cases at slightly under 560,000, a decrease of nearly 37,000 in the fiscal year.  This is a historic reversal of the previous growth trend in fugitive cases.

Reflecting the impact of ICE’s heightened, strategic enforcement efforts, the number of illegal aliens repatriated by the agency in fiscal year 2008 jumped 20 percent.  During the past 12 months, ICE removed or returned a total of 349,041 illegal aliens to their native countries, compared to 288,663 aliens in fiscal year 2007.  Notably, one third of the illegal aliens removed from the United States last year were foreign nationals who had prior criminal convictions in addition to being in the country illegally. 

       # ICE #

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.  ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.