Pr. William has delivered 1,600 illegal immigrants to feds
By: David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer
August 6, 2009
Prince William County has turned over more than 1,600 illegal immigrants to the federal government, according to a recent report.
The county jail’s federal immigration unit has processed detainers for 1,739 individuals and turned over 1,632 inmates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement from July 2007 through May 2009, the report from the University of Virginia said.
Jail officials do not know exactly how many of these inmates have been deported, but the Government Accountability Office reported that about two-thirds of those arrested nationwide in fiscal 2008 were being deported.
More than 40,000 illegal immigrants were arrested through the federal immigration enforcement program known as 287(g) during fiscal 2008, the GAO said. Of the 43,000 aliens, ICE placed about 14,000 in removal proceedings, and arranged for about 15,000 to be voluntarily removed.
Prince William Police Chief Charlie Deane said that historically, local law enforcement has had little experience with enforcing immigration laws, but was “heartened” that his officers felt well trained for the endeavor.
“We did receive good support from ICE,” he added.
However, ICE reported difficulties last year in handling the large number of inmates turned over, and county officials are looking for ways to reduce jail overcrowding in their own backyard.
A study done by the California-based Powell consulting group and trend data predicts an inmate population of 1,514 by the year 2015, according to county documents. The jail’s capacity has averaged 963 over the past year.
“We still know that we have to manage that population,” said Ralph Thomas, director of the county’s Office of Criminal Justice Services. A new, $53 million, 200-bed facility opened in October 2008 next to the main facility to help relieve the situation.
Prince William also has operated an intensive pretrial supervision program since 2006 that has netted the county more than $500,000, Thomas said. Under the program, some awaiting trial are pre-screened, then monitored outside the jail with electronic bracelets and community contacts several times a week.
Supervisors this week approved more than $500,000 in federal grant money for a similar intensive program partnering Community Services and Criminal Justice Services. It would save the county an estimated $850,000 in the next three years, after which the one-time grant expires.
