Maryland Sheriff Frustrated Illegals He Arrested for Crimes Freed by Feds
Photo Credit: Manuel Balce CenetaFrederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is doing his best to try to get illegal immigrants who commit crimes off the streets of his Maryland community, but the Obama administration and immigrant rights groups are foiling him.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released 25 of the 98 illegal immigrants county deputies arrested and tried to process so far this year through the federal government’s 287(g) program. In 2008, the final year of the Bush administration, ICE only released two of 100 illegal immigrants the county turned over.
“Right now there’s lack of enforcement of immigration laws. But if we run this program the right way, we can do what we can to try to enforce them and get these criminals off our streets,” Mr. Jenkins told The Washington Times. “In my heart, I truly believe we’re doing the right thing.”
The 287(g) program was established to let state and local police play a role in immigration enforcement. Deputies and officers are trained to interview potential suspects in jail and run their names through ICE’s databases to discover if they’re in the country legally. If someone is found to be in the country illegally, the county then turns them over to ICE, which can initiate removal proceedings or release them based on agents’ discretion, considering issues such as an immigrant’s health and type of crime committed.
Sheriff Jenkins signed up for the 287(g) program six years ago, figuring it was a common-sense collaboration with ICE to help rid the community of the illegal aliens who were fueling local gang violence.
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