FACT SHEET: Top ICE enforcement priorities yield record results in FY 2010

October 6, 2010

More criminal aliens removed, more employers charged in worksite enforcement investigations

Today, ICE announced record-breaking enforcement results in fiscal year 2010, including the removal of more criminal aliens and the arrest of more employers of undocumented aliens than in any previous year in the agency’s history. Below is a look at how the numbers break down.

Criminal Alien Enforcement

ICE attributes its increase in the removal of criminal aliens to the success of targeted enforcement programs such as Secure Communities and the Criminal Alien Program which focus on removing aliens who have been arrested or convicted of a crime, rather than releasing them back into the community. In particular, expansion of the Secure Communities program – which shares fingerprint information of individuals arrested in local custody with ICE – has contributed to ICE’s enforcement record. In fact, 666 jurisdictions in 33 states now have this beneficial law enforcement information sharing capability.

In FY 2010:

ICE removed more than 392,000 individuals
ICE removed more than 195,000 convicted criminal aliens
50 percent of the aliens ICE removed are convicted criminal aliens. Non-criminal aliens removed include recent border entrants and immigration fugitives.
33 percent of the criminal aliens removed are considered the most serious offenders (Level 1) with rap sheets including murder, rape and major drug crimes.
Aliens with other serious offenses like robbery or drug crimes (Level 2) accounted for 44 percent of convicted criminal alien removals.
Convicted criminal removals include:
More than 1,000 aliens convicted of homicide
Nearly 6,000 aliens convicted of sex offenses
Nearly than 45,000 aliens convicted for drugs offenses
Nearly 28,000 aliens convicted for driving under the influence

Worksite Enforcement

In April 2009, Secretary Napolitano announced changes to ICE’s worksite enforcement strategy – which reduced the need for large-scale immigration enforcement actions where employees were arrested and instead focused on finding evidence to criminally charge employers and to increase the use of tools like I-9 audits, fines and debarment.

This year, ICE criminally charged a record-breaking 180 owners, employers, managers and/or supervisors – up from 135 in FY 2008 and 114 in FY 2009.
ICE conducted more than 2,200 I-9 audits – up from more than 1,400 in FY 2009.
Since January 2009, ICE has imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions.
ICE debarred 97 business and 49 individuals in FY 2010, up from 30 and 53, respectively, in FY 2009.
What Others Are Saying About ICE Enforcement Programs

“As the proud product of a family that immigrated to Houston, I am certainly sensitive to the immigration issue. At the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, we leave it to other arms of government to decide who is illegal and who is not. But when someone is brought to my jail accused of committing a crime against the state of Texas, they should be subjected to all the laws. We use 287(g) and Secure Committees in tandem to find out which inmates need to have their immigration status looked at by ICE as soon as their local criminal case is over. The removal of illegal immigrants who come to the Houston area and commit local crimes keeps our community safer. We’re not just the place where 287(g) was first put into action, but we’re also a national model for how the program works smoothly at high volume and less than a day’s drive from a national border.”

— Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Adrian Garcia

“Secure Communities is an excellent program that promotes information sharing between local law enforcement and ICE. The program identifies individuals who are here in our country illegally and commit serious crimes, without profiling or enforcement of federal immigration laws by our deputies. There’s no additional workload for our staff and does not cost a dime to Fairfax County or to our residents.”

— Fairfax County Sheriff Stan Barry

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Texas counties adopt federal Secure Communities immigration program

Dallas Morning News

The program – known as Secure Communities – targets what immigration authorities call serious criminal offenders and has spread quickly and quietly across …

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Washington Post
October 1, 2010

No opt-out for immigration enforcement

The Obama administration is making it virtually impossible for Arlington County, the District and other jurisdictions to refuse to participate in a controversial immigration enforcement program that uses fingerprints gathered by local law enforcement agencies to identify illegal immigrants.

Participation in the program, called Secure Communities, was widely believed to be voluntary – a perception reinforced by a Sept 7 letter sent to Congress by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. This week, Arlington joined the District, San Francisco and Santa Clara County, Calif., in voting to opt out of the program.

But the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency now says that opting out of the program is not a realistic possibility – and never was.

Secure Communities, which operates in 32 states and will soon be running nationwide, relies on the fingerprints collected by local authorities when a person is charged with anything from a traffic violation to murder. The fingerprints are sent to state police, and then to the FBI, for criminal background checks.

Under the two-year-old program, ICE is able to access the information sent to the FBI. If the fingerprint matches that of someone known to be in the country illegally, ICE orders the immigrant detained as a first step toward deportation.

Tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants have been removed from the United States under the program, which the administration has made a centerpiece of its effort to focus immigration enforcement on criminals. But those deportees include many thousands who have committed minor offenses or no crimes at all, which has made the program a source of increasing concern to immigrant rights groups.

A senior ICE official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the involuntary nature of the program, said: “Secure Communities is not based on state or local cooperation in federal law enforcement. The program’s foundation is information sharing between FBI and ICE. State and local law enforcement agencies are going to continue to fingerprint people and those fingerprints are forwarded to FBI for criminal checks. ICE will take immigration action appropriately.”

The only way a local jurisdiction could opt out of the program is if a state refused to send fingerprints to the FBI. Since police and prosecutors need to know the criminal histories of people they arrest, it is not realistic for states to withhold fingerprints from the FBI – which means it is impossible to withhold them from ICE.

The revelation that the program is not really optional stunned Arlington County Board member J. Walter Tejada (D), who spearheaded a months-long effort to evaluate Secure Communities with residents, lawyers and county officials. “It is most frustrating,” he said. “Communities were researching this. Attorneys looked at it pro bono. All of that could have been avoided. People spent all summer thinking about this.”

Tejada pointed to Napolitano’s recent letter to Congress, in which she wrote, “A local law enforcement agency that does not wish to participate in the Secure Communities deployment plan must formally notify the Assistant Director for the Secure Communities program, David Venturella.” In a briefing paper, ICE also said that if a city or county did not want to participate, the agency was amenable to “removing the jurisdiction from the deployment plan.”

The senior ICE official said local authorities could opt out of learning the specific reason why immigration authorities wanted someone detained. But they would still have to detain the individual.

“If what you say is true, it is extremely disappointing because it means the District of Columbia now has a blurred rather than a bright line between what the Metropolitan Police Department is doing and what immigration officers are doing,” said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who recently voted with the rest of the council to opt out of the program. “We had a bright line, and that has increased trust and confidence in our police among immigrant communities. That will now vanish.”

Federal immigration authorities have argued that because Secure Communities does not require local police to probe anyone’s immigration status, the program will not lead to racial profiling. But critics disagreed.

“It makes the local police department an arm of the federal immigration authority in a way that has not been true in the District of Columbia,” Graham said. “It also distracts scarce police resources – they have to hold people until ICE can get to them. We want those resources devoted to crime-fighting.”

While many law enforcement agencies across the country have embraced Secure Communities, Graham’s concerns have been echoed by some sheriffs and police chiefs. They fear the program will make undocumented immigrants unwilling to report crimes.

“In a domestic violence case, it is not that unusual for police to arrive and arrest both parties and let the evidence get sorted out later” at the police station, said Eileen Hirst, chief of staff to San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who has been fighting for months to get his county removed from Secure Communities.

Officers might fingerprint both parties to see whether they have criminal records, she said. If the domestic violence victim is an unauthorized immigrant, ICE can tell police to detain him or her.

“By the time the details get sorted out, he or she can be on an ICE detainer and on the way to a detention facility,” Hirst said. “This can make people reluctant to call police when they should.”

Secure Communities is primarily designed to target and deport violent criminals, but the immigration agency says the program also will identify people who crossed the border illegally in the past, visa violators and fugitives.

“They may not have a criminal history, but they are a priority for ICE as well,” agency spokesman Richard Rocha said. “Those individuals are removable aliens. Secure Communities allows us to remove and prioritize aliens so we can remove the most egregious offenders first, but others as resources permit.”

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Dallas Morning News

Secure Communities immigration check program goes statewide in Texas

A federal program that automatically checks the immigration status of arrested people has gone statewide in Texas. — ICE announced Wednesday that the fingerprint-sharing program Secure Communities has been activated in all 254 counties in Texas as of this week. Many local jail bookings have used the program for years…

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Secure Communities leads to removal of more than 5,500 convicted criminal aliens from LA County in first year

LOS ANGELES – Since its activation in Los Angeles County a year ago, the biometric information sharing capability deployed as part of the Secure Communities initiative has resulted in the identification and removal of more than 5,500 convicted criminal aliens from the United States who were encountered by local law enforcement in the county.

The information sharing capability, a key component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) comprehensive strategy to enhance efforts to identify and remove convicted criminal aliens from the country, uses biometric identification to alert ICE when potentially removable aliens are arrested by local law enforcement.

Of the 5,585 aliens removed from Los Angeles County in the last year, nearly 2,500 are considered Level 1 offenders, which includes those convicted of serious or violent crimes, such murder, sexual assault and robbery. Another 2,540 are Level 2 offenders, which includes individuals with convictions for offenses such as arson, burglary and property crimes. As part of the Secure Communities strategy, ICE is prioritizing its enforcement efforts to ensure individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety are removed first.

Regardless of the offenses for which individuals are initially booked, the Secure Communities screening may reveal more serious criminal histories. In one Los Angeles case, a fingerprint check of an individual with multiple aliases arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court turned out to be a foreign national with a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for voluntary manslaughter and carrying a concealed weapon. In addition, the subject had been removed from the United States multiple times. The subject was convicted of illegal re-entry after removal and sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Upon completion of his sentence, ICE will remove him from the United States.

Prior to the activation of Secure Communities, fingerprint-based biometric records taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).

If fingerprints match those of someone in DHS’s biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE. ICE evaluates each case to determine the individual’s immigration status and takes appropriate immigration enforcement action. This includes aliens who are lawfully and unlawfully in the United States, but who have been arrested and booked into local law enforcement custody for a crime. Once identified through fingerprint matching, ICE prioritizes its response to focus on criminal aliens convicted of the most serious crimes first-such as those with convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping. In accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE continues to take action on aliens subject to removal as resources permit.

“Last year, ICE prevented thousands of convicted criminal aliens in Los Angeles County from being released back into the community,” said David Venturella, assistant director for Secure Communities. “Through the Secure Communities strategy, we’re increasing community safety by enforcing federal immigration law in a smart, effective way that targets the greatest threats for removal first.”

Los Angeles County is one of 28 jurisdictions in California that are currently benefiting from Secure Communities. The information sharing capability has helped ICE remove more than 12,400 criminal aliens arrested throughout the state. Nationwide, ICE is using the capability in 574 jurisdictions across 30 states, and it has helped ICE remove more than 37,900 criminal aliens from the country.

For more information, visit www.ice.gov/secure_communities.

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St. Louis City and County first in Missouri to benefit from ICE strategy to enhance the identification, removal of criminal aliens
Uses biometrics to prioritize immigration enforcement actions against convicted criminal aliens

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a new biometric information sharing capability in St. Louis City and County that helps federal immigration officials identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement’s custody for a crime.

This capability is part of Secure Communities – ICE’s comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States.

Previously, fingerprint-based biometric records were taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into custody and checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).

If fingerprints match those of someone in DHS’s biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE. ICE evaluates each case to determine the individual’s immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action. This includes aliens who are in lawful status and those who are present without lawful authority. Once identified through fingerprint matching, ICE will respond with a priority placed on aliens convicted of the most serious offenses first-such as those with convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping.

“The Secure Communities strategy provides ICE with an effective tool to identify criminal aliens in local custody,” said Secure Communities Executive Director David Venturella. “Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE’s mission. Our goal is to use biometric information sharing to remove criminal aliens, preventing them from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners.”

With the expansion of the biometric information sharing capability to St. Louis City and County, ICE is using this capability in 632 jurisdictions in 32 states. By 2013, ICE plans to be able to respond nationwide to all fingerprint matches generated through IDENT/IAFIS interoperability.

Since ICE began using this enhanced information sharing capability in October 2008, immigration officers have removed from the United States more than 12,200 criminal aliens convicted of Level 1 crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping. Additionally, ICE has removed more than 29,500 criminal aliens convicted of Level 2 and 3 crimes, including burglary and serious property crimes, which account for the majority of crimes committed by aliens. ICE does not regard aliens charged with, but not yet convicted of crimes, as “criminal aliens.” Instead, a “criminal alien” is an alien convicted of a crime. In accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE continues to take action on aliens subject to removal as resources permit.

The IDENT system is maintained by DHS’s US-VISIT program and IAFIS is maintained by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS).

“US VISIT is proud to support ICE, helping provide decision makers with comprehensive, reliable information when and where they need it,” said US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny. “By enhancing the interoperability of DHS’s and the FBI’s biometric systems, we are able to give federal, state and local decision makers information that helps them better protect our communities and our nation.”

“Under this plan, ICE will be utilizing FBI system enhancements that allow improved information sharing at the state and local law enforcement level based on positive identification of incarcerated criminal aliens,” said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director of the FBI’s CJIS Division. “Additionally, ICE and the FBI are working together to take advantage of the strong relationships already forged between the FBI and state and local law enforcement necessary to assist ICE in achieving its goals.”

For more information, visit www.ice.gov/secure_communities.

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203 Deported In Monterey Co. Under New Program

Secure Communities Program Went Into Effect In April

SALINAS, Calif. — KSBW.com

Since the Secure Communities Program went into effect in April, 203 people have been deported from Monterey County, according to data released by program officials.

The program requires that when someone is booked into the Monterey County Jail, their immigration status is checked with the Department of Homeland Security.

Of the 203 people deported, 38 fell into the category of serious offenses — including murder, kidnapping, rape and drug trafficking. About half those departed don’t have criminal records but were in the country illegally.

The program’s results have surprised local law enforcement.

“We are identifying the most serious offenders, and most of the time it’s linked to gang culture and they have committed serious crimes,” said Monterey County Sheriff Mike Kanalakis.

Kanalakis said the Monterey County Jail has had a large increase in the percentage of the inmate population who have been identified as having immigration holds.

Before the Secure Communities Program, the number of immigration holds was about 4 percent, it is now up to nearly 19 percent, which is the equivalent of about 1,000 inmates.

The Secure Communities Program does not target a certain ethnicity; only people who are arrested and are fingerprinted and scanned for their immigration status.

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that the Secure Communities program has been deployed to all 25 U.S. counties along our Southwest border. HERE

Anti-enforcement mob apoplectic .