Inland Empire hate groups come into focus

by Robert Faturechi and Richard Winton

"The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department last year arrested members of the Inland Empire Skinheads gang in connection with several home-invasion robberies and an attempted murder case.

Hemet authorities, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, declined to say what groups were under investigation.

The attacks began last year when a booby trap was set at the headquarters of the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force, officials said. In December, a utility line was redirected to fill the offices with gas. Officials said a spark could have triggered a devastating explosion.

In February, a "zip gun" was hidden by the gate to the task force office and rigged to fire. When a gang officer opened the gate, the weapon went off, and the bullet narrowly missed him, authorities said. In early March, police said, a "dangerous" device was found near the unmarked car of a task force member. That was followed by an arson attack on four city code-enforcement trucks March 23.

There have been many theories over the months about who was responsible for the attacks."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-0422-hemet-hate-20100422,0,6860438.story

[Posted by Yoori Chung]

S.F. mayor bans city travel to Arizona in protest of immigration law

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Tuesday imposed a moratorium on city employee travel to the state of Arizona for official business and announced the creation of a task force to determine how best to extricate the city from its Arizona-related contracts.

The actions are in response to a new anti-immigration measure signed into law last week by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, and come one day after San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a statement calling the law "draconian" and criticized the state for choosing "to isolate itself from the rest of the nation."

by: [Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14975120?source=pkg

California Senate leader: Tear up contracts with Arizona over immigration law

SACRAMENTO — How's this for border insecurity?

In another swipe at Arizona and its strict new anti-immigration rules, California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg on Tuesday asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to "deliver an unequivocal message" of disgust by tearing up the state's contracts with Arizona businesses and government agencies.

Arizona's new law, which allows police to demand identification from anyone reasonably believed to be an undocumented immigrant, has spawned a maelstrom of emotions since its approval last week — from quiet applause from those who support the crackdown to protests and boycott shouts, including San Francisco's move Tuesday to ban city workers from traveling to the state on official business.

by: [Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14971084

Visa Fraud Ring: Students Expose Vulnerability in nation's Foreigner Tracking System

Gillian Flaccus

3-10-10

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A ring accused of helping people from the Middle East obtain student visas by taking their proficiency exams and classes has exposed vulnerability in the nation's security tracking system for foreigners who attend U.S. schools, experts said Tuesday.

The bust unsettled immigration authorities and federal lawmakers who implemented the sophisticated Foreign Student and Exchange Visitor Information System after learning one of the Sept. 11 hijackers had entered the U.S. on a student visa.

Immigration officials have broken up similar fraud rings in recent months in Miami, Orange County, Calif., Atlanta and the Los Angeles area. Many involved Korean students.

The scrutiny of foreign students once they arrive on a U.S. campus is a "serious chink in the armor" of the system, said Janice Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and the national security policy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/visa-fraud-ring-students_n_492867.html

[Posted by: Juliana Steers]

Reid amends his pledge for fast action on immigration

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid backed off Tuesday from his pledge to fast-track an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, after fellow Democrats voiced skepticism and a key Republican supporter abandoned the effort.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department may sue Arizona over a new state law that authorizes police to question the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. "I'm very concerned about the wedge it could draw between communities that law enforcement is supposed to serve and those of us in law enforcement," Holder said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14971411

Forum in Costa Mesa urges immigration dialogue

COSTA MESA - Estancia High sophomore Maria Cervantes was not comfortable discussing illegal immigration.

She didn't think she understood the issue well enough to speak about it. That's why she forced herself to go to a meeting Tuesday night.

Cervantes and 140 other middle school and high school students and teachers from Newport-Mesa Unified gathered to discuss one of the most contentious topics in their community and across the country.

The forum was organized by Neighbors for a Safe Community, a group of about 50 area residents and business owners that formed last year. The group says a lot of emotion and not much rational thinking has surrounded the illegal immigration issue in Costa Mesa.

Taco Mesa restaurant co-sponsored the event and provided free dinners.

The goal was to encourage civic participation by high school students, help educate them on the topic, and provide students with a productive arena to have their voices heard, said organizer Chris Blank, a Costa Mesa resident and attorney in Newport Beach.

Another goal was to encourage students to register to vote at 18.

http://www.ocregister.com/common/printer/view.php?db=ocregister&id=28211

Steve Chapman: Immigration crackdowns backfire

Arizona legislators are fed up with being terrorized by illegal immigrants, and they have passed a law to get tough. Under the measure, police would have to stop and question anyone they suspect of being in this country without legal authorization.

The bill passed after the fatal shooting of Robert Krentz, a 58-year-old rancher whose killer apparently entered illegally from Mexico. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu says police are also under siege: "We've had numerous officers that have been killed by illegal immigrants in Arizona."

Even Sen. John McCain, once a supporter of immigration reform, has called for the immediate placement of 3,000 National Guard soldiers along the border.

It's no surprise that Arizonans resent the recent influx of unauthorized foreigners, some of them criminals. But there is less here than meets the eye.

The state has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants. But contrary to myth, they have not brought an epidemic of murder and mayhem with them. Surprise of surprises, the state has gotten safer.

http://www.ocregister.com/common/printer/view.php?db=ocregister&id=245951

Study: Smaller share of state pop. is foreign-born

By JACOB ADELMAN Associated Press Writer

Posted: 03/31/2010 10:02:33 AM PDT

Updated: 03/31/2010 05:01:58 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES—Immigrants' share of California's population has declined for the third straight year after a half century of growth, with the economic downturn and increased border enforcement discouraging fresh immigration to the state, according to a University of Southern California study released Wednesday.

California's foreign-born population—including both legal and illegal immigrants—was estimated at 26.6 percent this year, down from a peak of 27.4 percent in 2007, the study's authors determined based on recently published federal data.

The study supplied only percentages, not raw population numbers. But applied to U.S. Census Bureau data, those percentages show the number of foreign-born residents largely holding steady at around 9.9 million, while the state's total population increased from 36.6 million to 37.2 million.

The dip reversed an increase in the proportion of foreign-born residents that began in 1965, when federal reforms lifted some restrictions on immigration, said USC urban planning and demography professor Dowell Myers, one of the study's lead authors.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_14792884

(posted by Tiffany Perales)

New poll shows 'sea change' in Californians' attitudes toward illegal immigration

Ken McLaughlin
kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com

Posted: 04/06/2010 06:40:21 AM PDT

Updated: 04/06/2010 05:55:57 PM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Rally attendees Juan Carlos Valazquez Analco speacks to crowd with megaphone,... ( Josie Lepe )

Related

• Economy won't falter or flourish because of immigration reform, study finds

In a dramatic turnaround from 16 years ago, Californians now overwhelmingly favor giving illegal immigrants a "path to legalization" rather than punishing them by denying them a public education and social services, according to a poll unveiled Monday.

The survey of 1,515 registered voters showed that 67 percent of Californians support a two-pronged approach to solving the illegal immigration problem: implementing stronger enforcement at the border while setting up a legalization path for undocumented immigrants who admit they broke the law, perform community service, learn English and pay fines and back taxes.

Seventy percent favor stricter border controls and a temporary worker program that does not grant illegal immigrants citizenship and requires them to return to their homeland. But only 45 percent favor denying the undocumented an education and taxpayer-funded health and social services.

Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, said the poll — sponsored by the Los Angeles Times and USC's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences — showed there was a "sea change" in Californians' attitudes toward illegal immigration since 1994. That's when 59 percent of the state's voters cast a ballot in favor of Proposition 187, the white-hot measure aimed at denying services to illegal immigrants. The proposition was later ruled unconstitutional by federal courts.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_14825153

(posted by Tiffany Perales)

Tales of amnesty: Thousands of illegal immigrants started road to citizenship in 1987

By Matt O'Brien
mattobrien@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted: 01/31/2010 08:22:50 AM PST

Updated: 02/01/2010 07:09:01 AM PST

BERKELEY

Patricia Hernandez has the unenviable job of cleaning up the mess left by undergraduates at UC Berkeley.

"Whatever they break, we fix it," she said, sitting on a dormitory couch during her morning break. "Change light bulbs, fix furniture, fix toilets, unclog toilets, replace toilets."

Hernandez, 48, is not complaining, she's just describing. She is proud of the job she has held for 18 years and the financial security it brings. She loves that her brother is a cook at a nearby campus cafeteria and that her daughter works as a pharmacy technician a few blocks away.

She loves it because 40 years ago, she was living in a Mexican orphanage. Twenty-five years ago, she was living in a car in Southern California and struggling to find work because she was an illegal immigrant.

"Like everybody else, I jumped the border," she said. Then, about 23 years ago, she got lucky.

For Hernandez and thousands of other Bay Area residents, 1987 marked the end of a life of hiding and the beginning of life as an American.

It was the year the Immigration Reform and Control Act, approved by Congress in 1986 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, went into effect. In a matter of months, Hernandez went from being undocumented to having a green card, and years later she was able to obtain citizenship. She sighs today as she imagines how life would be different without it

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_14303897

(posted by Tiffany Perales)

L.A. white supremacy rally gets bloody

A white supremacist group rallied against illegal immigration in downtown Los Angeles Saturday as hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to shout them down in a tense standoff that included several arrests, thrown rocks and police in riot gear.

Police officers stood between the white supremacists and counter-demonstrators on the south lawn of Los Angeles' City Hall, where about 50 members of the National Socialist Movement waved American flags and swastika banners for about an hour.

Five people, all of them counter-protesters, were arrested on suspicion of throwing items, police said.

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36618626/ns/us_news-life/

[Posted by Marina Guastucci]

Trail of ruin: Quake victims' shattered lives

EJIDO DURANGO, Mexico — By day, Dolores Echeverria returns to the spacious sky-blue house where she lived with her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter until Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck. Yesterday afternoon, she stepped through her mud-covered yard in Ejido Durango, past the craters where geysers had surged from the ground, and entered her darkened bedroom, its walls now covered with cracks.

“We carry out a few things, and we run out,” said Echeverria, 66, one of thousands of residents of the Mexicali Valley wondering where to go from here.

Striking 30 miles south of the U.S. border, the quake left a trail of ruined houses, broken roads, destroyed crops and interrupted lives.

For the rest of the article click here.

[Posted by Carl Randall Nash]

'Activist' UCSD professor facing unusual scrutiny

UCSD professor Ricardo Dominguez is facing unusual scrutiny from campus police and auditors for his involvement in two divisive projects — one that helps migrants find water stored along the border and another that disrupted the UC president’s Web site through a virtual sit-in.

Dominguez, 50, is a self-described activist and new media artist who is accustomed to stirring up controversy. But he said he’s troubled that his tenured status may be revoked for work that promotes his academic specialty of electronic civil disobedience.

to read the entire article click here

[Posted by Carl Randall Nash]

San Diego-Area Bakery Indicted on Federal Charges for Hiring Undocumented Workers

ICE announced that a San Diego-area bakery, along with its owner and a manager, are charged in a 16-count indictment by a federal grand jury resulting from an agency investigation into allegations the business knowingly hired undocumented workers.

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=31822


[Posted by: Araceli Vazquez]

Spokesperson for " Americans for Illegal Immigration", William Gheen speak about Immigration in a Tea Party Rally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG78fpj0P4M&feature=popular

ReprintPrint Email Font Resize Bay Area groups rally for immigration reform By Matt O'Brien Contra Costa Times Posted: 02/18/2010 03:34:48 PM PST Updated: 02/19/2010 07:51:57 AM PST OAKLAND -- Local youth leaders, church groups and politicians are pushing for federal immigration reform at rallies across the Bay Area this week, hoping to bring renewed attention to an issue they worry has dropped off the radar of sympathetic lawmakers.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_14428134

-Tiffany Perales

Policía de Los Angeles pide no perseguir a inmigrantes

LOS ANGELES (AP) ” El jefe de policía de Los Angeles pidió el martes que su departamento siga manteniéndose al margen de la detención de indocumentados, al tiempo que abogó por una reforma migratoria en el país.

Los comentarios de William Bratton, publicados en la página editorial del diario Los Angeles Times, llegan el mismo día que éste publicó un editorial pidiendo que el gobierno apruebe leyes para evitar más muertes de inmigrantes que intentan cruzar el desierto de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos.

"Debemos aprobar una reforma migratoria y sacar a nuestros vecinos de las sombras para que tengan los servicios policiales que necesitan y merecen", apuntó el jefe policial.

Bratton, quien deja su cargo el sábado, pidió a su sucesor ”que todavía no ha sido escogido” no sólo evitar que sus agentes hagan las veces de agentes migratorios, sino que continúe la política municipal de prohibir que los policías detengan a la gente sólo para determinar su estado legal en el país.

http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/10/28/policia-de-los-angeles-pide-no-155977-1.html

[posted by: gloria j]

Tacos for Justice!

National Latino Congreso
The Politics and Policy Convention of the Latino Community
www.latinocongreso.org

For Immediate Release
April 15, 2010

Contact
Antonio Gonzalez, 323-222-2217
Carmen Amaya, 323-222-2217

National Latino Congreso Rolls-Out Immigrant Advocacy PSA’s
Celebrities Lupe Ontiveros Yareli Arizmendi and Mario Solis-Marich Promote “Tacos and Texts for Justice” initiatives
(Los Angeles, CA, April 15, 2010)

The Conveners of the National Latino Congreso announced a public service announcement campaign in 29 markets with Actors Lupe Ontiveros and Yareli Arizmendi. Ontiveros, of Selena and Desperate Housewives fame, are featured in two PSA’s promoting “Tacos for Justice” and “Texts for Justice”. Yareli Arizmendi, star of critically acclaimed films “Water for Chocolate” and “Day without a Mexican” joined with Ontiveros in the “Tacos for Justice” PSA. The PSA’s began running on Telemundo Chanel 52 and 22, LA TV Networks, and Entravision Radio in the LA media market last week and will continue through Cinco de Mayo, they can be seen at www.tacosparajusticia.org and www.textosparajusticia.org.

In addition, noted radio host Mario Solis-Marich initiated his own “Texts for Justice” campaign with his 100,000-strong blog readership on www.mylatinonews.com. Solis-Marich readers donate $10 to the campaign and send a letter to Speaker Pelosi upon texting “Isupport reform” to 20222.

“These PSA’s promote “high tech” and “low tech” grassroots organizing strategies designed to complement the mass marches by helping the movement raise advocacy funds and send letters to pressure Congress demanding they approve fair and humane immigration reform immediately, said Antonio Gonzalez, WCVI President.

Texts for Justice PSA’s begun running last week as in 29 markets Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, Denver, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, El Paso, Boston, Washington, DC, Orlando, Tampa, McAllen, Laredo, and others. The “Texts for Justice” program, run for NLC by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI), issues a letter to Speaker Pelosi urging House approval of Comprehensive Immigration Reform by May 1, 2010 and donates $5 to the NLC Immigrant Justice Fund when a cell phone holder texts “reforma” to 20222. Both PSA’s will run through May 5, 2010.

Tacos for Justice or Tacos Para Justicia (TPJ) includes fifty LA-area taco trucks/restaurants from the Asociacion de Loncheros-La Familia Unida, El Gallo Giro and La Red de Pupuserias Salvadorenas who donate to the National Latino Congreso’s Immigrant Justice Fund as well as give a 10% discount to bearers of discount coupons. Issued by the Latino Voters League online at www.tacosparajusticia.org or through participating community groups, some 250,000-discount coupons have been distributed in the southland to a dozen major community groups and churches. “TPJ has only been in existence since late February and not only are 50 restaurants enrolled, another 170 have asked to join,” said TPJ Coordinator Carmen Amaya.


National Convening Organizations

Hispanic Federation/LULAC/MALDEF/ MAPA/ NALACC/NDLON/NHEC/SVREP/WCVI

This message was sent to by:
William C. Velasquez Institute
National Office
206 Lombard, 1st Floor
San Antonio, TX 78226
(210) 922-3118 California Office
2914 N. Main St., 1st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 222-2217 Florida Office
2646-A NW 21st Terrace
Miami, FL 33142
(305) 635-6965


[posted by Professor Montejano]

Video:Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor on Immigration

Mayor Allan Mansoor seeks to have Costa Mesa, California be the first city in America to enforce federal immigration laws at the local level.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk84GyxvOeI

46 fail Costa Mesa immigration check

COSTA MESA - Forty-six people have been flagged for immigration violations in the month since a federal agent began staffing Costa Mesa's jail, officials said Wednesday.
That's about 10 percent of the roughly 450 people booked since Dec. 4. Of those identified, six have been deported. Twenty are being processed for deportation, and the other 20 will be sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, said Jim Hayes, a regional director for the agency.
Previously, Hayes said, the city was referring five to seven arrestees a week for immigration checks.
Two of those detained have been deported multiple times, have lengthy criminal records and will face federal prosecution, Hayes said. Sentences of up to 20 years in prison are possible, agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
Hayes could not provide a breakdown of the offenses for which the people, nearly all Mexican males, were arrested.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/immigration-52518-hayes-city.html

Costa Mesa looks at immigration enforcement

COSTA MESA - About 200 people turned out Tuesday night as the City Council discussed enacting a controversial program that would train Costa Mesa police officers to enforce federal immigration law.
A vote had not been taken as of 10 p.m., but the plan, which would be the first adopted by a U.S. city, appeared to have the support of three of the five council members. Councilman Gary Monahan and Mayor Allan Mansoor said Tuesday night that they were in favor, and Mayor Pro Tem Eric Bever gave his backing Monday.
Monahan said he wanted a program like the one the Sheriff's Department is pursuing, giving the power to jail personnel and certain investigators. Those deputies could detain illegal immigrants suspected of felonies. "If the Sheriff's Department is going to be doing this countywide, I think it makes sense for us to be part of it," Monahan said.
The program is allowed under a 1996 federal immigration law.
The council was expected to hear public comments before voting. Most of the audience members appeared to be opposed to the program.
"To pass a law such as this would create negative energy and negative tension and endanger the shaky bond between Latinos and the police force," Kristin Hoeffler, 20, of Costa Mesa, said before the discussion began. "There are illegal immigrants and children of illegal immigrants, and what will happen to those children if their parents are sent away?

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mesa-17284-immigrants-program.html

Immigration info on Costa Mesa police log

COSTA MESA - Personal information about every inmate flagged by immigration officials at the Costa Mesa jail will be available for public review beginning today.
The city's arrest log already contains the name, date and time of arrest, arrest charges, location of arrest, city of residence, gender, race and date of birth of every person arrested by Costa Mesa police. But now the log will include which inmates also are suspected of violating immigration laws.An agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was assigned full-time to the Costa Mesa jail in December, a year after the council majority voted to pursue a plan to train certain city police officers to screen serious, repeat felons for immigration violations. That program never came to fruition.
In his first month at Costa Mesa's jail, the agent recommended 46 foreign-born inmates should be deported. Half were accused of committing felonies.
Immigration officials said the numbers were higher than anticipated, but figures can vary greatly from month to month.
Inmates recommended for deportation are given a hearing before a federal judge. If the judge orders deportation, the inmate is held without bond while his or her criminal case makes its way through the court system.
Jail time is served before the inmate is deported.
Twelve sheriff's deputies and two sergeants graduated for an ICE training program to screen county inmates for immigration violations. The group began interviewing inmates Jan. 19.
The Costa Mesa police arrest log is available to the public from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, at the front desk of the Costa Mesa Police Department, 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mesa-57425-costa-immigration.html

Felons found in police immigration screening

Social tolerance was once the hallmark of Costa Mesa, a place where bowls of free soup awaited the poor just as racks of designer shoes awaited the well-heeled.
The home of South Coast Plaza was also home to a city Human Relations Committee, a job center and a decades-long history of helping the poor, whether immigrant or native-born. The late county Supervisor Tom Riley dubbed Costa Mesa "the city with a heart."
The soup kitchen is still there. But the Human Relations Committee and the job center are gone, jettisoned by Mayor Allan Mansoor and his allies on the council after being too sympathetic to illegal immigrants.
The city's new legacy is its aggressive stance against illegal immigration, including the use of city police to identify undocumented immigrants among crime suspects.
Costa Mesa is not the first local agency to partner with immigration agents. Police in Florida and Alabama have been doing so since 2003. In California, jail-check programs vary from checking the status of convicted felons - that's what Los Angeles County does - to checking everyone in the jail - that's what Orange County started doing just one month after Costa Mesa



http://www.ocregister.com/news/costa-189698-mesa-crime.html?pic=3

37 arrested in San Diego area enforcement surge

SAN DIEGO - More than 30 criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators are facing deportation on Friday following a three-day enforcement operation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations Teams (FOTs) in San Diego and the Imperial Valley.

During the operation, which concluded March 25, ICE officers made a total of 37 arrests in central San Diego, North County, the South Bay, East County and the Imperial Valley.

Of those taken into custody, 21 were immigration fugitives with outstanding orders of deportation, or previously deported aliens who returned to the United States illegally after being removed.

More than 80 percent of the aliens arrested during the enforcement action also had criminal records in addition to being in the country illegally. Their criminal histories included prior arrests and convictions on a variety of violations, including domestic violence, sexual battery, robbery, assault and drug charges.

"This enforcement action underscores ICE's commitment to strategic, effective immigration enforcement that enhances public safety," said Robin Baker, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) in San Diego. "ICE will continue to target, arrest, and remove those who come to this country to pursue a life of crime rather than the American dream."

Among those arrested by the San Diego-area teams was a 59-year-old Mexican female with a 1989 conviction in San Diego for possession of heroin for sale. She is being detained pending a removal hearing before an immigration judge. Of the four individuals arrested in the Imperial Valley, three had prior drug convictions involving the use or possession of amphetamines.

Since many of the individuals arrested during the operation have outstanding orders of deportation or have been previously deported, they are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining aliens will be held by ICE pending a hearing before an immigration judge or the completion of travel arrangements.

The Fugitive Operations Program was established in 2003 to eliminate the nation's backlog of immigration fugitives. Today, ICE has 104 FOTs deployed across the country, including three assigned to work cases in San Diego and Imperial counties.


-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Friday, March 26, 2010

[Posted by Marwin Yeung]

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100326sandiego.htm

Orange County joins ICE initiative to enhance identification and removal of criminal aliens Now criminal and immigration records of all those arrested

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Orange County law enforcement agencies Tuesday began employing a new information-sharing capability already in use in Los Angeles and 10 other California counties that modernizes the process used to accurately identify criminal aliens in the community.

Developed by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) as part of an initiative known as Secure Communities, the information-sharing capability is a key component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) comprehensive strategy to enhance efforts to identify and remove criminal aliens from the United States.

Previously, local arrestees' fingerprints were taken and checked for criminal history information against the DOJ biometric system maintained by the FBI. Under the Secure Communities strategy, that fingerprint information will now be simultaneously checked against both FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by the DHS.

If any fingerprints match those of someone in DHS's biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE, enabling the agency to take appropriate action to ensure dangerous criminal aliens are not released back into communities. Top priority is given to individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety, such as those with prior convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping.

"Secure Communities provides local law enforcement with an effective tool to identify dangerous criminal aliens," said Secure Communities Executive Director David Venturella. "Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE's mission. Our goal with Secure Communities is to use information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners."

With the expansion of Secure Communities to Orange County, there are now a dozen California counties participating in the initiative, including Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, Sonoma, Solano, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Across the country, Secure Communities is now being used by 120 jurisdictions in 16 states. By next year, ICE expects Secure Communities to have a presence in every state, with nationwide coverage anticipated by 2013.

Since its inception in October 2008, Secure Communities has identified more than 18,000 aliens charged with or convicted of Level 1 crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping - 4,000 of whom have already been removed from the United States. Most of the criminal aliens who have been identified but not yet removed are completing their sentences. Additionally, ICE has removed nearly 25,000 aliens charged with or convicted of Level 2 and 3 crimes, including burglary and serious property crimes, which account for 90 percent of the crimes committed by aliens.

Secure Communities is part of DHS's comprehensive plan to distribute technology that links local law enforcement agencies to both FBI and DHS biometric systems. DHS's US VISIT Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) holds biometrics-based immigration records, while the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) contains biometrics-based criminal records.

"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 Criminal Justice Information Services 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 on the Secure Communities program, visit www.ice.gov.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 16, 2010

[Posted by Marwin Yeung]

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100316santaana.htm