Immigrant release causing a stir
Published:Thursday | October 27, 2011 | 12:00 AM
CALIFORNIA (AP):
Releasing criminal immigrants from jail before federal deportation evaluations has created an uproar in a Northern California county.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen and Sheriff Laurie Smith blasted Santa Clara County supervisors for a new policy that releases immigrants with criminal histories from jail before US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents look them over.
The San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/sHYm4k) says County Executive Jeff Smith is accusing Rosen and Smith of grandstanding and using scare tactics.
The county policy stems from the federal Secure Communities programme that requires fingerprint sharing with ICE.
Supervisors voted on October 18 to keep criminal immigrants in custody for 24 hours after their scheduled release so federal agents can decide on deportation.
But they will be held only if ICE pays to detain them. ICE refuses.