Via La Frontera, this news from the Victorville Daily Press:
SAN BERNARDINO — The immigration screening operation at West Valley Detention Center has marked nearly as many criminal aliens for deportation during the first quarter of 2007 as the federal program did in all of 2005, according to officials.
The change of allowing local agencies to do their own immigration screening instead of waiting for a Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has paid off, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Sheriff Gary Penrod.
In 2005, ICE officials placed a total of 525 people on detainers for deportation. In 2007, Sheriff’s Custody Specialists were able to place 507 on the same detainers in only the first quarter of the year, officials said.
“The difference is that we are here all of the time and ICE agents would come to the jail about once a week,” said Custody Specialist Mary Ostrander.
Kudos to local officials for taking it upon themselves to be trained as custody specialists. It is localized government that is in the best position to make the largest impact in the struggle to secure our nation’s borders and the American people’s security. All it needs is a little seriousness on the part of the federal government to coordinate such efforts and provide the means necessary to rid our country of the many, many others that have already slipped through the system.
