L.A. expands screening of foreign-born inmates
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- June
- 26
There are two developments from Los Angeles on the local role in immigration enforcement. The county jail is expanding an effort to screen inmates who might be eligible for deportation, similar to one of Assemblyman Greg Ball’s proposals for New York. On the other hand, city police are reaffirming a policy that restricts police inquiries about immigration status.
Click here for a story about the jail program. The Los Angeles Times reports that eight specially-trained Sheriff’s officials are interviewing inmates to see if they are eligible for deportation, and the number of interviewers will be increased to 13. Essentially, the county is supplementing the work of immigration agents already stationed at the jail. Even so, not every foreign-born inmate is being checked. If you thought that this measure might escape controversy, read the comments from the Southern California ACLU.
The police policy, similar to New York City’s, bars police from asking witnesses and victims about their immigration status. But it does call for notifying immigration agents if a suspect has a felony or multiple misdemeanor arrests. The policy just survived a legal challenge.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 4:52 pm by Leah Rae.
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Category: ACLU, California, Greg Ball, Illegal immigrants, inmates, Los Angeles
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