Policy Allows Faster Inmate Deportation

All Jailed Foreigners Face Immigration Check

Anne Arundel County is continuing its crackdown on illegal immigrants with a new detention center policy that has resulted in about a dozen inmates being delivered to immigration officials for possible deportation.

Under the system that took effect last month, the Anne Arundel Department of Detention Facilities alerts U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately when it processes an inmate from a foreign country, according to the county. The swift reporting allows immigration officials to identify undocumented individuals, take the inmates into custody and initiate deportation, the county said.

Forty-five inmates have been reported to immigration officials since March 6, compared with three prior to that this year, when the detention center's policy was to make weekly reports. More than half the inmates reported face deportation, the county said.

"This administration has taken a strong stance against illegal immigration," County Executive John R. Leopold (R) said.

Businesses with county contracts have long been required to comply with federal law regarding employing illegal immigrants. Last year, Leopold signed an executive order requiring businesses with county contracts to sign affidavits attesting that they did not employ illegal immigrants. The order has allowed the county to more easily cancel contracts with violators, officials said.

As a state delegate, Leopold voted against measures allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses and pay in-state college tuition.

And as part of his overall effort to reduce expenditures in the county's 2008 fiscal plan, Leopold cut about $115,000 for El Centro de Ayuda and the Organization for Hispanic and Latin Americans, which provide job referrals, legal assistance and other services to Hispanic immigrants.

"The overwhelming majority of the public has been supportive," Leopold said. "And the recent initiative with the jails has initiated a very favorable response with the public."

Leopold said that the change in policy at the detention center was suggested by police and corrections officials. As part of the initiative, a county police officer will be assigned to the Baltimore office of a task force designed to stem illegal immigration.

Leopold said the county has tried to balance its policies by participating in a recent job fair to help employers to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. He said he plans to earmark money in next year's budget to an organization that helps legal immigrants.