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North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. Illegal Immigration Project Tony Queen. Project Goals. Provide technical assistance and advice to Sheriffs on Immigration and Customs Enforcement Provide technical assistance to Sheriffs seeking to negotiate a MOA for participation in the 287 (g) program
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North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association Illegal Immigration Project Tony Queen
Project Goals • Provide technical assistance and advice to Sheriffs on Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Provide technical assistance to Sheriffs seeking to negotiate a MOA for participation in the 287 (g) program • Reimburse Sheriffs for training costs and replacement personnel to participate in training
Executive Steering Committee • Guiding Body with the Goal to ensure the cooperation and collaboration among all • Partnership of Senior ICE Officials • 10 Sheriffs from across the state • NC Sheriffs’ Association Staff • First in the nation and is a model that ICE plans to use nationwide
NC 287 (g) Jail Enforcement Model • Operates in county Jails • Sheriffs’ personnel are trained by ICE • Authorized by ICE • Supervised by ICE • Does not involve ROUND-UPS in the Community or at work sites. • ICE trained Deputies do not participate in roadblocks
How the 287 (g) Jail Enforcement Model Works: • It only applies to Criminals who also happen to be illegal aliens. • Persons identified by the program “self select” by committing a crime and being arrested. • Illegal aliens in NC who are not arrested will not be identified thru the 287 (g) Jail Enforcement Model program in NC
How the 287(g) Jail Enforcement Model Works: • An arrest is made by a Law Enforcement Officer. Magistrate sets bond. Arrestee is booked into County jail. • Arrestee is interviewed to determine if they are foreign born or US citizens. • Fingerprint checks are made via the IAFIS (FBI) System and the IDENT (Homeland Security) System to determine Identity • Deputies and ICE will be notified of prior convictions and whether the person has an Immigration record
Requirements for Participation by Sheriffs’ Offices • Meet the Detention Facility Standards and have ample available Bed space • Negotiate a Memo of Agreement between ICE and the Sheriff’s Office • Sheriff’s Personnel Graduate from a four week training Course on Immigration Law & Procedures, Civil Rights laws, etc. • Operate under the supervision of ICE personnel assigned to the Sheriff’s Office
Counties without 287(g) Jail Enforcement Model • System handles processing arrestees differently • Felony and/or DWI claiming a foreign place of birth will be subject to an Illegal Alien Query (IAQ) • IAQ is only a name check, 80% are returned with no match • Interoperability will change the landscape
Immigration Alien Queries Training • 12/10/07 Caldwell Co. 93 • 12/11/07 Haywood Co. 102 • 12/12/07 Chatham Co. 99 • 12/13/07 Edgecombe Co. 101 • 12/14/07 Duplin Co. 93 • 02/13/08 Wake Co. 96 • Total 584 • 96 Counties Participated
Identifying Criminal Aliens • Secure Communities’ first goal is to identify all criminal aliens held in jails and prisons • The program relies on the sharing of national and local immigration and law enforcement data through a technology and process called IAFIS/IDENT Interoperability • IAFIS is FBI’s fingerprint database • IDENT is Homeland Security’s fingerprint database
Identifying Criminal Aliens • The process will work as follows: • Local officers take fingerprints of all persons booked in the jail and submit them to the FBI and ICE through the SBI • The prints will automatically be checked against IAFIS and IDENT for potential matches • Local officers and ICE will be notified of previous convictions and whether the person has an immigration record • Along with the fingerprints, booking information will include whether the person has declared a foreign place of birth
ICE Processing Criminal Aliens • Upon receipt of notification through Interoperability, ICE will prioritize and process criminal aliens • ICE will focus initially on processing those criminal aliens that pose the greatest threat to their communities such as violent and major drug offenders • For those aliens convicted of serious offenses, ICE will detain and remove the individual after they complete their North Carolina sentence • For those aliens who may have been convicted in the past of a serious offense and are now booked for a minor offense, ICE will seek to take them into custody immediately
Interoperability in NC Interoperability will be completed in 3 phases: • Pilot (Began in Sept. 2006) • Allowed Access to Limited Data • Limited users (NC sites added in July 2008) • Working out technical challenges • Initial Rollout (Oct. 2008) • Begin full search of IDENT Database • Single request with multiple responses • Full System (effective TBA) • Increase workload capability • Consolidated responses
Questions?? • Tony Queen, Director of Special Projects • Ed Brigham, Immigration Specialist • NC Sheriffs’ Association • ncsa@ncsheriffs.net • 919-SHERIFF (743-7433)