Immigration pact to speed ID of illegals

By Amanda Casciaro
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA – Officials expect to identify more illegal aliens once Cobb cements an agreement with the federal government to access its national database to screen jail inmates, but that’s as far as the county can push to fight illegal immigration.

The database tells officers if an inmate is illegally in the country, but the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has final say in who stays and who gets deported.

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office has turned 53 inmates over to immigration and customs officials in the past six months, and about 73 inmates have “holds,” most of which cite Mexico as their country of origin, Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren said.

“Sheriff’s Office personnel will screen inmates coming into the jail to determine whether they are in the country illegally,” Warren said. “If it is determined that the inmate is an illegal alien, paperwork will be processed to begin the hearing and deportation process.

The agreement approved Tuesday simply gives Cobb deputies access to a federal database, which takes advantage of a rarely used section of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act. Cobb’s approval makes it one of seven governments in the country and the first in Georgia to take action.

Every misdemeanor or felony offender who enters the Cobb County Jail will be subject to review, once the program is given federal approval. If offenders are found guilty of their charges, deportation proceedings won’t begin until they satisfy their sentence in Georgia.

If acquitted, offenders’ information still will be handed over to federal officials.

“Once all local charges are disposed of – dismissal, acquittal, serving a sentence, etc. – the inmate will be turned over to ICE for deportation,” Warren said.

A slow-moving federal system means Cobb taxpayers will pay to house felony offenders – before and after their conviction – until federal agents pick them up.

“We may encounter an individual at the Cobb County Jail, and let’s say they’re arrested on a serious offense and ultimately serve their sentence in the state system, said Ken Smith, special agent in-charge of the Atlanta regional ICE office.

“We also work with the state of Georgia for the intake of all state inmates. We’ll identify them on whatever level they’re on and place a (detainment order) on that individual. Eventually, they’ll rotate into ICE custody for removal.”

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department in Charlotte, N.C., began using the database in April.

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