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We received the copy of the below emailed note and attached letter from retired ICE Senior Special Agent Robert Trent which was sent to Speaker David Ralston. The letter is a copy of the one Mr. Trent sent to Rep Petrea earlier this week. We thank Mr. Trent for the copy and the engagement.

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March 1, 2019

Dear Speaker Ralston,

I have spent the majority of my adult life enforcing federal immigration laws. I have been a Border Patrol Agent on both of our international land borders. I have also served as a Special Agent, assigned to inner city drug enforcement task forces for many years. One thing I have learned is that state and local governments have to participate in providing safety and security for all Americans. It is vitally important that we all send a message to intending illegal immigrants that we will not provide safe harbor. This should be especially true when it comes to aliens that commit crimes in Georgia.

T(h)e HB 202 Bill tells illegal alien criminals they are not welcome, and they will not receive a safe haven from U.S. Immigration Court proceedings. This should also hold true for those that may have legally entered our country, then committed crimes that make them deportable. The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC) already has the tools to identify these aliens under the partnership with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Please let’s bring these criminal aliens out from the shadows, and allow ICE to do their job. We need to see to it that we send them back home, after they complete their prison sentences.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Trent, Senior Special Agent (Ret.)
Saint Mary’s, Georgia

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February 27, 2019

 

Dear Representative Petrea,

I have been made aware of your HB 202 by my friend, Mr. D.A. King and want to thank you for your determination to allow the public to understand a small part of the consequences and costs of illegal immigration. I think you will agree with me that these are both needless monetary and human costs.

I have seen the most recent version of your bill and I hope that you will accept some unsolicited input from a retired Senior Special Agent, ICE (formerly the U.S. Immigration Service). My last duty station was at the Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA. I was the Assistant Director, Enforcement Training.

The Department of Corrections is required to use the federal‘Secure Communities’program which uses a federal information-sharing partnership between DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that helps to identify in-custody aliens without imposing new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement.

Also, records showthat DOC is  one of the agencies in Georgia that is authorized to participate in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g)program. If you are not yet familiar with crime fighting tool I am sure D.A. will offer some insight. I ran the 287(g) training program prior to my retirement.

For the purposes of your legislation you should know that DOC should have no problem at all in identifying not only illegal aliens who have not yet come to the attention of ICE and who have not yet had a detainer issued, but DOC can also see and report aliens who have a green card who may be deportable. From the 287(g) website: “By working together, local and federal officers can better identify and remove criminal aliens – a tremendous benefit to public safety. One of the biggest benefits to our 287(g) partners is that they are able to better identify individuals in custody.”

Use of these tools gives the DOC great insight as to who they have in custody. I am puzzled as to why DOC has not made this info available to you if that has not been done.

Once these criminal aliens have been identified, and brought to the attention of ICE, ICE can begin the process for their eventual removal from our country. This can all be accomplished during their period of incarceration, including a final order of removal from the immigration court.

As a Georgia taxpayer, I would be very interested in seeing a quarterly public report on the details of non-citizens in our prison system. I hope that this information helps you consider expanding your bill to make it as comprehensive in scope as possible.

A good rule of thumb is to consider the motivation of any lobbying entity would want to limit the reports you seek to only aliens who have already had detainers issued for them. This severely limits your effort.

Please feel free to contact me any time if you have any questions.

 

Robert Trent

Saint Mary’s, GA 31558