Georgia Congresman Phil Gingrey on the Cobb County sheriff, Neal Warren’s use of local authority to enforce immigration law

I overlooked posting this in June.

Gingrey praises Cobb County Sheriff’s Office for effort deporting criminal illegal immigrants

Praising Cobb County Sheriff’s Department

Washington

U.S. Congressman Phil Gingrey this week delivered a speech before Congress praising the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department for its efforts to identify illegal immigrants in Cobb County jails. Click HERE to watch a video of his remarks, or read the text of his speech below.
Speech before Congress praising the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
U.S. Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D.
Thursday, June 20, 2007

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the exemplary and important work of the Cobb County Sherriff’s Office. This Georgia agency has begun screening county jail inmates to identify and deport illegal immigrants.

This is a hugely important effort. After these criminals serve their time, we need to deport them. Many jailed illegal immigrants are incarcerated for crimes like rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking. We want to do more than simply get these criminals off our streets; we want to get them out of our nation.

Mr. Speaker, six deputies with the Cobb County Sherriff’s Office recently underwent specialized training with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify illegal immigrants in our jails. Cobb County is the first department in Georgia – and indeed one of the first in the nation – to work with ICE on this initiative. They are setting a fine example for communities across America, and our cities will undoubtedly benefit from the widespread adoption of this program.

After all, our state and local law enforcement officials are our “first responders” in the fight against illegal immigration, and they play a critical role in stopping criminal aliens from harming our citizens.

Here’s how this new program works. Local law enforcement officials travel to Herndon, Virginia to train with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They get experience in immigration law, criminal law, document examination, alien processing and cross-cultural communication.

These trained deputies then return home to their communities, where they work with ICE agents to identify illegal immigrants in local jails by comparing fingerprints with ICE and FBI databases and interviewing prisoners.

The program may be new, but it is already working. In the Cobb County jail alone, which holds nearly 2,200 inmates, law enforcement officials have identified 63 people of interest to federal immigration authorities. That’s 63 rapists, robbers and drug lords that we can get off our streets and out of our country.

Mr. Speaker, we know local law enforcement officials are often our frontline of defense when it comes to identifying and removing illegal immigrants from our communities. As we look for solutions to the current illegal immigration crisis, we must empower our state and local officials and help them coordinate with federal agents.

That’s why I proudly supported an amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations bill we passed on the floor today to support this new and promising ICE program.

Last summer, I examined border security efforts along the U.S./Mexican border. During my trip, I observed our border patrol agents loading up buses and planes with criminal illegal immigrants being deported back to their home countries.

Now, Cobb County is playing a vital role in this process, and I am incredibly proud of their efforts. The Sherriff’s Office is helping rid our society of dangerous criminals who have no business being in the United States.

I especially want to recognize Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, Cobb County Police Chief George Hatfield, and the six Cobb deputies who went through the specialized training: Paul Harrison, Claudia Cross, Marco Cabrera, Olanda Palmer and Paul Diaz. Their effort to uphold the rule of law is commendable, and I urge more local agencies to consider participating in this critical program.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office for its commitment to getting dangerous, criminal illegal immigrants out of our community.

I yield back the balance of my time.