Cobb sheriff renews immigration program
By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

3:16 p.m. Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren has renewed an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that allows his deputies to perform some of the functions of a federal immigration officer.

Eighteen deputies in Cobb have become certified as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and four more will be trained in coming weeks. The program, called 287(g), allows deputies to screen inmates at the jail to determine their immigration status. After local charges are disposed of, inmates who are in the country illegally are turned over to ICE to begin deportation proceedings.

“Our partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been a resounding success and I am proud to continue this association,” Warren said in a press release.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced July 10 that law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program would be required to sign new agreements. The new agreements are uniform and clarify the priorities of the program.

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