Immigration agency rejects Fairfax application

AP
Published: November 17, 2008

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)—Fairfax County’s sheriff says federal immigration authorities have denied his bid to enroll deputies in a program that trains local officers to detain criminal illegal immigrants.

Sheriff Stan Barry says his application to enroll 12 deputies was rejected last month by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The program has been touted by other northern Virginia counties, including Prince William County, as part of their crackdown on illegal immigration.

Barry says he was told federal officials were swamped with applications and couldn’t approve new ones. An ICE spokesman, though, denies his agency is rejecting new applicants.

Immigration officials do plan to install technology at the Fairfax jail to check an inmate’s legal status with federal databases.