No changes expected for now in ICE accord
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By Kipp Hanley
Published: August 5, 2008
The immigration enforcement 287(g) agreement between the City of Manassas and Immigration & Customs En-forcement looks like it will stay the same for now in spite of impending changes to the way the federal government will be handling the criminal illegal alien issue.
Last month, Manassas Police Chief John J. Skinner informed the council that ICE was considering releasing local non-violent criminal aliens on personal recognizance. Currently, all illegal aliens arrested for any crime are being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail.
ICE was also considering removing some crimes that would be deportable offenses.
The list includes virtually every violent or non-violent criminal act, including loitering, trespassing and driving under the influence.
But on Monday, Skinner informed council that these changes will not happen before ICE begins to implement its Secure Communities Initiative. This national program will connect all local, state and federal jails in an effort to identify, detain and remove criminal illegal aliens.
According to ICE statistics, only 10 percent of local jails are screened for foreign-born nationals, compared with 100 percent of all state and federal facilities.
The Secure Communities program will be set up in tiers, with level one for major drug offenders, kidnappers and violent criminals, level two reserved for people committing property or non-violent offenses and level three for all others convicted of other
offenses.
Last year, ICE charged approximately 164,000 illegal aliens in jails and removed approximately 95,000 criminal illegal aliens.
By keeping its own set of standards, Manassas joins Prince William County, Manassas Park and the town of Hern-don as the only jurisdictions nationwide with this offense criteria, Skinner said.
"They [ICE] wanted to continue to cooperate with Prince William County and Manassas, and part of that was if it meant leaving those addendums in there ... then it was going to be OK with them," Skinner said. Efforts to reach ICE via telephone on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Since the program's inception last July, 860 criminal illegal aliens have been processed with deportation detainers, 747 of them have been released to ICE custody and 25 or fewer at the jail are awaiting transfer, Skinner said.
Staff reporter Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on August 08, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Lets face it Ray no matter how you twist the words legal immigrant and illegal immigrant around, a clear and overwhelming majority supports tougher border and employer enforcement when it comes to illegal immigrants. If going back to 1968 or 1969 by which you mean lower crime rates, lower food and gasoline prices then i am all for it. Who wants high food and gas prices and high interest rates like the 70’s and 80’s. Bring back the good parts of the past. LOL Chris Cummings
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Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on August 08, 2008 at 5:10 pm
That’s ok because the candidates who won have been suprisingly tough on the enforcement of 287<g> Thank God. Just look at the recent news stories the past couple of days. Manassas and Mansasas Park enforcement has been just as tough as PWC’s enforcement. Kudos to the govt. there. By the way did i tell you i am not a member of HSM although that does sound like a good idea. LOL Chris Cummings
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on August 08, 2008 at 6:46 am
Funny how 70% of the people polled want stricter immigration enforcement, but when they actually go to vote, they support candidates with a broader range of thought.
In the City of Manassas the hand-picked HSM candidates were trounced in the Republican Primary by persons with more moderate immgration policies. So out the window go the polls and reality returns in the fact that those haters of immigrants are simply ignorant people that want their neighborhoods to look like they did when they were kids.
Welcome to the look of the world in 2008 - it ain’t 1968 any more.
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Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on August 06, 2008 at 12:39 am
Most legal immigrants 70% or higher in all pols want tougher immigration enforcement. Consider this nice by most peoples standards and the law. LOL Chris Cummings
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