INS Praises County Jail for Role in Record Criminal Deportations

WASHINGTON —  A successful Los Angeles County Jail pilot project played a significant role in helping the United States achieve an all-time high of criminal deportations, the Immigration and Naturalization Service announced Thursday.

INS officials said the preliminary total of deportations nationwide this year is 31,244, a number that far exceeds its goal of 28,500.

“We are meeting the President’s commitment to make the removal of criminal and other illegal aliens a priority,” INS General Counsel David Martin said in a news conference. “We are pleased with the record-setting results.”

The INS defines “criminal aliens” either as illegal immigrants who have a criminal history in the United States or those who are legal immigrants but have lost their legal residence status because of criminal activity.

Martin singled out the Los Angeles County Jail Project as a program that has contributed to increased deportations this year. Still in its infancy, the 4-month-old project has already resulted in more than 3,000 inmates being interviewed by INS agents upon release from jail and more than 2,100 being taken into INS custody.

“We station officers at the jail so we can interview the individuals and decide which ones are subject to INS custody and then do the paperwork to put them in deportation proceedings,” Martin said. “It enables us to take custody right away and usually results in a removal very promptly.”