Immigration officials begin new effort to find undocumented criminals

Under a new federal program, anyone who’s arrested will have go through a fingerprint check - not just to search for a criminal record, but to verify he or she is legally in the country.

KPCC’s Shirley Jahad has the story.

Shirley Jahad: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say checking fingerprints when an arrestee is booked into jail is an efficient way to find criminal illegal immigrants. So they plan to crosscheck the fingerprints of all arrestees. Those in the U.S. illegally could be taken into custody and deported when they’ve served their time for violent offenses or drug crimes.

George Lund heads the detention office for ICE in Los Angeles.

George Lund: If someone does have some record based on their fingerprints, that information will be looked at by our officers. And on a case-by-case basis, we’ll determine whether that person is removable.

And second of all, was that offense either that they were previously convicted of or just arrested for, would that rise to something we believe to be level one offenses, those convictions or arrests that we believe to be the greatest threat to the community.

Jahad: Authorities say the system is fair because everyone gets checked upon arrest. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers say it’s not fair to check someone who’s been arrested but not yet convicted. They also say it’ll cost too much to check the immigration status of everyone who’s arrested.