Local Program Spawns Bill to Post INS Officers at Jails

WASHINGTON — Citing a trial program’s success in Ventura County jails, Rep. Elton Gallegly and eight other California Republican congressmen introduced a bill Wednesday to permanently station Immigration and Naturalization Service officers in as many as 100 counties across the country with high concentrations of illegal immigrants.

The bill would continue a program already in place in Ventura County, as well as a similar effort at the Anaheim city jail.

Under the legislation, other counties could petition the federal government to require the INS to station officers full time at certain jails, including those operated by cities.

The congressmen argued that the program would make it easier for the INS to deport illegal immigrants jailed for a variety of misdemeanor and felony offenses.

Since the November start of the trial program in Ventura County, “over 66% of those interviewed in the . . . jails were found to be illegal aliens,” enabling INS officers to target them for deportation, said Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

Virginia Kice, INS western regional spokeswoman, said that while the INS is “pleased with the results” in Ventura County, it does not support expanding the program to city jails, which the legislation would allow.

“We are not convinced that using INS on a regular basis at city jails is the best use of valuable resources. Ultimately, 90% of the ‘serious’ criminals end up at the County Jail,” she said.

In Ventura County, the program allows INS agents to identify jailed suspects before their arraignment on criminal charges for possible formal deportation. Those convicted and sentenced to prison terms face deportation hearings after completing their sentences.

Immigrants who are formally deported could face felony charges and as much as 15 years imprisonment if they return to the United States. Some charged with misdemeanors are offered voluntary deportation.

The legislation would mandate that INS officers have a presence at jails during peak hours but would not provide funds for additional personnel.

Along with the Ventura County program, INS officers already routinely visit county jails in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties.

As a result, almost 11,000 illegal immigrants were identified for formal deportation during the six-month period ending March 31, INS officials said.

In the Ventura County program, 404 illegal immigrants are in the formal deportation process.

Gallegly said Wednesday that the recent killing of Isabel Guzman, a Santa Paula restaurant owner, might have been averted had the program been in place earlier. Felix Magana, an immigrant who had been arrested three times previously on assault charges, was recently sentenced to 25 years to life for Guzman’s murder in November.

In another case, an illegal immigrant who was twice deported is now suspected of raping two women and attacking a third in Thousand Oaks earlier this year. Jose Zavala, 21, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing today.

Appearing at the news conference with Gallegly were Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Ron Packard, (R-Oceanside), Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Brian P. Bilbray (R-San Diego), Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Escondido), Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar) and Ken Calvert (R-Riverside).

The Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside sheriff’s associations have all expressed support for the legislation, according to Gallegly.