Jury’s Jail Report Faces Rejection

The Board of Supervisors is expected to reject a host of recommendations made in a controversial grand jury report on the impacts of illegal immigrants on the county’s jail overcrowding.

A response, prepared by the county’s administrative office, basically determines that the recommendations are unnecessary or out of the county’s jurisdiction.

The grand jury report called on the board to pay for a task force to study the impact of “non-citizen felons” on the county jail system and transfer of those inmates to federal prisons. The report also urged the county to seek reimbursement from the federal government for housing non-citizens.

The proposed response--expected to be adopted Tuesday--states that: A task forces is unnecessary because county staff is currently studying the impacts of housing illegal immigrants in the county’s jail system; no further lobbying of the federal government for reimbursement is needed because there are already ongoing efforts; and the board has no jurisdiction or influence over the federal government’s ability to establish and maintain federal jail housing.