INS Roots Out Illegal Immigrants at County Jail

For immigration agent Edwin DeQuiros, the hunt began on the third floor of the Ventura County Jail.

Somewhere up there, the jail computer had told him, sat men accused of committing crimes who also might be in the United States illegally. As part of a new jailhouse program to root out illegal immigrants, DeQuiros aimed to find out for sure.

Making his way past security checkpoints and heavy steel doors, the nine-year veteran of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service plunged into the heart of the inmate population and started asking questions.

DeQuiros found a man suspected of burglary and possession of cocaine who acknowledged that he was in the country illegally. He found another who admitted the same thing, although he was only waiting to go to court on a traffic violation.

Faced with the truth about their undocumented status, both men volunteered to be deported upon their release, joining about 70 others who have been fished out of County Jail and set up for deportation since the pilot program was launched last month.

“I would say it has been very successful,” DeQuiros said. “It means that when they are released from jail, they just don’t go back into the community.”

This is the new frontier in Ventura County’s battle against illegal immigration.

Under the six-month program, two INS agents have been assigned full time to scour the County Jail, identifying illegal immigrants before they go to court and tagging them for deportation once they do their time.

Such early identification serves several purposes, officials say.

Those who are plucked out of the jail population and formally deported by an immigration judge can be prosecuted for a felony if they return.

In addition, the screening process allows the county to measure the costs of jailing undocumented immigrants and apply for government reimbursement. Last week, county jail officials announced they will receive $564,000 for fiscal year 1996-97 from the federal government, reimbursement for imprisoning illegal immigrants convicted of felony offenses.

More important, officials say, the program takes criminals off the streets of this country and sends them back where they came from.

“For too long we have allowed some of the most dangerous illegal immigrants to slip through the criminal justice system and remain in our communities,” said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who tacked an amendment onto a sweeping immigration reform bill authorizing the pilot program in jails in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Anaheim.

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Next month, that same bill, authorized by Congress earlier this year, also will add two INS agents and two Border Patrol agents to the county’s depleted Border Patrol station in Camarillo.

“It’s bad enough having to deal with criminals who have a legal right to be in this country,” Gallegly added. “But it’s inexcusable for those crimes to be committed by people who have no legal right to be here and then have them released back into society.”

But critics worry that such jailhouse examinations could infringe on the civil rights of inmates, and that in the end they do little to deter illegal immigration or save taxpayers money.

“Time and time again, the argument against allowing illegal immigrants into the country is the bite they take out of everybody’s tax dollars,” said attorney Oscar Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Ventura County Mexican-American Bar Assn.

“But we’re not talking about deporting them to a Mexican jail and allowing them to serve out their sentences there,” he said. “There’s no tax savings here. This is nothing short of a double punishment based on their lack of legal entry into the United States.”

Added Oxnard-based legal aid attorney Eileen McCarthy: “My concern is that, especially in this era of the scapegoating of immigrants, the government may cast its net too broadly and civil rights violations may occur. The danger is that there may be immigrants, particularly Latinos, who are wrongfully deported as a result of this practice.”

During their first month at the County Jail, INS agents screened 106 inmates identified as having been born in a foreign country.

Of those interviewed, 67 were set up for deportation, either because they were in the country illegally or because they were legal residents who committed crimes of “moral turpitude,” thus forfeiting their right to live in the U.S.

Most of those who were found to be deportable came from Mexico, although there were some from Central America and one from England. They were arrested on charges ranging from the sale of drugs to driving while under the influence.

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In raw numbers, the Ventura County Jail population--legal and illegal--is relatively small compared to its southern neighbors.

During a 60-day trial run at the Anaheim City Jail earlier this year, 421 of the 1,903 inmates interviewed were in the country illegally. And at the Los Angeles County Jail, the INS operation identifies between 800 and 900 deportable immigrants every month.

Officials say it’s too early to tell whether the Ventura County program will have similar success, but the agents are off to a good start.

“Of those [inmates] interviewed, 63% are either deportable or are eligible for removal from the country,” said Richard Rogers, director of the INS district that encompasses Ventura County. “That makes it profitable for us to be there and profitable for the communities they would have gone back into.”

Ultimately, the pilot program could also help answer some long-held questions about the costs of illegal immigration to county taxpayers.

A 1993 study requested by Gallegly estimated that the county spent about $2.9 million a year jailing undocumented immigrants. Figuring the average length of stay for inmates was 126 days and the average daily cost per inmate was about $51, officials were able to determine the approximate cost of housing 462 inmates during fiscal year 1992-93.

Jail officials at the time were quick to admit that that number was based on a lot of guesswork.

But they say no matter what the costs, no matter how many illegal immigrants are sent packing, the screening and deportation process is a valuable crime-fighting tool.

“We don’t have to wait for them to create another victim,” said Capt. Gary Pentis of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. “That’s a big dividend to the community.”

In coming months, INS agents hope to make their way through a significant portion of the jail population to provide a more accurate measure of the number of illegal immigrants.

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And Gallegly said he already is laying the groundwork to extend the program, not only in Ventura County but in other areas.

“My position is that it won’t be a success if we’re not finding more than 2% or 3% who are here illegally,” he said. “But I don’t believe that’s going to be the case. And once we know those numbers, it’s going to make it a lot harder for people to continue to demagogue and say this isn’t an issue.”