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ICE utilizes new beds in Henderson
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Las Vegas police officer David Gonzalez fingerprints an inmate as part of a program to determine whether inmates are in the country illegally. Jason Bean/Las Vegas Review-Journal » Buy this photo
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Feb. 26, 2011 | 4:21 p.m.
The newly expanded Henderson Detention Center is attracting scores of new residents.
Federal officials in recent weeks began moving some of their inmates into the facility, saying they needed more jail beds because of stepped-up immigration enforcement.
Previously, local inmates from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were housed exclusively in the North Las Vegas Detention Center while they awaited appearances in immigration court.
ICE now is renting 80 beds in Henderson, according to Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman.
"We're enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with the city of Henderson," she said. "They have a beautiful facility."
ICE pays $96.96 per inmate per day to rent the beds in Henderson, said police spokesman Todd Rasmussen. ICE is expected to eventually house up to 160 inmates there, he said.
North Las Vegas' jail has 150 beds for ICE inmates and charges $105.96 per inmate per day.
Changes in enforcement strategies of the Department of Homeland Security have increased the number of illegal immigrants being detained and deported.
The Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas in late 2008 became one of the more than 70 law enforcement agencies nationwide to have forged a partnership with ICE, which falls under Homeland Security's umbrella.
The local partnership, called "287(g)" after its corresponding section of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, allows specially trained officers at the Clark County Detention Center to identify immigration violators and place "immigration detainers" on them. The detainers let officers hold deportable inmates after they otherwise would be released so immigration officials can take custody of them.
In July, ICE brought its Secure Communities program to jails in Clark County. The program entails checking the fingerprints of every individual arrested and booked into custody against both FBI criminal history records and immigration records.
If the fingerprints match someone who has had previous contact with ICE, the system automatically notifies the agency, which can decide whether to target the person for potential deportation based on previous criminal records.
"Any criminal aliens that come from those programs will roll into our custody eventually," said Thomas Feeley, a deputy field office director for ICE's detention and removal operations. "We had the need for additional bed space due to our efforts to target criminal aliens."
The county jail doesn't have space to hold illegal immigrants as they await appearance in immigration court.
Critics say the use of programs such as 287(g) harm relationships between police and immigrant communities and make people afraid to report crimes.
The programs also have contributed to the all-time high number of unresolved local cases at Las Vegas Immigration Court, say those familiar with the workings of the court.
The court's backlog of cases grew by more than 80 percent in 2010 -- the third highest increase in the nation, according to an analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, TRAC, a nonprofit group at Syracuse University that tracks federal law enforcement activities.
The local court's backlog reached 2,226 cases in December. The backlog was 1,144 in 2009 and 1,028 in 2008.
The backlog mirrors a national trend.
Henderson began work on the expansion to its detention center in early 2010, and a grand opening was Feb. 9.
The expansion adds 250 beds to the existing facility, for a total of 540 beds. New health care facilities, recreation yards, inmate programs areas and office space were included in the expansion. Henderson also will revamp the older part of the detention center as part of the $29 million project. That renovation is scheduled for completion in July.
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.
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Gary you think so? Until one of these people kills or rapes one of your family members. Good job ICE, keep going locking them up and deporting. The country is behind you.
With the ever-increasing number of law school graduates, it appears this is just another means to allow employment for lawyers, judges, and law clerks. This illegal immigration dilemma is costing taxpayers in more ways than what meets the eye. We shouldn't allow immigration to absorb such a substantial amount of our budget. This is becoming ludicrous.
Nice job Henderson Council. Way to make Henderson a storage capital of Nevada for illegal immigrants. If this is your plan solve Henderson budget problems, I say vote all of you out.
@bghs1986...That's quite a reach there, fellow. Why would I go to jail if I was mugged? I don't speak with an accent, have been finger printed several times for passport, notary bond, sensitive work assignments, etc., and I don't believe that the police would waste their time on me. The same goes for ICE.....
Go take a nap. You seem to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. Your arguments don't hold water.
@ lawyerjim,,, There was enforcement mandates and certainly mandates weren’t funded this is exactly what I said and I guess you are agreeing. If you want to compare parties concerning this issue insinuating I would defend either party you are wrong. Both democrats and republicans deliberately failed for a couple decades, both with their own agendas. It is now the democrats that are more willing to continue this failure and more republicans looking at enforcement, a huge flip flop for some. So what is it you want to argue about? That I want the criminals deported and change the 14th amendment to its original intent and not used by criminals to circumvent our immigration laws? I have no double standard I have been active with this issue for 15 years and equally upset at both parties. A typical liberal spewing bull like you know me.
Joe C ... I know exactly what was in the 1986 amnesty bill that reagan signed. He gave amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens without requiring that the boarders be closed or guaranteed enforcement of immigration laws. If Obama gave amnesty to 1 illegal alien there would be impeachment charges filed. Typical "conservative" double standards.
@richka321...Where exactly will this fingerprint check take place? Hint: It won't be out in the field. It will be at where LE keeps their fingerprinting tools. JAIL. And exactly how "quick" do you think it will take to verify your id that way. Not everyone has their prints on file, mind you. Without an arrest or some sort of employment/licencing requirement, there is no reason the government has your prints. Bottom line, if you think that a cop suspicious of your legal right to be here, will put a "rush" on finding out who you are, you are dreaming. What world do you live in that has ever seen the DMV or the Social Security, accomplish anything in "minutes?""
I helped build the new jail. Nice state-of-the-art compound. The beds were needed badly so our court system can process illegals separately.
@ lawyerjim,,,, Well actually jim there was enforcement mandates in Reagan’s amnesty that were never funded. Nor was enforcement funded in the several amnesty pushed by Ted Kennedy after 86. I guess after you accidently (cough cough) kill a young woman on a drunken binge and get away with it, why would you consider enforcement important. Nice hero you have there jim, nothing like having powerful connections. Oh and Reagan compared to Obama is a saint and I didn’t care for Reagan. At least try and know what happened concerning the 86 amnesty.
What a joke,160 "beds" at 100 dollars a day.Endless supply of "our " tax dollars forever and ever to do with as our politicans want to ensure political correctness and not offend anyone EXCEPT THEIR OWN PEOPLE! We are headed for third world status on the express lane.