By Carrie Petersen
For the Gazette-Times | Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 12:00 am
ALBANY - If you're suspected of being an illegal alien jailed in Linn County, federal immigration authorities are likely to hear about you.
Unlike, apparently, some other jurisdictions, the Linn County jailers operate under a policy of notifying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they suspect that an inmate might be in the country illegally.
ICE picked up four inmates from the jail last Thursday and three more on Friday. All were from Mexico.
Two of those picked up Thursday, a brother and sister from Salem, had been arrested two days earlier after they reportedly tried to use fake Mexican birth certificates at the Albany DMV office. Another inmate was taken into ICE custody after being cited for driving under the influence of intoxicants. The others were all picked up after serving sentences on charges including DUII, theft, probation violation, giving false information to police, and failure to register as a sex offender.
In the last year, ICE has placed 109 holds on inmates at the Linn County Jail. On Friday, three of the 197 inmates had such holds on them.
A Multnomah County case involving a murder suspect who had previously disclosed that he was not a U.S. citizen has raised questions about how and when immigration officials are notified of possible illegal immigrants who come through Oregon jails.
In Linn County, there are several ways jail staff can learn if someone might not be here legally. They ask everyone who comes into the jail where he was born, and check names in a law enforcement database to see if a person has previously been deported.
Citizens of other countries have the option of having their consulates notified of their arrest.
When jail staff suspect an inmate might not be a U.S. citizen and notify ICE, immigration officials then make the decision about whether to place a hold on the inmate.
First Sgt. Todd Vian, who works at the jail, said he's noticed in the last couple of years that ICE has become more active in what's happening in the jail.
Typically, inmates of foreign nationality complete the court process and sentencing before they are turned over to ICE.
Once turned over to ICE custody, inmates are transported to the Northwest detention center - "an immigration jail" - in Tacoma, Wash., said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.
The 1,000-bed facility allows ICE to hold people pending a hearing with the U.S. Department of Justice to determine whether they should be deported.