The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and federal immigration authorities have another tool to keep dangerous criminal immigrants off the streets.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Tuesday began using information-sharing technology that modernizes the process to accurately identify immigrants arrested for crimes in this country.
The program, known as Secure Communities, allows ICE to automatically check criminal and immigration records of everyone booked into custody.
Previously, sheriff's officials were able to get the person's criminal background electronically but they didn't have a way to get immigration information quickly.
Under the old system, many people provided false names, dates of birth and claimed to be U.S. citizens at the time of booking, said David Venturella, Secure Communities executive director.
Verifying biographical information using the previous method required local officials to make a special request to ICE. The process sometimes took days, he said.
With the new system, fingerprints are simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal database and immigration records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. It now takes an average of one to three hours to get accurate immigration information returned, he said.
"For the first time, we get a full and complete picture of the individual," Venturella said. "We're able to take action on people who should not be released back into our communities."
The program started in October 2008 and is in use by 120 jurisdictions in 16 states, including 11 California counties.
Secure Communities has identified more than 18,000 foreign-born individuals charged with or convicted of crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping. Of that number, about 4,000 have been removed from the United States. The remaining number who have been identified but not removed are completing their sentences, according to ICE.
In Los Angeles County, the program has identified 3,522 high-level offenders since it was launched in August.
"It helps people from falling through the cracks," said Capt. Gerald Cooper, who heads the inmate reception center for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "It helps prevent us from allowing very dangerous people from getting out of custody and back into the community when they should be interviewed by ICE and potentially held by ICE."
ICE officials say Secure Communities complements the 287(g) program, which gives local law enforcement the power to perform immigration duties.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department expects the new program to be a success.
"Any level of extra review of arrestees to determine their immigration status is going to be a benefit," said Sgt. Ernie Perez, who oversees the booking process at West Valley Detention Center.
