A highly touted partnership between the Prince William County, Va., jail near Washington, D.C., and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is showing signs of strain, says the Washington Post. Crowding at the facility has hit an all-time high and federal agents are taking weeks — not the agreed-on 72 hours — to pick up illegal immigrant suspects.
Jail board Chairman Patrick J. Hurd told ICE director Julie Myers that jail workers are “at or close to their limit” as a result of new local policies that require residency checks of inmates suspected of being in the country illegally. Jail employees with immigration training are working 60 hours a week, and the facility is spending $220,000 a month to house a growing number of inmates elsewhere in the state. “Something’s got to change,” Hurd said. “We’re worried about the impact on our staff.” The unanticipated expense comes as county officials wrangle over budget shortfalls, tax increases and the additional costs of tighter immigration enforcement by its police department, which, like the jail, has a partnership with ICE through a program known as 287(g).
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702470.html?hpid=topnews