ICE ENFORCEMENT IN CAROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND

Immigrants both lawfully and unlawfully present in the US who are booked in local law enforcement custody for a crime will be reported to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, aka ICE in Carroll County, Maryland. Local law enforcement in Carroll County began using a federal information-sharing capability which alerts federal immigration officials using biometrics to identify immigrants booked into local law enforcement’s custody for a crime. This capability is part of Secure Communities—ICE’s comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime from the United States.

Enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allow enforcement agencies to cast a wider net to apprehend and detain criminal immigrants whenever local law enforcement encounters someone whose biometrics information appears in the DHS immigration database. Individuals with fingerprints matching a record in the DHS’ biometric system will be automatically reported to ICE when processed for a crime. This could mean increased detention activity, particuarly over the holidays when drunk driving enforcement activity increases.

“The Secure Communities strategy provides ICE with an effective tool to identify criminal aliens in local custody,” said Secure Communities Assistant Director David Venturella. “Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE’s mission. Our goal is to use biometric information sharing to remove criminal aliens, preventing them from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners.”

See the full ICE Press Release here.