"Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, but when illegal immigrants come into our community and commit crimes, it becomes a local enforcement issue and we will not hesitate to use all of the tools at our disposal to ensure the safety of our citizens and the enforcement of our laws,” Warren said in a written statement Monday.

From the Marietta Daily Journal:
Cobb to begin checks for illegals in jail

By Amanda Casciaro
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA - Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Monday to begin identification of illegal immigrants who enter Cobb County Jail.

The pact also provides special training to deputies to allow them to begin deportation of illegal immigrants.

Cobb’s approval of the program makes it the first in the state to gain access to federal immigration data and one of only seven governments nationwide to garner federal approval.

Cobb commissioners approved a resolution Oct. 24 that gave Warren approval to enter the program - a rarely used section of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act.

“Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, but when illegal immigrants come into our community and commit crimes, it becomes a local enforcement issue and we will not hesitate to use all of the tools at our disposal to ensure the safety of our citizens and the enforcement of our laws,” Warren said in a written statement Monday.

Pursuant to the agreement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will train select sheriff’s deputies to determine whether foreign nationals entering custody are in the United States legally.

By way of a federal ICE database that lists names of those thought to be in the country illegally and those here lawfully on work Visas, sheriff’s deputies will initiate paperwork to begin deportation under the watchful eye of an ICE agent.

Before illegal immigrants can be deported, however, they must complete sentences that stem from any local charges and appear in federal immigration court in Atlanta.

The program will allow Cobb resources to be applied in identification of illegal immigrants in the face of slow or unresponsive federal staffing.

“If someone is here illegally and commits a crime, whether a misdemeanor or felony, they need to serve their sentence and be deported,” Warren said. “This program will be a useful tool in accomplishing that goal.”

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department in Charlotte, N.C., began using the database in April, and has seen marked results in regard to residents beginning deportation proceedings, department spokeswoman Julia Rusha said.

“Before the agreement was passed, if someone came into the jail on an aggravated felony or violent crime, we would send an electronic message to ICE in Vermont and say we’ve got this person and here are their fingerprints,” Ms. Rusha said. “We may hear back from them; we may not. I may be an hour; it may be weeks. Now, since we have direct access to their database, we can check it ourselves in a matter of seconds.”

According to Warren, the Cobb Sheriff’s Department is in the process of setting up a meeting with the special agent in charge of the ICE Atlanta field office to determine when to begin training for deputies and how many will receive database access.