DENVER - The controversy over the Arizona immigration law is spilling over into Colorado and the state's consideration of the "Secure Communities" program.
Jails already run the fingerprints of everyone arrested through a national criminal data base. The Secure Communities program would include screening through the ICE immigration data base.
Fox 31 news checked with local jails to see how they handle suspected illegal immigrants now.
The Jefferson County Sheriffs Department says they have so few suspected illegal immigrants that they don't track it. Arapahoe County Jail Sheriff Grayson Robinson explained deputies there already do a thorough screening of all suspected illegal immigrants through ICE data bases.
He said on any given day, they have up to 120 suspected illegal immigrants in the Arapahoe County Jail on an ICE hold. He said that, since the first of the year, ICE has picked up 520 illegal immigrants after they served their time on the criminal charges they were arrested for.
It's hard to tell what happens in each case, but ICE explained that they generally launch the deportation process. Depending on the person's status, they might be deported as soon as possible or they might go through a judicial process which they can also appeal.
ICE said since the first of the year, it has deported nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants in the Colorado- Wyoming area. The vast majority, more than 3,000, have criminal convictions.
Marat Kudlis, the father of a little boy who was killed in a crash caused by an illegal immigrant who had been arrested but never deported, thinks programs like Secure Communities are a good idea. "I think it's a wonderful idea. I think it's going to help the crime situation with illegal people here," he said.
But immigrant rights groups fear such programs could have unintended consequences.
Julien Ross, with the Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition, fears it might prompt police to arrest people they would otherwise let go, simply to have them deported.
"We're also worried than non offenders, people who have not committed a violent crime will be swept up in this dragnet policy," he said.
Jails already run the fingerprints of everyone arrested through a national criminal data base. The Secure Communities program would include screening through the ICE immigration data base.
Fox 31 news checked with local jails to see how they handle suspected illegal immigrants now.
The Jefferson County Sheriffs Department says they have so few suspected illegal immigrants that they don't track it. Arapahoe County Jail Sheriff Grayson Robinson explained deputies there already do a thorough screening of all suspected illegal immigrants through ICE data bases.
He said on any given day, they have up to 120 suspected illegal immigrants in the Arapahoe County Jail on an ICE hold. He said that, since the first of the year, ICE has picked up 520 illegal immigrants after they served their time on the criminal charges they were arrested for.
It's hard to tell what happens in each case, but ICE explained that they generally launch the deportation process. Depending on the person's status, they might be deported as soon as possible or they might go through a judicial process which they can also appeal.
ICE said since the first of the year, it has deported nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants in the Colorado- Wyoming area. The vast majority, more than 3,000, have criminal convictions.
Marat Kudlis, the father of a little boy who was killed in a crash caused by an illegal immigrant who had been arrested but never deported, thinks programs like Secure Communities are a good idea. "I think it's a wonderful idea. I think it's going to help the crime situation with illegal people here," he said.
But immigrant rights groups fear such programs could have unintended consequences.
Julien Ross, with the Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition, fears it might prompt police to arrest people they would otherwise let go, simply to have them deported.
"We're also worried than non offenders, people who have not committed a violent crime will be swept up in this dragnet policy," he said.
