More than 900 Gwinnett Inmates to be Deported… But Not Really
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The processing “surge” conducted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Gwinnett County Jail identified over 900 arrestees in our county illegally and, thereby, eligible for deportation. Over 300 have already been awarded a one-way trip south of the border… but the rest probably won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
The 13 accused murderers… the 15 alleged rapists… the 28 accused armed robbers… the 23 alleged child molesters…. the 17 arrested for burglary and the one who allegedly killed somebody with his vehicle… all will be tried and adjudicated before they are deported, if at all. And most serious cases can take months, if not years to be resolved.
Conversely, the approximately 400 who were arrested for minor offenses including traffic charges will most likely be shipped out as soon as they post bond. Depending on the offense, those who cannot afford to post bond may be deported anyway.
I was not opposed to the ICE effort. I saw it not only as the Feds taking responsibility for a problem that should be addressed at the federal level but as a significant cost savings to the county. At $45 dollars a day—the cost to house one prisoner– if the time spent in jail by the 907 lawbreakers is reduced by just one day each, the county will save a little over $40,000. That almost enough to fund a deputy’s position for a year. I have no doubt that the savings to the county by this effort alone will be much higher.
But there is a better way. The County Commission could simply adopt an ordinance requiring all businesses, as a condition of receiving or renewing a business license, to enroll in the E-Verify program. E-Verify is a federal program in which employers can quickly and easily verify the work eligibility of their new hires. Illegal workers are prohibited from working after being confirmed as ineligible and the penalties are stiff for companies that continue to employ illegal workers.
Requiring businesses to enroll in E-Verify would cost the county nothing and would essentially eliminate the primary reason that illegal immigrants come to Gwinnett in the first place—jobs.
Factoids: The “surge” began with 752 foreign-born arrestees in-house. During the 26 days, 857 foreign-born arrestees were booked in. Of the 1,609 total foreign-born arrestees, 907 were identified by ICE as in-country illegally…. or over 56% of all foreign-born arrestees. Fifty-four percent of the 907 had been arrested at least once before; one Nigerian male illegal alien had been booked in 11 times.
One “open borders” apologist noted that the largest single category of offense by illegal aliens was “Driving Without a License,” as if it was “unfair” to deport them just because of a minor traffic violation.
I would point out that entering the U.S. illegally is a federal offense. Further, individuals driving without a license are usually discovered because they committed an act of unsafe driving in the presence of a police officer; had an accident (often without insurance coverage); or committed a more serious offense like Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs.
Finally, it is highly unlikely that those arrested for “minor” traffic offenses were caught during their very first time behind the wheel. Most probably violated the traffic laws daily… much like they violate federal immigration law…. daily.
Rev. Tracy Blagec, a spokesperson for Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE), said she suspects many of the undocumented aliens in the Gwinnett jail committed only traffic violations.
More than 900 Gwinnett inmates to be deported | ajc.com
