Arundel Policy Change Finds More Suspected Illegal Immigrants

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold’s office says a new policy at county jails has helped flag foreign-born prisoners for federal immigration officials.

Under the policy that began in March, federal authorities are contacted immediately when immigrants are processed at the jails so their status can be checked. Previously, the reports were made once a week, meaning some inmates were released from jail before immigration authorities were notified.

In the two months before the change, three inmates were released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the four weeks since the new policy began, 45 inmates were reported, more than half were identified as possible candidates for deportation proceedings and 13 were released to ICE custody.