DC Joins Effort to Identify Illegal Immigrants
Friday, Nov 13, 2009 | Updated 9:18 PM EDT
D.C. police will join other local police departments in a federal program that checks the immigration status of every person booked into a local jail.
Officials announced Thursday that D.C. would join the Secure Communities program. It matches inmates' fingerprints against a federal database to identify illegal immigrants before they are released.
The program began in 2008 but is being expanded under the Obama administration to focus on illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Fairfax County is one of 95 jurisdictions in the program. It differs from a national effort that deputizes local police to question suspects about their immigration status.
Montgomery County also provides names of anyone arrested for a violent crime to immigration authorities.
Copyright Associated Press
