Cantor lauds plan to deport incarcerated illegal immigrants

Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, Tuesday praised a federal government plan to more aggressively deport illegal aliens serving time in American jails.

In February, Cantor and two other House Republicans comprising the Alien Criminal Enforcement task force sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking that local police be given access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement database of illegal aliens.

Monday, ICE unveiled its "Secure Communities" plan, "a multi-year initiative to more effectively identify, detain and return removable criminal aliens" being held in U.S. jails, according to an ICE release.

As part of the plan, local police and sheriff's departments would, in fact, be given access to federal immigration information.

In the release, Julie Myers, ICE assistant secretary, described the proposal as "a historic opportunity to transform immigration enforcement." ICE has made "considerable progress" in recent years in removing criminal aliens from the U.S., she said, though, "this comprehensive initiative aims to identify and remove all aliens convicted of a crime."

Last year, ICE charged a record 164,000 aliens in jails and prisons with immigrant violations, according to the release, and deported about 95,000 aliens with criminal histories.

ICE estimated about 300,000 to 450,000 convicted criminal illegal aliens are detained each year at federal, state and local prisons and jails.

The total estimated cost to deport all convicted criminal aliens in police custody would cost from $2 to $3 billion annually, the ICE release said.

Cantor, in his own release Tuesday, "applauded" the plan. He said the initiatives of his ACE task force sought to provide the same tools to local law enforcement agencies - access to the ICE database of illegal aliens.

"If carried out efficiently and in a cost-effective way, it could ensure that criminal illegal aliens are identified and deported," Cantor said.

Other components of the Secure Communities plan would include ICE removal of illegal criminal aliens "based on the threat they pose to the community," U.S. Attorney's Offices prosecuting more criminal aliens who illegally re-enter the country and an increase in ICE's 287(g) immigration enforcement program for local police.

Culpeper Town Council declined to purse the 287(g) route last summer after federal ICE agents refused to talk about the program in open session.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .