Arkansas county jail becomes major ICE hub with 450+ arrests this year
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A county jail in Arkansas has become one of America’s busiest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centers, with hundreds of people arrested this year.
According to ICE apprehension data from the University of California, Berkeley, Deportation Data Project reviewed by The Associated Press, more than 450 people were detained in the Benton County Jail from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15; This rate translates into approximately 1.5 arrests per day in a county of more than 300,000 people.
This increase reflects the rapid expansion of cooperative agreements between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities across the country.
In Arkansas, the “Defense Against Illegal Crimes Act” went into effect in August and, among other provisions, increases penalties for illegal immigrants who commit “serious violent crimes.”
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Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the “Defense Against Illegal Crime Act,” which went into effect in August and increases penalties for illegal immigrants who commit “serious violent crimes.” (DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
The law signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders also allows Arkansas sheriffs to communicate with ICE and allows law enforcement to apply through ICE’s federal 287(g) program to serve immigration warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody for other crimes.
According to the AP, most arrests in Benton County occurred through a 287(g) agreement, which allows deputies to question people in jail about their immigration status. The county’s program accounted for more than 4% of all arrests nationwide linked to similar local programs.
The program allows deputies to alert ICE about inmates suspected of being in the country illegally; these inmates are transferred to ICE custody before being transferred a few days later to a detention center in another county. They are then taken to a detention center in Louisiana to face potential deportation.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in September more than 1,000 287(g) program agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies; This is a 641% increase compared to 135 programs. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The AP reported that half of the people arrested by ICE through the program were convicted of crimes, while others were serving sentences.
Recent ICE dockets show people accused of forgery, sexual assault, drug trafficking, theft and public intoxication, the AP reported; there have been many recent cases involving allegations of domestic violence and unsafe driving offences.
Benton County has a high immigrant population compared to the rest of the state, and arrests have risen sharply this year following expanded ICE partnerships and state-level requirements for sheriff cooperation, the AP reported.
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More than 450 people were detained at the Benton County Jail in Arkansas from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehension data reviewed by The Associated Press. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE announced more than 1,000 287(g) program agreements with state and local law enforcement in September. 641% An increase from 135 programs.
While the program has led to the arrest of violent criminals, critics argue that the program also catches juvenile offenders and legal residents. The AP reported that Cristina Osornio, a legal permanent resident of the United States and a mother of six, was jailed following a traffic stop in Benton County, months after her husband was deported to Mexico.
