Dealing with illegal immigrants

Arizona's immigration law goes into affect today, despite a late-game ruling Wednesday about the hot-button piece of legislation.

Opponents got a victory, as a federal judge blocked the most controversial portions of it, including sections that required police officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws, according to the Associated Press.

The law was signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in April and revived the immigration debate. Opponents say the law would lead to racial profiling, which is illegal.

Here in Highlands County, the rules and regulations regarding the arrest of anyone foreign born - whether in the country legally or illegally - are numerous and specific.

Maj. David Paeplow, detention bureau commander for the Highlands County Sheriff's Office, said when a foreign-born person is brought into jail - no matter the country - copies of his fingerprints, as well as his name and identifying information, is faxed to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office.

"It's just been recently that we've been linked to ICE's fingerprint database," Paeplow.

The foreign inmate's fingerprints are checked against ICE's database. If a hit is made, local law enforcement is contacted and a hold is put on that inmate.

"Sometimes, it's ones who have been deported, and they're back again," Paeplow said.

A hold, or detainer, goes into effect when the person's charges are either dropped or his case is processed through the court system, according to Paeplow.

The detainer is good for 48 hours, and ICE then comes and picks up the illegal immigrant.

For the month of June, Highlands County Jail officials placed four new detainers and ICE picked up 13 inmates, according to Paeplow. In May, there were 18 new detainers and 12 pickups, while April had 9 pickups and 12 detainers.

When a foreign suspect is first taken into custody, it is the arresting officer's responsibility to contact the particular country's consulate, according to Avon Park Police Sgt. Jason Lister.

"There are certain countries that we're required to notify their consulate," Paeplow said. "Certain countries don't care."

A few of those countries that require notification include China, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Russia and the United Kingdom, out of a list of 58.

Mexico and Cuba are not on that list.

Procedures put in place by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement state that, even if a foreign national's country is not on the mandatory notification list, law enforcement officers should offer to notify the suspect's consular officials about the arrest.

The suggested statement the officer uses, according to the FDLE, is, "As a non-U.S. citizen who is being arrested or detained, you are entitled to have us notify your country's consular representatives here in the United States. A consular official from your country may be able to help you obtain legal counsel, and may contact your family and visit you in detention, among other things."

When it comes to a person's illegal immigration status, law enforcement and U.S. customs officials are in the loop. The state attorney's office has nothing to do with illegal aliens and deportation, according to Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin.

"We often, often have them as victims (in criminal cases)," he said.