U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is targeting illegal aliens in county jails who have been arrested, even if they haven't been convicted of anything, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports.
"Even while charges are pending in criminal court, people have been going into ICE detention as they get out of criminal detention," immigration lawyer Nina Bonyak told the Desert Sun.
"They get arrested, somebody posts their bond on the criminal side and as they are walking out ICE picks them and they go into an immigration hold. They are not even given an opportunity to fix their criminal issues."
ICE has expanded its efforts under President Donald Trump to deport unauthorized immigrants, but Trump when he first signed executive orders in February to enforce the nation's deportation laws more aggressively said those efforts would focus on removing immigrants with criminal records.
A report by the Washington Post shows that about half of the 675 aliens arrested in raids around the time Trump took office either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses as their most serious crimes.
ICE has expanded its reach to courthouses, and now, jails. And when agents want to question or detain immigrants who are in jail, they put in a detainer request, a practice that grew dramatically during the Obama administration. And Trump is following in his footsteps.
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