Prince William's immigration record similar to many jurisdictions

What should the criminal illegal immigration 287(g) program do?

That is the question a year-long study by Migration Policy Institute is asking when comparing jurisdictions like Prince William County to others who have federal immigration enforcement powers.

The study finds that the 72 jurisdictions that use 287(g) have done so by arresting and turning over a large number of individuals who have committed only misdemeanors or traffic offenses. In fact only 50 percent of those illegal immigrants who have been arrested in fiscal 2009 were detained for more serious crimes.

According to the study, Prince William County is typical in its immigration enforcement when compared to other communities in the way they handle criminal illegal immigrants.

For example, Prince William County police arrested and detained for deportation 230 individuals for traffic offenses such as DUI, reckless driving, driving without a license and hit-and-run from October 2009 to August 2010. That’s more than a quarter of all illegal immigrants arrested in the county (overall, there were 829) during that time.

There are some that are worse. Eighty-percent of illegals arrested and detained in Frederick County, Md., had committed traffic offenses or misdemeanors according to the study (159 of the 198). Conversely, approximately 70 percent of criminal illegal aliens who are detained for deportation in places like Las Vegas have committed a serious felony.

According to MPI senior policy analyst Randy Capps, the federal government is sending mixed signals, allowing some communities like Frederick and Prince William to arrest and turn over to ICE those who are committing what are considered lesser crimes.

“There are questions about the intention of the program,” Capps said. “We are led to believe there is a targeted model, but they haven’t been 100 percent clear about it and they certainly have not backed it up in the implementation.”

Capps also went on to say that he doesn’t believe many of those arrested for these misdemeanors and traffic violations pose enough of a security threat to be deported.

Should the person be a repeat drunken driver or someone who physically has caused harm to another person by his driving, that’s a different story, said Capps.

County spokesman Jason Grant defended Prince William’s involvement in the 287(g) program and its corresponding illegal immigration policy, saying that those who are arrested for things like drinking and driving and reckless driving pose safety threats to the community.

“It is fair to ask about the cost of that policy,” said Grant. “…But when you look at the reason we’re doing it, it’s because we want a safe community. Why take someone into physical custodial arrest? Because he’s doing something detrimental to the community. Those people that are doing those things, illegal or legal [status], we want to be a deterrent to that.”

The MPI study also determined that those with immigration enforcement policies had a short-term drop in Hispanic populations. Capps conceded that the poor economy may have played a role in Prince William, but he stated that the combination of the two factors likely forced more people to move to neighboring jurisdictions.

Fairfax County’s Hispanic population grew 9 percent from 2007 to 2009, the same time that Prince William’s dropped 21 percent. Montgomery County, Md.’s Hispanic population grew 19 percent as compared to a 61 percent drop in Frederick County, Md.

However, the study showed a recent rebound in the Hispanic population in the Prince William school system, suggesting either the same families are returning or new Hispanic families are moving in. This was due, in part, to the outreach done by the county’s police department and when “the initial controversies surrounding the 287(g) programs subside.”

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904. The Associated Press contributed to this report.