Technology Helps Officials Crack Down On Illegal Immigrants

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Computer technology is making it harder for illegal immigrants who get arrested to remain in this country.

Suzanne Collins reports that local jails are now sharing fingerprint information with the feds.

"Spray water on fingers---helps bring out detail---and start with index, which would be four prints like that," said Anne Arundel Detention Center Officer Todd Matson.

Matson is demonstrating a new fingerprinting system, which will be used on inmates booked at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center.  For the first time, that information will be immediately compared to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement database to find if the arrestee is in the country illegally or has committed crimes before.

"It's a good tool for us to identify exactly who is coming into our facility and confirm they're who they say they are," said Anne Arundel County Warden Brenda Shell-Eleazer.

Shell-Eleazer says people sometimes lie about their name. 

The federal government benefits because it can prosecute or deport illegal aliens who present a danger to the community.  Anne Arundel is the seventh Maryland county to join the program.  Others include Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Prince George's, Queen Anne's and St. Mary's counties.

ICE says its priority is to deport people convicted of violent crimes like murder, robbery and rape.  But it also says people who are violating immigration laws are not getting asylum.

An immigrant support group says it has reviewed the records in Prince George's County for the last year and minor offenders are more often affected.

"Somewhere around 83 percent -- as of August -- of the people who had been deported were arrested on misdemeanors or were non-criminals," said Elizabeth Alex, Casa de Maryland.

The group says this is making immigrants afraid to report crime, but the Anne Arundel County Executive disagrees.

"This reduces incidents of racial profiling. Fingerprints don't lie.  It's a good way to determine  if these people are in the country illegally," said County Executive John Leopold.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has deported more than 54,000 people nationwide since starting the program two years ago.