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Immigration costs higher than expected
The county's crackdown on illegal immigration is costing more than expected, though officials said that is because it is more successful than they had hoped.
On Tuesday, the Board of County Supervisors heard from Police Chief Charlie Dean and Maj. Peter Meletis of the Adult Detention Center.
Last year, officials at the Adult Detention Center began working with federal agents to identify and begin deportation proceedings against all inmates believed to be illegal immigrants.
Until recently, only illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes were processed for deportation.
Since July, detainers have been issued against 393 inmates under the federal 287(g) program, Meletis said.
That's significantly more than expected and Board Chairman Corey Stewart (R-at large) said it's a good sign.
“It's been more successful than we anticipated,” he said.
However, the extra workload resulted in more overtime and paperwork, which has added to the cost of the program. In addition, federal authorities are not taking custody of the illegal immigrants as quickly as agents had said they would so the county is holding those inmates for longer than expected. Housing an inmate locally costs $15 per day. Farming out an average of 30 inmates to other jails because of overcrowding costs $50 per inmate per day.
County Executive Craig Gerhart pointed out that the ADC's illegal immigration costs, estimated at more than $1.3 million for fiscal year 2008, exceed the $1 million per year that had originally been budgeted.
That $1 million per year had been included in the $14 million cost associated with the overall crackdown on illegal immigration.
But now, “I don't think that $14 million number is any good,” Gerhart said, adding that he will submit a more accurate figure once more information is available.
Deane said his wing of the operation is proceeding as planned, although the police department is out of money for the program and needs more to continue.
The board had ordered the police department to begin checking the residency status of suspects believed to be illegal immigrants.
If an officer stops a person for a crime or violation and the officer has probable cause to believe that the person is here illegal, he or she can opt to look into the suspect's immigration status.
“We will not allow racial profiling,” Deane reiterated.
The department has begun training officers and educating community groups about the program, which has not yet been implemented. Once all of the officers are trained, the crackdown will begin, probably in early March.
“We are at the forefront of a national issue,” Deane said, explaining that the department is proceeding cautiously because “this is a very complex area of law.”
“It is clear that local law enforcement has very narrow authority in the area of immigration enforcement,” he said. “We are moving forward as fast as we can.”
However, the money has run out. That's not unexpected, though, since the board's annual budget, passed last spring, didn't include funds for the program.
Startup money for the program was added in the fall, and officials were told to come back before the board when the funds ran out.
Gerhart had recommended that the supervisors give the police department $793,425 from its contingency fund to continue the program.
He said it is “very unusual” for the board to use contingency money to fund a new initiative, but that it could be done without damaging the county's bond rating.
However, Supervisor John Stirrup (R-Gainesville) was absent from Tuesday's meeting and the other supervisors decided that for that type of expenditure, they wanted the approval of all eight members. A decision on the money was delayed until Feb. 19.
In the meantime, Deane was told to continue with the training, the public education and a memorandum of agreement with federal officials.
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