Burning Atlanta

Federal immigration officials worked in 15-person teams from 6 a.m. to midnight during that time frame to interview all the inmates and determine their immigration status. The inmates were charged with a range of offenses including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, theft, traffic violations, and probation violation, said Larry Orton, assistant field officer director for the ICE Criminal Alien Program in Atlanta.

Gwinnett County is still waiting to hear whether it will be accepted into a federal program called 287(g) that would allow local jailers to begin deportation paperwork on criminal aliens, said Conway.

“I would like to see a program like this 24/7 at the Gwinnett County jail,” Conway said. “Gwinnett County is safer today because of this operation and the work these ICE agents did.”

Cobb, Whitfield and Hall counties and the Georgia State Patrol already participate in the 287(g) program.

And what do the pro-illegals ALWAYS scream:

Opponents say it would increase the likelihood of racial profiling and create distrust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

Rev. Tracy Blagec, a spokesperson for Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE), said she suspects many of the undocumented aliens in the Gwinnett jail committed only traffic violations.

“This is local enforcement trying to enforce something that should be corrected at the national level,” Blagec said.

She instead advocates federal measures that would speed the path to citizenship, allow more work visas and permit immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.