ICE expands its jail print program all along border

Immigration officials announced Tuesday that all 24 counties along the Southwest border are now part of a federal program designed to run fingerprint-based immigration history checks on suspects booked into local jails. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement program, dubbed Secure Communities, debuted in Harris County's jails in October 2008. Since then, the program has expanded to 544 jurisdictions and is scheduled to be used across the country by 2013. Since its launch, the program has helped remove more than 34,600 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, including more than 9,800 classified as "aggravated felons," ICE officials said...more