Sheriff to ID illegal migrant inmates

MANATEE -- Nearly a dozen sheriff's jailhouse deputies will be trained to spot illegal immigrants being booked at the county jail for possible deportation under federal funding approved for the county Thursday. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement program allows authorities to identify prisoners during the booking process, a system officials say can now take days because of fraudulent documents or aliases. It sends home illegal immigrants who have been previously deported or served sentences for certain felonies or violent crimes, said Manatee Sheriff's Maj. Connie Shingledecker, who has worked to obtain the funding since last year. "If they're removed from our community and taken back to their country of origin, hopefully not to return, that has taken a criminal out of our community," Sheriff Brad Steube said. Five... [read full story]