Barrow, Newton and Walton counties this week joined a federal immigration enforcement program called "Secure Communities."
Intended to help determine whether people are in the country illegally, the $200 million program compares the fingerprints of those booked into local jails against millions of other prints held in federal databases.
When matches are found, federal immigration officials could seek to deport the inmates. Those deportees could be illegal immigrants or non-citizens who are in the country legally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, however, say they are first focusing on deporting people who have committed violent crimes.
Thirteen other Georgia counties – including Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett – are participating in the program. ICE officials say their goal is to get the program up and running nationwide by 2013.
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