[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6633-H6634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2000
             HIGHLIGHTING THE COBB COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the exemplary 
important work of the Cobb County Sheriff's Office. This Georgia agency 
has been screening County Jail inmates to identify and deport illegal 
immigrants. This is a hugely important effort. After these criminals 
serve their time, we need to deport them.
  Many jailed illegal immigrants are incarcerated for crimes like rape, 
armed robbery and drug trafficking. We want to do more than simply get 
these criminals off our streets. We want, Mr. Speaker, to get them out 
of our country.
  Six deputies with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office recently underwent 
specialized training with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to 
identify illegal immigrants in our jails. Cobb County is the first 
department in Georgia and indeed one of the first in the Nation to work 
with ICE on this initiative. They are setting a fine example for 
communities across America, and our cities will undoubtedly benefit 
from the widespread adoption of this program.
  After all, our State and local law enforcement officials are our 
first responders in the fight against illegal immigration. They play a 
critical role in stopping criminal aliens from harming our citizens.
  Here's how this new program works. Local law enforcement officials 
travel to Herndon, Virginia, to train with Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement. They get experience in immigration law, criminal law, 
document examination, alien processing, and cross-cultural 
communication.

  These trained deputies then return home to their communities where 
they work with ICE agents to identify illegal immigrants in local jails 
by comparing fingerprints with ICE and FBI databases and interviewing 
prisoners.
  The program may be new but it is already working. In the Cobb County 
jail alone, which holds nearly 2,200 inmates, law enforcement officials 
have identified 63 people of interest to Federal immigration 
authorities. That is 63 rapists, robbers, and drug lords that we can 
get off of our streets and out of our country.
  Mr. Speaker, we know local law enforcement officials are often our 
front line of defense when it comes to identifying and removing illegal 
immigrants from our communities. As we look for solutions to the 
current illegal immigration crisis, we must empower our State and local 
officials and help them coordinate with Federal agents. And that is why 
I proudly supported an amendment last week to the Homeland Security 
appropriations bill. We passed that on the floor to support this new 
and promising ICE program so that we don't just provide funding to 
communities located within 100 miles of the southern border; otherwise 
Cobb County, Georgia won't have qualified.
  Last summer I examined border security efforts along the United 
States-Mexican border, and during that trip I observed our Border 
Patrol agents loading up buses and planes with criminal illegal 
immigrants being deported back to their home countries. Now Cobb County 
is playing a vital role in this process, and I am incredibly proud of 
their efforts. The sheriff's office is helping rid our society of 
dangerous criminals who have no business being here in the United 
States.
  Especially, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Cobb County Sheriff Neil 
Warren, Cobb County Police Chief George Hatfield, and the six Cobb 
deputies who went through the specialized training: Paul Harrison, 
Claudia Cross, Marco Cabrera, Olanda Palmer, and Paul Diaz. Their 
effort to uphold the rule of law is commendable, and I urge more local 
agencies to consider participating in this critical program.

[[Page H6634]]

  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking the Cobb 
County sheriff's office for its commitment to getting dangerous, 
criminal, illegal immigrants out of our community.

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