Secure Communities Costs Los Angeles County More Than $26 Million A Year: Report
WASHINGTON -- Los Angeles County is spending more than $26 million a year to hold undocumented immigrants under a federal immigration enforcement initiative, individuals it would otherwise release, according to a report on Thursday. Critics say that demonstrates the high cost of the program, in which some local governments would rather not participate.
The report by Justice Strategies found that the cost of Secure Communities, a cooperative program between local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is steep mainly because jails hold suspected undocumented immigrants are held an average of 20 days longer at ICE's request than they otherwise would. The advocacy group examined public records from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provided to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.