REGION: Illegal Immigrants Less Than 7 Percent of People Booked Into Jail

North County Times reported that: Just less than 7 percent of people booked into San Diego County jails were identified as illegal immigrants, according to figures released by the federal government covering a 21-month period between May 2009 and February 2011. The figures suggest that illegal immigrants are not committing more crimes than the general population in the region, a North County Times analysis found. Crimes committed by illegal immigrants are often used by anti-illegal-immigration groups to stir up fear and politicize the heated debate over reform. The statistics come from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Secure Communities program, which helps law enforcement officials identify illegal immigrants booked into county jails. Supporters of the program say it rids communities of dangerous criminals. Bill Flores, a retired assistant sheriff and a member of El Grupo, a North County-based umbrella organization of human rights groups, said the program does not make neighborhoods safer. He said the program and others that link local law enforcement to immigration authorities alienate immigrants, making them less likely to report crime. The program comes at a high cost because it identifies relatively few illegal immigrants, and most of those who are discovered either have no criminal background or have committed relatively minor crimes, such as driving without a license, Flores said.