LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — FOX5 recently toured the Clark County Detention Center to see how the 287G federal immigration program works inside the jail.
The 287G program is a federal initiative where local law enforcement connects with federal immigration authorities. At the Clark County jail, officers notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when someone who is foreign-born is booked.
MORE ON FOX5: Inside Clark County Detention Center: Las Vegas police explain 287(G) immigration program
“We’d love to go inside the jail and see exactly how that notification works,” said FOX5 reporter Karla Salinas. “Because there have been kind of a lot of questions in the community about exactly how that happens.”
How the notification process works
The notification happens during the booking process at the front of the jail. When someone who is foreign-born is arrested, an email is sent to ICE with information about the arrest.
“An email would be sent out to ICE, letting them know, ‘Hey, we’ve arrested this person for this specific thing,” Salinas said. “And then from there on, ICE does whatever they need to do.”
ICE sometimes conducts a phone interview to determine whether to place a hold on the inmate. If ICE does not place a hold, the person is processed through the jail like any other inmate.
Officer De Lara showed the reporters around the facility. She said one misconception is that foreign-born inmates are segregated from other inmates.
“Everybody is just with everybody else,” Salinas said. “There is no segregation when it comes to that at any point.”
Inside the booking process
The tour showed the entire intake process from arrest to release. Reporters saw inmates being patted down, placed in prison garb, and moved through body scanners.
“They walked us through the entire process, and from beginning to end,” said FOX5 photojournalist Eric Green.
Inmates wait in a large room on benches to be fingerprinted and processed. They are eventually separated into cells based on security needs determined by a questionnaire.
The jail was busy during the midday visit. Officers told the news crew it was a particularly busy day, with inmates being processed for both misdemeanors and felonies.
“It seemed very chaotic, but it was surprising how organized it actually was,” Green said.
Who can serve ICE warrants
Only specially trained officers inside the jail can serve inmates with papers from ICE. Officers on the street cannot serve ICE warrants.
“If I’m out on the street and I report a crime and then I’m undocumented, can that officer serve me with an ICE warrant? The answer is no,” Salinas said.
Metro officers are not actively working with ICE agents on the streets to pick people up.
The Clark County Detention Center is located downtown between the courthouse and Jimmy John’s. The facility is multiple stories and holds thousands of people.
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