"This is something I am very interested in and something I campaigned on," Smith said. "It is something we will be looking into, and I want to implement it as quickly as possible."
More and more Georgia law enforcement agencies began to ask for help from ICE after a state law took effect in July 2007 requiring jailers to make "a reasonable effort" to determine if prisoners were in the country illegally.
Hall County is one of only a few communities in the state with a full-fledged partnership with federal immigration officials. Since Hall jailers became certified as ICE agents in April, the number of illegal immigrants booked into the Hall County Detention Center has been cut in half, according to Hall County Sheriff Steve Cronic.
Once word spread through the community about the ICE program, illegal immigrants moved out of Hall County or grew more cautious about breaking the law, Cronic said.
Area sheriffs warming to ICE role | joe.johnson@onlineathens.com
Further proof that if we enforce the current laws they will either fly below the radar or get out. Of course my preference is the latter.
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