Deputies finish ICE training in Hall County

GAINESVILLE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement held a multi-state graduation Monday in Hall County for 37 law officers who finished a five-week training course in how to identify criminals and immigration violators.

Colorado State Patrol Sgt. D.J. Brown brought two officers who traveled the longest distance for the training.

"It was just an issue that our legislature and our government decided we were going to address," Brown said. "I would have never thought in my career that I would have been involved in immigration issues. People in our state have wanted to address this issue for a long time."

Nine Hall County deputies also graduated, learning how to determine immigration status of those arrested and processed at the county jail.

Sheriff Steve Cronic said the training is not anti-immigrant, but is focused on violators processed through the county jail.

"It's anti-illegal immigrants who continue to break the law while they are here," Cronic said. "Those are the people this is aimed at."

Cronic said seven deputies will put their training to work at the county jail. One is a drug agent and one is a Gang Task Force agent.

Both officers will use their immigration training in the field.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Executive Director Jim Pendergraph said the training program means more work for ICE, but he said his officers can handle it.

"They will have another means they didn't have before this to finger print and identify an immigrant as to what their immigration status is," Pendergraph said.

"They're going to find people who have been deported before, wanted people and they'll find fugitives."

In all, there were nine agencies from around the country that had officers complete the training:

*Hall County Sheriff's Office (GA) - 9 deputies
*Whitfield County Sheriff's Office (GA) - 6 deputies
*Butler County Sheriff's Office (OH) - 8 deputies
*Durham Police Department (NC) - 1 officer
*Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office (NC) - 5 deputies
*Colorado State Patrol - 2 officers
*El Paso County Sheriff's Office (CO) - 5 deputies
*Florida Department of Law Enforcement - 1 officer

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