article: SECTION 1. PROGRAM OF IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN DEPORTABLE ALIENS AWAITING ARRAIGNMENT. (a) Establishment of Program.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and subject to such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts, the Attorney General shall establish and implement a program to identify, from among the individuals who are incarcerated in local governmental incarceration facilities prior to arraignment on criminal charges, those individuals who are within 1 or more of the following classes of deportable aliens: (1) Aliens unlawfully present in the United States. (2) Aliens described in paragraph (2) or (4) of section 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as redesignated by section 305(a)(2) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996). (b) Description of Program.--The program authorized by subsection (a) shall include-- (1) the detail, to each incarceration facility selected under subsection (c), of at least one employee of the Immigration and Naturalization Service who has expertise in the identification of aliens described in subsection (a); and (2) provision of funds sufficient to provide for-- (A) the detail of such employees to each selected facility on a full-time basis, including the portions of the day or night when the greatest number of individuals are incarcerated prior to arraignment; (B) access for such employees to records of the Service and other Federal law enforcement agencies that are necessary to identify such aliens; and (C) in the case of an individual identified as such an alien, pre-arraignment reporting to the court regarding the Service's intention to remove the alien from the United States. (c) Selection of Facilities.-- (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall select for participation in the program each incarceration facility that satisfies the following requirements: (A) The facility is owned by the government of a local political subdivision described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C). (B) Such government has submitted a request for such selection to the Attorney General. (C) The facility is located-- (i) in a county that is determined by the Attorney General to have a high concentration of aliens described in subsection (a); or (ii) in a city, town, or other analogous local political subdivision, that is determined by the Attorney General to have a high concentration of such aliens (but only in the case of a facility that is not located in a county). (D) The facility incarcerates or processes individuals prior to their arraignment on criminal charges. (2) Number of qualifying subdivisions.--For any fiscal year, the total number of local political subdivisions determined under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(C) to meet the standard in such clauses shall be the following: (A) For fiscal year 1999, not less than 10 and not more than 25. (B) For fiscal year 2000, not less than 25 and not more than 50. (C) For fiscal year 2001, not more than 75. (D) For fiscal year 2002, not more than 100. (E) For fiscal year 2003 and subsequent fiscal years, 100, or such other number of political subdivisions as may be specified in appropriations Acts. (3) Facilities in interior states.--For any fiscal year, of the local political subdivisions determined under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(C) to meet the standard in such clauses, not less than 20 percent shall be in States that are not contiguous to a land border. (4) Treatment of certain facilities.--All of the incarceration facilities within the county of Orange, California, and the county of Ventura, California, that are owned by the government of a local political subdivision, and satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1)(D), shall be selected for participation in the program. SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall complete a study, and submit a report to the Congress, concerning the logistical and technological feasibility of implementing the program under section 1 in a greater number of locations than those selected under such section through-- (1) the assignment of a single Immigration and Naturalization Service employee to more than 1 incarceration facility; and (2) the development of a system to permit the Attorney General to conduct off-site verification, by computer or other electronic means, of the immigration status of individuals who are incarcerated in local governmental incarceration facilities prior to arraignment on criminal charges. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.
summary: Directs the Attorney General to implement a program to identify aliens held in local incarceration facilities prior to criminal arraignment who are illegally in the United States or who are deportable on criminal or security grounds. Requires that at least one Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) employee with identification expertise be assigned to each program facility. Directs the Attorney General to select facilities for participation that: (1) are owned by requesting local political subdivisions; (2) are located in counties or subdivisions with high concentrations of illegal or deportable aliens; and (3) incarcerate persons prior to criminal arraignment. States that all local facilities within Orange and Ventura Counties, California, that incarcerate prior to arraignment shall be selected for program participation. Sets forth required numbers of qualifying subdivisions, beginning with FY 1999. Directs the Attorney General to report respecting future program enlargement through: (1) computer or other electronic means of off-site status verification; and (2) multiple facility assignment of INS personnel.