Police Agencies Want in on Deporting InvadersFour police agencies in northwest Arkansas have applied for federal authority to detain illegal immigrants who commit crimes and to help deport them from the United States. Springdale, Rogers, Washington County and Benton County have applied for the program. It would give them authority to question illegal immigrants and initiate the deportation process. The program covers illegal immigrants arrested on misdemeanors and felonies, as well as those in the country on expired work or student visas. The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation estimates that about 50,000 illegal immigrants live in Arkansas. If the four agencies are accepted into the program, they could have as many as 19 certified agents combined who would identify illegal immigrants, investigate criminal cases and make deportation recommendations to federal judges. (Conducting interviews on this topic was Al Garza, the National Executive Director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.)
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