JACKSON, Miss.–A Mississippi senator has announced a plan to create the Mississippi Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, which would give local law enforcement limited powers to arrest illegal immigrants.
The bill, which was introduced in the Mississippi legislature by Sen. Michael McLendon, of DeSoto County, is being backed by DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton, who is responsible for pushing failed legislation to empower bounty hunters to track down and arrest illegal immigrants in the state.
The two held a joint press conference Monday to talk about the bill.
“This division would coordinate efforts to fulfill immigration enforcement at the federal and state level,” said Barton.
The division would be under the Dept. of Public Safety, the same department that is responsible for the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
“I know for a fact that we can come up with a way to get these criminals out of our local jails ad out of Mississippi Dept. of Corrections custody and put them in federal prisons,” said McLendon.
He said the division would need about a half million dollars from the state to begin operation. McLendon said there are currently about 350 illegal immigrants in local and regional jails across the state, being housed at about $65 per day.
Under the bill local law enforcement officers would receive training to help them identify and properly arrest illegal immigrants.
