Progress Illinois

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran has sent a shock wave through an already fearful immigrant community by announcing that he intends to step up measures to have undocumented people deported. By releasing the outcomes of internal audit of the county's prison population - which revealed that roughly 20 percent of inmates are foreign born - Curran expressed hope that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will give priority to the county's application for "287(g)" status.

That designation would allow local authorities who are investigating violent crimes, human smuggling, gang activity, sex offenses, drug smuggling, or money laundering cases to initiate the deportation process typically handled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). So far, 50 municipalities across the country have been awarded the status. While Waukegan and Carpentersville have also applied, Lake County is hoping to become the first here in Illinois.

The audit findings were presented with a jarring message from Curran who said he's ready to put an end to "the terror inflicted by many of these illegal aliens," which he blamed, in part, on Mayor Daley and Cook County officials who have advised local authorities to stay out of immigration issues. After interviewing a majority of Lake County's 137 foreign-born inmates, federal authorities found that only 75 had committed offenses or had an immigration status that was relevant under 287(g).

"Sheriff Curran is lumping together murderers and people who were caught driving without a license ... That concerns me," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "He's messaging that all immigrants are dangerous and waste taxpayer money."

Here's the breakdown on offenses among the Lake County inmates by offense and origin, per Curran:

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI) 25; Aggravated DUI 24; Sex Offenses 22; Drug Offenses 18; Murder 7; Burglary 7; Gun Offenses 4 (not including murders); Theft 3; Home Invasion 3; Robbery 2; Other offenses 7 (...)

105 were from Mexico; 5 were from Poland; 4 were from Puerto Rico (UST); 3 were from El Salvador; 2 were from Canada; 2 were from Honduras; 1 was from the Philippines; 1 was from Columbia; 1 was from Vietnam; 1 was from Pakistan; 1 was from Guatemala; 1 was from Cuba; 1 was from Russia; 1 was from Germany; 1 was from Barbados; 7 inmates were unable or unwilling to provide their birth country to booking staff.

Latinos -- which make up the bulk of Lake County's foreign born inmate population and comprising roughly 19 percent of the population -- increasingly feel under attack in Illinois, Hoyt said. The anxiety even extends to those living in Cook County, which is designated an immigrant sanctuary.

"They're feeling very fearful and they think the country has turned on them," said Hoyt. Anxiety has been heightened by a series of federal sweeps, including one in the Chicago where 144 undocumented were detained earlier this week. A report released by the Pew Hispanic Center yesterday noted that the sentiment in Chicago follows a national trend. The public policy research institution found that 57 percent of Latinos surveyed worry that they, a friend, or a family member will be deported, up from 53 percent last year.