3 more Ga. counties join immigration fingerprint program

WASHINGTON - Three more Georgia counties have joined a federal immigration fingerprint program.

Henry, Spalding and Rockdale counties are now part of the initiative whose goal is to identify violent non-citizens for deportation.

The program was already being used in Hall, Forsyth, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Muscogee and Whitfield counties. It is expected to be in place in all of metro Atlanta by the end of September.

Jailers are already fingerprinting people booked into their jails, and the prints are checked against millions held in state and FBI databases. The checks help jailers confirm identities and search for criminal records and arrest warrants.

Under the Secure Communities program, the fingerprints are checked against more held by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including those of people caught crossing the border illegally.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimates the program will be in all 159 Georgia counties by September 2013.