(A) If a person is charged with a criminal offense and is confined for any period in a jail of the State, county, or municipality, or a jail operated by a regional jail authority, a reasonable effort shall be made to determine whether the confined person is an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

(B) If the prisoner is an alien, the keeper of the jail or other officer must make a reasonable effort to verify whether the prisoner has been lawfully admitted to the United States or if the prisoner is unlawfully present in the United States. Verification must be made within seventy-two hours through a query to the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) of the United States Department of Homeland Security or other office or agency designated for that purpose by the United States Department of Homeland Security. If the prisoner is determined to be an alien unlawfully present in the United States, the keeper of the jail or other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security.

(C) Upon notification to the United States Department of Homeland Security pursuant to subsection (B), the keeper of the jail must account for daily expenses incurred for the housing, maintenance, transportation, and care of the prisoner who is an alien unlawfully present in the United States and must forward an invoice to the Department of Homeland Security for these expenses.

(D) The keeper of the jail or other officer may securely transport the prisoner who is an alien unlawfully present in the United States to a federal facility in this State or to any other point of transfer into federal custody that is outside of the keeper of the jail or other officer's jurisdiction. The keeper of the jail or other officer shall obtain judicial authorization before securely transporting a prisoner who is unlawfully present in the United States to a point of transfer that is outside of this State.

(E) If a prisoner who is an alien unlawfully present in the United States completes the prisoner's sentence of incarceration, the keeper of the jail or other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security and shall securely transport the prisoner to a federal facility in this State or to any other point of transfer into federal custody that is outside of the keeper of the jail or other officer's jurisdiction. The keeper of the jail or other officer shall obtain judicial authorization before securely transporting a prisoner who is unlawfully present in the United States to a point of transfer that is outside of this State.

(F) Nothing in this section shall be construed to deny a person bond or from being released from confinement when such person is otherwise eligible for release. However, pursuant to the provisions of Section 17-15-30, a court setting bond shall consider whether the person charged is an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

(G) The State Law Enforcement Division shall promulgate regulations to comply with the provisions of this section in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 23, Title 1.

(H) In enforcing the terms of this section, no state officer shall attempt to make an independent judgment of an alien's immigration status. State officials must verify an alien's status with the federal government in accordance with 8 U.S.C. Section 1373(c).

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 280, Section 11, eff June 4, 2008; 2011 Act No. 69, Section 7, eff January 1, 2012.

Effect of Amendment

The 2011 amendment in subsection (C), inserted "transportation,"; inserted new subsections (D) and (E); redesignated former subsections (D) to (F) as subsections (F) to (H); and made other nonsubstantive changes.