SAN DIEGO -- As the debate heats up nationwide over the affects of illegal immigration on the U.S., there is a new program in San Diego County aimed at catching illegal immigrants accused of crimes.

A new program inside downtown San Diego’s Central Jail targets immigrants arrested for crimes. The program is called the Criminal Alien Program.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, screen people who have been arrested to identify anyone foreign born. Illegal immigrants can be deported, along with legal residents or visa holders who commit a serious crime.

"We're moving more aggressively into prisons and jails in order to remove the criminal element that doesn’t need to be in the U.S. at all,” said Michael Magee of ICE.

Since the program started on Jan. 28, it has identified 1,200 people in the jail who qualified for deportation -- about one-third illegal immigrants.

Last month alone, the program identified 381 deportable immigrants locked up for a broad range of crimes.

"Whether it be drunk in public, driving under the influence, to more severe crimes, burglary or armed robbery," said Lt. Mark Hays of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The immigration department was already screening in state and federal prisons, and in the courts.

What is new about this program is that it targets those brought to Central Jail -- for local crimes -- illegal immigrants whom, if not prosecuted, would have previously been released to the streets.

"These are people from another country that have come here to commit a crime. I don't think anyone across the spectrum would disagree that they don't need to be here and we should deport them," said Magee.

But, there is some disagreement.

"We have cases where U.S. citizens for drug offenses get deported to Mexico," said Christian Ramirez of the American Friends Service Committee.

Ramirez said citizenship can sometimes be tough to prove and if immigrants came to the U.S. illegally as young children and then wound up arrested as adults, they could be deported to a country that is now completely foreign to them.

"We really are not getting rid of them by deporting them. They keep coming back," added Ramirez.

Ramirez called the program political grandstanding and an attempt to free up beds in local jails.

By next year, the number of agents working in the program will double.

Magee, who supervises the program in San Diego, was just promoted and is moving to Washington, D.C. to launch the Criminal Alien Program in jails nationwide.

"This program both in San Diego County, and the nation will make the streets of America safe," said Magee.

The Criminal Alien Program also operates out of the Las Colinas Women’s Jail and the Vista Jail.

In the last 11 months alone, more than 29,000 people have been deported from San Diego County.

According to ICE, of those deported, more than 8,700 people were criminals.