The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday it will increase its efforts to rid county jails of illegal immigrants.

Corrections officials estimate 10 percent of the inmate population is composed of illegal immigrants. They say overcrowded prisons lead to early prisoner releases that would otherwise be undeserved. If identified as an illegal alien, an inmate is placed in the federal immigration department's custody and subsequently deported. Suffolk has turned over more than 300 inmates to federal authorities this year.

According to the Sheriff's office, the Criminal Alien Program looks for red flags in a prisoner's Social Security number and home address. The corrections department says they've hired two new investigators and plan on hiring six more next year.