Unlike dozens of cities, counties and states across the nation whose officers have been trained by the federal government to enforce immigration laws, Escondido police are not seeking federal approval before picking up criminals who are in the country illegally.

This week, police officers began tracking down the 90 or so illegal immigrants in Escondido believed to have been previously deported after committing crimes in the U.S.

In a three-day sting that ended Friday, they found 14 -- including one who was arrested on charges of rape, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, domestic violence and driving under the influence, Officer Russ Whitaker said. Some were picked up at home, others in public areas.

Officers are not arresting illegal immigrants without criminal histories and are only targeting people who were previously deported after committing a crime in the U.S., said Escondido police spokesman Lt. Bob Benton.

"Our whole philosophy is to get criminals off the streets," Benton said. "We see these people get deported; they come back. They get arrested again, they come back again. This is our opportunity to get them formally deported again."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not help execute the sting and does not comment on "internal policies" of local police, spokeswoman Lauren Mack said.

"It's a very unique approach," Mack said

\"We have no say in it."

However, the agency did review Escondido's suspect list and confirmed who had been previously deported. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also would handle any further deportations of suspects.

Michael Wishnie, a Yale Law School professor, said Escondido's crackdown is unusual but appears legal. Congress made limited exceptions for local police to enforce immigration laws without federal training and authorization -- one such exception is for suspects who were previously deported after committing crimes in the U.S., he said.

Whitaker, a Spanish-speaking bicycle patrol officer who grew up in Escondido, compiled the suspect list on his own. He grew frustrated seeing illegal immigrants commit crimes, get deported and then return to Escondido.

One man, whom Whitaker had arrested several times, was convicted on a weapons charge and had been deported six or seven times.

"He just keeps coming back," said Whitaker, who caught up with the man again this week. "Today, he said he's done with Escondido because I keep getting him."

Escondido police say suspects freely acknowledge being in the country illegally. Whitaker says people he arrests on his patrol volunteer details like how much they paid a smuggler and how long it took them to trek across the border.

"It's pretty amazing," Whitaker said. "They say they're here illegally. They're not really scared of us."

Whitaker says he remembers one gang member, who was charged with auto theft, domestic violence and battery. He returned to Escondido after getting deported.

"I know he's here illegally in the country, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it," he said. "Now, we can get rid of him on sight. We don't have to wait for him to commit a crime to deport him."

This isn't the first time Escondido has waded into immigration enforcement. In 2006, the city abandoned an ordinance that would have punished landlords who rented to illegal immigrants after discovering that legal bills could top $1 million. By the time the City Council agreed to settle a lawsuit challenging the ordinance, it had spent $200,000