Prince William County is suing the Department of Homeland Security for the release of information on what happens to illegal aliens after they are arrested by county police and turned over to the department.

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The county implemented a strict illegal immigrant policy in 2007 requiring an immigration status check for everyone who is arrested.

More than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens have been transferred to DHS custody since then, according to a Prince William news release.

The department refuses to release records to the county about what happens to the immigrants once the county transfers them to DHS.

The lawsuit is the second in six months the county has filed against the department. The first lawsuit demanded information about the departments' release of Carlos Martinelly Montano who was suspected of driving drunk and killing a nun in August 2010.

"It is frustrating that we as a local government must resort to suing the Federal Government to get information which the public has a right to know and which is vital to our law enforcement efforts," said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart. "I am disappointed in the lack of cooperation from DHS and I am frustrated with Congress, which has failed to take compel DHS to turn over this information."

Of the more than 4,000 people arrested and handed over to ICE Agents, roughly ten percent have been caught again by Prince William law enforcement, the news release stated.