Program will ID criminals

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
    On Nov. 22 , Jackson County Courthouse hosted a meeting which invited press from Jackson and Victoria Counties, announced Jackson County’s recent approval for participation in a program that will permit two Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies to access a database that would prevent illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the U.S. from being released back onto the streets. 
    In attendance were Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback, Victoria County Sheriff T. Michael O’Connor, Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon, and Chief Deputy Brian Cantrell of Waller County, gathered with representatives from Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Division. 
    Section 287(g) of the  Immigration and Nationality Act allows for certain officers or representatives of local law enforcement to access data and perform duties otherwise limited to immigration officials.
    The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office recently entered into an engagement strategy to begin the program in Jackson County, and will soon send two jailers to a federally approved ICE training course. 
    The program is not designed to hunt down undocumented immigrants on the street, Louderback explained, but to prevent them from being released back onto the streets after they’ve committed crimes and been arrested.
    “How we deal with foreign born subjects who commit crimes in our community and are placed in jail is what we are addressing” he said.
    “You’re looking at the beginning of a movement in which Texas sheriffs are able to communicate with the federal government,” he continued. “So we don’t let anyone out of our county jail to go commit a heinous crime against one of our citizens, simply because we didn’t know any better or they fell in the gap because we didn’t have the kind of partnership and communication that we needed.
    Sheriff T. Michael O’Connor said such things have occurred in Victoria County.
    “Our primary objective here in our jurisdictions and in the region collectively amongst the sheriffs is criminality, period,” he said. 
    “Anyone who operates a jail in Texas needs this program,” said Louderback, “It is extremely important that when anyone comes into the country illegally and commits crimes against our citizens, we should do everything we can to work with the federal government to ensure the best outcome for our citizens.”
    Patrick Contreras, Director of the Houston Field Office of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations explained that the immigration status of inmates would not affect them serving their sentence for what crimes they may be convicted of in the U.S., but would ensure that upon completion of their sentence they would be released into ICE custody, and not back onto the streets of Jackson County.
    “Once they are due for release, whether it be by a judge or their time served, if we have a detainer on them they would come to us,” he said. “They would not spend any more time other than us coming to pick them up and move them to one of our detention facilities.”
    Identification of those illegally in Texas would be done primarily via a fingerprint database, but also by interviews during booking.
    “That is where the training comes in,” said Contreras.
    Section 287(g) is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act enacted in 1996, but has previously not been well-funded. Recent funding from the federal government has enabled more counties to participate.