I.C.E. Out of Travis County Jails Now!

Sheriff Greg Hamilton

Travis County Sheriff%u2019s Office

P.O. Box 1748                                                    

Austin, TX 78767

Dear Sheriff Greg Hamilton: 

We, the undersigned organizations, oppose the Travis County Sheriff's Office recent voluntary decision to expand its collaboration with U.S. Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement (ICE) in the Criminal Alien Program, as well as their offer to provide ICE with an investigative office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We oppose this administrative change because it:

• Undermines trust between law enforcement and the immigrant community. An increased presence of ICE officials will compromise public safety as many documented and undocumented immigrants fear that reporting crimes will result in detection and removal from the country.

• Divides families.  More parents will be deported for minor misdemeanors, even if they have defenses to deportation, and more U.S. citizen children will be left behind.  As a result, many children of deported parents may be sent away to foster care.  

• Racial profiling of those suspected to be foreign-born. In a climate that seeks to expedite the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants, racial profiling will inevitably intensify. Evidence suggests that referrals to ICE and immigration detainers are being placed on lawful permanent residents and often times U.S. Citizens who lack documentation to prove their status.

• Violates the constitutional right to due process. The new policy has resulted in U.S. lawful permanent residents and naturalized citizens being held for excessive periods after ICE has wrongfully placed immigration holds on many of these individuals. Furthermore, the added barrier of detention erodes an immigrant's right to access legal counsel.  While some individuals may be successful in challenging removal proceedings, those who do not have the resources to post another bond and hire legal counsel may be forced to abandon their cases, take plea bargains, and sign off on their own removal.
  

• Increases fiscal costs to Travis County. While ICE may reimburse the county for 48 hours of detainer fees ($90), significant economic costs to the county, Austin and the surrounding cities will result from jail overcrowding, loss of revenue in court costs, fines, probation and counseling fees, loss of money spent by immigrants at local businesses, and potential costly litigation arising from cases of civil rights violations.  Cities will struggle to reimburse the county for the increased costs of incarceration.  Stakeholders within the immigrant services network of all taxing jurisdictions will see an increased demand on their services.

We believe the Travis County Sheriff's Departments recent decision opens the door to violations of basic due process protections, human rights obligations, and principles of fundamental fairness.  We urge the Sheriff's office and local government to collaborate with local government, community and faith-based organizations to develop policies that promote the safety of all residents and address community concerns in a way that respect the dignity of all people regardless of immigrant status.   

Respectfully,