Feds Say Travis County Rejected Most ICE Immigration Detention Requests

AUSTIN, TX — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday published its first list of immigrants charged or convicted of crimes later released by local authorities, with Travis County accounting for nearly 70 percent of the compilation.

Travis County of which Austin is the county seat accounted for 142 names on the list of those charged with crimes and released. Called the Weekly and Declined Detainer Outcome Report, the list contains 206 declined "detainers" denied to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency during the period between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3 of this year of the total out of a total of 3,083 issued throughout the country in the same period.

Such "detainers" compel participating jurisdictions to hold people arrested who are suspected of being undocumented for a period of at least 48 hours (longer on weekends or holidays) to allow ICE agents sufficient time to retrieve those arrested and proceed with deportations.

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez is among those law enforcement leaders in Texas choosing a more nuanced approach to local immigration policy, preferring to focus on high-level felons for arrests rather than across-the-board deportations. By extension, the Austin region she oversees accounts for roughly 70 percent of all declined ICE requests compiled.

Hernandez has cited the need to build community trust with police as the reason for the more relaxed policy than her predecessor's penchant for honoring ICE requests. Still, she has insisted she does honor ICE requests when accompanied by a court order or judicial warrant, an assertion backed by her own regularly compiled lists of detainer statuses found on the Travis County Sheriff's Office website.

Related story: U.S. Judge Confirms Heightened Austin ICE Action Is Payback For Softened Immigration Policy

Telegraphed during Donald Trump's first address to Congress earlier this month, the list purports to show a criminal scourge by undocumented residents. highlighting the nationalities of those listed. In an analysis of the DHS data by Univision, nearly 70 percent of the immigrants on the list are from Mexico, and more than 95 percent are from Latin American countries (Honduras being the most frequent country of origin listed).

While the list appears to paint a dangerous arrest-and-release pattern, it includes a largely Latino compilation of people who have yet to be convicted. Critics of this technique have pointed to its flaws by omission, given that all arrested persons in the U.S., regardless of their ethnicity or citizenship status, are also released once arrested for lesser crimes as part of their constitutionally guaranteed right to due process.

Texas figures prominently on the list, with nearly 150 cases of denied detainers in the one-week period cited. Travis County accounted for 142 (nearly 70 percent) of those charged and released. Referenced crimes run the gamut, from felonies to lesser crimes: Assault, domestic violence, driving under the influence of alcohol, robbery ans sexual assault among the most common criminal charges listed. Others on the list were charged with drug possession, prostitution and resisting arrest.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a proponent of across-the-board deportations for undocumented immigrants, regardless of criminal record, reacted to the report on Monday. Abbott has appealed to his base by vilifying the immigrant class as criminals, not unlike the rhetoric of his party's leader, Trump, calling for an end to areas in Texas he views as "sanctuary cities" for not aggressively enforcement immigration policy at the local level.

“Today’s report from DHS is deeply disturbing and highlights the urgent need for a statewide sanctuary city ban in Texas,” Abbott said in a prepared statement. “The Travis County Sheriff’s decision to deny ICE detainer requests and release back into our communities criminals charged with heinous crimes – including sexual offenses against children, domestic violence and kidnapping – is dangerous and should be criminal in itself. Texas will act to put an end to sanctuary policies that put the lives of our citizens at risk.”

The release of the list coincides by a published report suggesting that Travis County was targeted for heightened ICE action in retaliation for Sheriff Sally Hernandez's more nuanced approach to immigration policy locally, reserving ICE detainer requests for undocumented felons rather than misdemeanants. Abbott, an active Trump ally, vehemently opposes the sheriff's softened approach and recently rescinded $1.5 million in grants to country programs unrelated to law enforcement as a result of her stance.

Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt — who tried unsuccessfully to convince Abbott not to punish county programs aimed at helping community members in retaliation for the sheriff's preferred policy — also reacted to the Declined Detainer Outcome Report on Monday.

"ICE's mission is to enforce federal immigration laws," Eckhardt began. "Travis County’s mission is to enforce state criminal laws. If a person is suspected of rape, murder or any other serious crime, Travis County will bring them to justice irrespective of where the accused was born."

To buttress her point, Eckhardt pointed to the consistently declining crime rate throughout the county in the better part of a decade.

"The crime rate in Travis County has steadily declined in recent years, dropping by approximately 30% since 2007," Eckhardt noted. "We are proud to have the lowest crime rate of any other major urbanized area in Texas. This data shows we are serious about public safety in Travis County. We concentrate on bringing the accused to justice. Questionable immigration status is not evidence in our state criminal justice system. If the accused is undocumented, that is a federal issue which ICE is free to pursue independently."

To see the full DHS report, click here.

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