Politics & Government
Harris County Sheriff Opts Out Of ICE Detention Program
Gonzalez ends troubled relationship with Feds, and falls in line with majority of Texas counties opting out of program.
HOUSTON, TX -- Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced Tuesday that the sheriff’s office was ending its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The announcement came in a release in which Gonzalez shared a memorandum sent to Patrick Contreras, the Houston area ICE field office director.
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In his letter, Gonzalez said deputies that had previously worked in the jail to help screen undocumented immigrants for ICE who’d been charged with criminal offenses would now be reassigned to other duties that address local public safety issues, terminating a memorandum of understanding between both agencies.
“The decision places Harris County in line with 251 of 254 Texas counties that do not take part in the program that allows ICE to deputize local law officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions in jails,” Gonzalez said in his memorandum.
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The deputies and ICE agents worked in the jail through a memorandum of understanding that established a partnership in what many refer to as the 287(g) program.
The 287(g) Program, long considered ICE's top partnership program with local law enforcement agencies, has been in place since 1996 and was revised in 2009 by the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to strengthen public safety.
According to ICE, between January 2006 and September 30, 2015, the 287(g) program was credited with identifying more than 402,079 potentially removable aliens, or undocumented immigrants — primarily at local jails.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez's decision to opt out of the program takes place immediately, and will free at least $675,000 in the sheriff’s budget to more effectively direct resources to address local law enforcement and public safety issues, Gonzalez said.
Despite the change, ICE officials will continue working in the jail screening inmates to determine their immigration status and the county will hold them for deportation if requested.
Image courtesy Ed Gonzalez
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