ICE Issues Details about Immigrant Releases
Posted: May 17, 2013 6:31 PM
Updated: May 17, 2013 10:08 PM
HIDALGO COUNTY - Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have finally released the numbers of illegal immigrants released from custody.
ICE officials said the releases are happening because they can't afford to keep them all in detention. They blame federal budget cutbacks for the releases.
ICE had refused to release the exact number of immigrants released into communities throughout the country. A congressional order forced the agency to release the details.
Some of the illegal immigrants have criminal pasts, officials said.
ICE information shows 2,226 illegal immigrants have been released. Records show that 622 of those immigrants have criminal records. ICE would not elaborate as to the seriousness of their crimes.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said local authorities should have been notified of the releases.
"What concerns me ... is that we weren't notified about any of this," Trevino said.
ICE officials said 58 immigrants have been redetained.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said people have the right to know about the releases.
"Texans and the rest of America have a right to know exactly what kinds of criminals were released into their communities by DHS and to see that the persons who made these decisions are held fully accountable," Cornyn said.
An ICE spokesperson issued a statement about the releases.
"ICE officials identified and released detained individuals who posed no significant threat to public safety, were not subject to mandatory detention and who were appropriate candidates for supervised release," the statement said.
ICE officials said they keep tabs on illegal immigrants through supervised releases and telephone monitoring.
ICE officials released a group of women at a bus station in Brownsville. The women were given paperwork allowing them to travel anywhere in the United States, despite their illegal status.
The women were ordered to show up for court hearings and inform ICE of any address changes. They also were told not to commit any crimes.
Another concern, Sheriff Trevino said, is the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants in his jail.
State records show Hidalgo County spent more than $3 million in 2012 to incarcerate illegal immigrants. Federal authorities reimbursed only $43,101 of that amount.
Trevino said local taxpayers are stuck with the rest of the tab.
"Right now I'm paying over $2 million a year of your tax money because I have to outsource my overflow to private facilities. If we did not have that illegal immigrant in our jail on a state crime and on a federal detainer, that overflow could be significantly impacted, and it would be much lower. So you should be concerned," Trevino said.
Cameron County ranks seventh on the list of illegal immigrant detainees.
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