Travis County Sheriff criticized over optional immigration policy at jail

Travis County ranks 39th among US counties in population but "ranks 11th nationally in the number of people deported from its jails since Secure Communities came online here in June 2009," according to an Austin Statesman report. "Even though ICE says the program prioritizes dangerous criminals, national security threats and repeat immigration law violators, the paper found that more than 1,000 people in Travis County have had detainers placed on them after arrests for traffic violations and other Class C misdemeanors — offenses that typically result in only a fine."

Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton insists that ICE detainers are "mandatory," but the Statesman notes that other counties across the country limit who they tag for deportation:

Officials in several counties that have stopped honoring detainers did so after trying to officially opt out of the Secure Communities program.

ICE initially asked each local jurisdiction to sign "memorandums of understanding" before launching the program, giving local authorities the impression that they could pull out of the agreement.

When several states tried, however, ICE voided those memorandums and indicated the program was mandatory.

Those counties then changed their policies on detainers unilaterally, after ICE officials told them the detainers weren't mandatory.

It was always clear to this correspondent that a) the ICE detainers under Secure Communiteis are not mandatory, even if some nativists and/or federal bureaucrats would like to pretend it is; b) Sheriff Greg Hamilton has chosen to be much more aggressive on detaining low-level offenders for deportation than is required by law; and c) to the extent ICE detainers are mandates, they are unfunded ones with significant consequences for local jails. I'm glad to see Hamilton's primary opponent calling him out on this policy.

See related Grits posts:

• Secure Communities boosts otherwise declining jail populations
• On cops, taxes, immigration enforcement and Big Government Conservatism