HOUSTON — Federal lawmakers are calling for reform after a newspaper’s investigation found thousands of inmates in the nation’s third-largest county walked out of jail despite admitting they were in the U.S. illegally.
The area congressional delegation met with top Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Friday to discuss problems highlighted by a Houston Chronicle investigation last month that revealed that illegal immigrants with criminal records were avoiding deportation.
The Chronicle investigation found that scores of violent criminals, including some ordered deported decades ago, told Harris County jailers they were in the country illegally. ICE officials have said jailers did not give them lists of detainees who reported they were foreign born.
The newspaper examined eight months’ worth of arrest and immigration records for 3,500 inmates who confessed their illegal statuses to Harris County jailers. While most of the inmates released from custody were accused of minor crimes, hundreds were convicted felons, the newspaper found.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady said the delegation wants ICE to provide a list of measures by January to ensure that illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes are not making bail.
Lawmakers also said they want to make sure illegal immigrants convicted of crimes — and eligible for deportation — are removed from the country. Additionally, the delegation requested a timeline on when an automated fingerprint check system that the agency implemented in the Harris County Jail in October will be available in the rest of the state.
“I am pleased that ICE and Harris County officials are moving quickly to address my concerns,” said Sen. John Cornyn after the meeting.
ICE officials have said the agency has made significant improvements in recent months by giving Harris County jailers access to the fingerprint database and training jailers in August to help identify and file paperwork to detain illegal immigrants. Jailers in Dallas County also are able to check inmates’ criminal and immigration histories simultaneously as part of a growing new nationwide program.
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