Thread: ICE detains 26 reporting for community service in Fort Worth

ICE detains 26 reporting for community service in Fort Worth on suspicion of living in U.S. illegally

Written by
Julieta Chiquillo, The Dallas Morning NewsConnect with Julieta Chiquillo

Federal immigration officers detained 26 people suspected of being unauthorized immigrants when they reported for community service Sunday morning in Fort Worth, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Bill Waybourn told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that his office participated in the operation at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"This was totally initiated by ICE," Waybourn told NBC5. "They came to us and said, 'Listen, we reviewed the list [of names], and we suspect some of them are illegal aliens.' So we said, 'Whatever you need to do.' "

The operation took place at the Tarrant County facility on Cold Springs Road in Fort Worth. An NBC5 photographer reported seeing an ICE bus and two vans. Most of the people were frisked as they were escorted onto the bus, and one man was shackled, the news station reported.

The detainees had convictions for felonies and misdemeanors and had been ordered by a court to do community service, said David McClelland, the sheriff's chief of staff. It appears that they were not screened by ICE when they were first booked in jail after their arrests, he said.

Two ICE agents work at the Tarrant County Jail from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, screening records to look for unauthorized immigrants, but the agency might miss them if immigrants are booked when no ICE agents are on duty, McClelland said.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok declined to give details about the operation on Cold Springs Road.

"ICE officers are conducting ongoing immigration enforcement operations in North Texas," he said in a prepared statement. "No further details are available until the conclusion of this operation. ICE routinely conducts immigration enforcement operations locally and nationwide which help improve overall public safety by removing criminal aliens from our communities, and ultimately from our country."

The people taken into custody Sunday were driven to a federal detention center in Dallas, McClelland said.

Waybourn told NBC5 that the families of the detainees have been notified and that some could be released.

The sheriff took office in January. He said he wants to participate in a federal program known as 287(g), which would give his detention officers the power to look for unauthorized immigrants entering the jail.

"This is going to give us coverage 24 hours, seven days a week, so the ability for somebody to slip through the cracks is going to be reduced," Waybourn told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I will not foolishly say somebody won't slip through the cracks at some point in a large, urban jail like this, but this will reduce that."

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/immig...g-us-illegally

QUOTE: The detainees had convictions for felonies and misdemeanors and had been ordered by a court to do community service, said David McClelland, the sheriff's chief of staff.

What Judge in their right mind hands out community service for a FELONY? But I LOVE this move! ICE is changing up their routine and it looks like it will work out great