What are judges’ powers over illegal immigrants?

By Nancy Flake
Updated: 03.20.10

While they may be limited in their authority when it comes to illegal immigrants, the four candidates vying for two Montgomery County judicial benches say there are steps they could take to, at the very least, notify federal authorities of a defendant who is in the country illegally.

And one of the candidates believes it is his duty, if he is elected, to deport any nonviolent offenders here illegally who happen to turn up in his courtroom.

Prosecutor Claudia Laird faces civil litigator and criminal defense attorney JD Lambright in the April 13 runoff for the County Court-at-Law 2 bench, while criminal defense attorney Lisa Michalk and attorney John Devine face each other in the 221st state District Court race.

Laird said she would continue prosecuting any illegal immigrant charged with a crime and also would notify Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents of the defendant’s status. Judges are required to notify ICE if a defendant is put on probation, she noted, and Laird would also notify the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, she said.

But, there is a loophole in state law that some illegal immigrants can take advantage of if they have bonded out of the Montgomery County Jail and then arrested in another county. It can take several days for a warrant to be issued by Montgomery County to bring the defendant back here, perhaps giving the defendant time to slip back across the state’s border with Mexico, she said.

“I’m trying to increase the speed to issue those warrants,â€