http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6117757.html

Cornyn wants investigation into immigrant inmates
Lawmaker's call for action follows Chronicle's series on the release of violent criminals who admitted to jailers they were in the U.S. illegally

By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 17, 2008, 11:35PM

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has called for an investigation into how immigration officials screen inmates in Harris County Jail, after a series of reports this week by the Houston Chronicle.

The Chronicle investigation found federal immigration officials allowed scores of violent criminals, including some ordered deported decades ago, to walk away from jail despite the inmates' admission to jailers that they were in the country illegally.

The Texas Republican said on Monday that the Chronicle's investigation "raised some very serious concerns." He said he requested information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and was particularly concerned about the finding that suspected illegal immigrants had posted bail and absconded on criminal charges, including murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child and drug trafficking.

The Chronicle examined arrest and immigration records for 3,500 inmates who told Harris County jailers that they were in the country illegally during a span of eight months starting in June 2007, the earliest immigration records available.

In 177 cases reviewed by the newspaper, inmates who were released from jail after admitting to being in the country illegally later were charged with additional crimes. More than half of those charges were felonies, including aggravated sexual assault of a child and capital murder.

The review also found at least 178 cases involving suspects who absconded, meaning they had their bails revoked for missing court dates or allegedly committing more crimes.

"I don't think there's any more important responsibility than protecting the public safety," Cornyn said. "And this is, I think, a clear and present danger to the public and ought to be their highest priority."

Cornyn said Congress "needs to immediately approve additional funding to put more boots on the ground" if ICE lacks necessary resources.

ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment on Cornyn's call for an investigation. The agency released a statement Monday criticizing the Chronicle's investigation for containing "outdated information." The oldest arrest and immigration records included in the newspaper's investigation date to June 2007.

ICE spokesman Gregory Palmore said the agency has made significant improvements since then, including giving Harris County jailers access to a database that automatically checks suspects' immigration history. He added that ICE identified more than 221,000 incarcerated criminals for potential deportation nationally last fiscal year, which ended in September.

During the same time frame, ICE actually removed 107,000 convicted criminals from the U.S.

The agency also trained nine Harris County jailers in August to help file paperwork to detain illegal immigrants.

susan.carroll@chron.com