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03-18-2012, 01:13 PM #1
When do Class C misdemeanors mean a trip to jail for undocumented immigrants?
statesman.com
By Dave Harmon
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 1:21 a.m. Sunday, March 18, 2012
In Travis County, immigration detainers have been filed on more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants charged with low-level, Class C misdemeanors crimes that typically result in a ticket and not a trip to jail in the past three years. So why are so many immigrants ending up in jail for minor crimes?
Austin police made 88 percent of the Class C arrests in Travis County last year, according to the Travis County sheriff's office. Austin police Cpl. Anthony Hipolito said that while officers are taught to give people tickets for Class C misdemeanors, they will jail someone they judge to be a danger to themself or others — such as those arrested for public intoxication — or if the officer is unable to determine the person's identity. Because undocumented immigrants can't legally obtain a Texas driver's license and often give officers false names, they're more likely to go to jail for a traffic offense, Hipolito said.
"How are we going to issue a warrant on somebody (for not paying a ticket) when we don't know who it is?" Hipolito said.
When they do release people with tickets, he said, many undocumented immigrants don't pay the fine. That triggers a warrant for their arrest and a trip to jail if they have another encounter with police.
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who served on a task force that supported a recent move to have ICE officers use more discretion to not pursue minor traffic violators, said the simplest way to avoid deportation is to obey the law.
"If you get a ticket, pay it. If you get a warrant on you, whose fault is that?" Valdez said.
Contact Dave Harmon at 445-3645
When do Class C misdemeanors mean a trip to jail for undocumented immigrants?Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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03-18-2012, 01:19 PM #2Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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03-18-2012, 01:56 PM #3
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
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Misdemeanor, Felony, BLAH, for an Illegal, it ALL warrants Deportation...Why would we keep MORE Law Breakers here?...Small or Big, they are ILLEGAL in the USA...Let them go to their countries and break laws there, NOT here!
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03-18-2012, 07:55 PM #4
I feel the same Shaun. It is a disgrace to allow some illegals to get away with breaking the law. Illegal is illegal! Deport them all!
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