GHCFJ appeal to Harris County Commissioners to exercise their fiduciary duty on 287g

Harris County Commissioners Court Agenda

A fuzzy picture at commissioners court when it comes to the position on 287g.

GHCFJ statement;

Sheriff’s Hickman’s and Patrick Contreras’–of ICE’s Houston Regional Office–contention that the 287(g) program enhances public safety in Houston is a fallacy.  In truth the 287(g) program “casts a wide net” and  any individual that is unfortunate enough to be arrested and incarcerated in the Harris County jail is fair game for deportation.  It could be a mother or father, son, or daughter stopped and arrested on a simple traffic warrant on their way to work or school. For many undocumented Hispanics, traffic infractions are easy to get because to begin with, they are not able to obtain a drivers license and this makes it harder to obtain other documentation. The fact that ICE could not provide a breakdown of crimes of those referred to ICE, is a red-flag that suggests that very few of those deported were actual criminals and the vast majority are people whose only crime was to seek the “American Dream.”
287(g) is racist in nature and Stereotyping is a common occurrence  Once and individual lands in the Harris County jail he/she is stereotyped by the color of their skin and accent or inability to speak English and on this basis he/she is investigated for possible deportation. It’s possible that someone who is white and speaks English well could go undetected, such as someone from Canada or English speaking countries. 287(g) is intrinsically racist, in that there is no way this law can be implemented without discrimination.
 

Commissioner Gene L. Locke

 

 

 

 

Only this Commissioner has the courage to state his position publicly.

Harris County Commissioner Gene Locke

Harris County Commissioner Gene Locke issued a statement Thursday that read: “I am disappointed with Sheriff Ron Hickman’s decision to renew the 287(g) program that allows Sheriff’s Office personnel to conduct criminal investigations with U.S. immigration officials. I am urging Sheriff Hickman to reconsider and allow 287(g) to expire in Harris County on June 30.

“As I have stated publicly on many occasions, I am adamantly opposed to 287(g) because it is a bad policy that separates families and puts sheriff’s deputies in an unfortunate position of acting as immigration officers. We all agree that communities must be kept safe and protected from criminals who are intent on harming innocent people. But 287(g) is not the proper law enforcement tool to accomplish those goals.

The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice appeals to Commissioners on Harris County Commissioners to exercise their fiduciary responsibility the controversial immigration program.287g.

GHCFJ Questions;

How can the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), consider entering into Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Harris County for its Sheriff’s Office.

When the Harris County Jail been under investigation by the Department of Justice civil rights division for its conditions and treatment of inmates as far back as 2008.

In addition, the decisions of at least two Circuit Courts, which ruled the ICE detainers as unconstitutional,

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