Texas Becomes First State to criminalize a Law Enforcement Officer’s failure to Honor ICE "Detainer Requests"

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement suspects that a person is an undocumented immigrant, it can issue a “detainer request” to law enforcement officers, which is essentially a request to hold the person in a local jail until ICE officers can arrive. The purpose of this procedure is to remove undocumented immigrants who have committed criminal offenses from the country, but opponents argue that under certain circumstances, it violates people’s Fourth Amendment rights.

Some law enforcement officers, such as Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, have chosen to ignore detainer requests unless a suspect faces serious felony charges. In 2014, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that ICE detainers were voluntary.

Texas, however, is located in the Fifth Circuit, and on April 27, it became the first state to pass a bill that requires law enforcement officers to honor ICE detainer requests. That means officers like Sheriff Sally Hernandez who deny detainer requests could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.

Whether other states will follow suit and pass similar laws is a matter of speculation.

Charles Kuck is an immigration attorney in Atlanta who can answer your questions and provide comprehensive legal guidance. Call 404-816-8611 today to schedule a consultation at Kuck Immigration Partners.

ICE Mistakenly Issued 834 Detainer Requests for U.S. Citizens between 2008 and 2012

Opponents of Senate Bill 4 had plenty of reasons to express their dissent. In addition to the assertion that detainer requests are unconstitutional, ICE has mistakenly issued hundreds of detainer requests for U.S. citizens. At least 83 of those requests were made in Texas.

According to Vice News, while state legislators debated Senate Bill 4, a crowd of community activists and undocumented immigrants chanted "Undocumented, unafraid!" in the Capitol's rotunda. Despite their efforts, after 16 hours of debate, the bill passed along party lines with a 93-54 vote.

How Often Do Law Enforcement Officers Deny ICE Detainer Requests?

According to the Texas Tribune, local jails in the United States declined more than 18,000 ICE detainer requests over the last two years. In Texas, law enforcement personnel declined 146 ICE detainer requests between January 2014 and September 2015. That number was significantly lower than in California (11,171 denied ICE detainer requests) and New York (1,965).

Supporters of Senate Bill 4 argue that it encourages more consistency regarding the application of the law. They assert that it eliminates discretion and offers clarity to law enforcement officers.

If you would like to discuss your immigration concerns with an attorney, turn to Kuck Immigration Partners. Charles Kuck is an immigration lawyer in Atlanta who can answer your questions, evaluate your case, and provide comprehensive legal guidance.

Call 404-816-8611 today to schedule a consultation. If you would like to learn more about U.S. immigration laws, visit USAttorneys.com.

If You Are An Immigrant (even a US Citizen), Here Are 9 Things You Should Know

Are you a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident, Visa Holder, or an Undocumented Immigrant? We recommend you take the following steps to protect yourself in our current version of America. The last couple of weeks have reminded immigrants, even naturalized U.S. citizens, that they were not born in the United States. Our office has received countless phone calls, emails, and social media messages from people worrying about what their family’s future in the United States holds. Most people want to know what they can do now to protect themselves from what promises to be a wave of anti-immigration activity by the federal government. Trump's Executive Order on Interior Enforcement has some provisions that should make most Americans shiver. We recommend the following actions for each of the following groups: Naturalized U.S. citizens. In particular if you have a foreign accent, and you are traveling within 100 miles of any US Border (including the oceans...

Seven Reasons Why the Georgia Legislature Should Repeal HB-87

Recently the Alabama Attorney General called on the Alabama State Legislature to repeal parts of Alabama's horrid anti-immigration law ( HB 56), because of the "unintended" consequences of the bill (frankly, what happened was not unintended). Because of the similarity between the two laws, Georgia's Speaker of the House, David Ralston was asked whether Georgia Legislature would repeal part or all of HB 87, Georgia own anti-immigration law. HB 87 has caused almost a half a billion dollars in damage to the Georgia economy (along with untold suffering in Georgia's immigrant communities) without any noted or reported positive effect. Speaker Ralston plainly stated that the Georgia Legislature would NOT do anything to repeal HB 87 . While it understandable why a politician would not admit that a pet bill he shepherded and pushed through the state legislature was simply bad law, it is also clear that Speaker Ralston is facing a challenge on his RIGHT in th...

Why is USCIS Taking So Long to Renew DACA Work Permits?

If the calls to our office are any indicator, there are thousands of DACA recipients whose work permit applications were filed at least three months prior to expiration, who are still waiting for their renewed work permits. Without renewed permits, these individuals lose the right to work legally, the right to drive, and may once again accrue unlawful presence. The DHS published a notice in October 2014 advising DACA recipients that they could file their request for extension up to 150 days (5 months) prior to expiration. As with all things government, very few of the DACA recipients, who tend not to frequent government websites, knew about the memo and many did not file so far before expiration perhaps thinking that extending a work permit was a like extending a drivers license, its is done in a few minutes. As an experienced immigration lawyer will tell you, the USCIS does nothing quickly, and certainly does not worry that a person may lose their job or their drive...

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