Despite widespread concern regarding the potential of the Laken Riley Act to forge a direct path from petty theft to deportation, or overburden federal detention centers to the point of releasing violent criminals, these fears might be unfounded, suggest key figures in McLennan County’s law enforcement agencies. Critics of the law, which was officially passed recently, fear it inherently undermines basic rights. In essence, the legislation stipulates that simply being charged with a crime can lead to an individual’s arrest and subsequent placement in a private detention camp, culminating in their deportation, with no courtroom hearing during the process.
One unintended fallout of the Laken Riley Act could be the inadvertent release of convicts accused of sexual offenses – a type of crime not explicitly stated in the legal wording of the law. If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-operated detention centers are filled with individuals accused of minor offenses like theft or shoplifting, coupled with those charged with grave crimes like murder and aggravated assault, the centers may not have the capacity to hold those accused of sexual offenses.
The Laken Riley Act, christened in memory of a nursing student from Georgia whose life was taken by a Venezuelan man living illegally in the country and in the midst of his immigration case, mandates that immigrants, unlawfully present, accused of crimes such as burglary, theft, causing harm to a law enforcement officer, or any crime resulting in death or severe bodily harm, be detained by federal authorities. Other felonies covered within this legislation, guaranteeing detention for illegal migrants, include shoplifting and larceny.
The law also instructs that local and state interpretations of these offenses should be taken into account at the jurisdiction where the alleged crime was committed. It omits, however, any specifications regarding funding methods for execution or means to cover the financial aspects of transport, accommodation, and sustenance for those detained under this legislation.
The District Attorney of McLennan County as well as the Chief Deputy of the Sheriff’s Office highly doubt that a federal agency will attempt to seize violent criminals from local or state detention before the conclusion of their sentences. They also are skeptical that federal officials will claim lesser criminals from local detainment before their court processing occurs.
Upon booking a defendant at the McLennan County Jail, the criminal charges levied by the arrest officers are recorded, along with the determination of the defendant’s immigration status. If the defendant is unauthorized to remain in the country, an immigration detainer is placed on them by ICE. Should a defendant with an ICE detainer manage to post bail from the county jail on the state’s charges, ICE is given a 48-hour window to claim them, which they never fail to utilize.
It is important to note that a large portion of immigrants are law-abiding individuals. Yet anyone residing in the country unlawfully for less than two years, on being charged with a crime and subsequently released from county detention into ICE custody, could be slated for a swift deportation without a hearing.
Even if individuals lacking legal status strive to comply with the norms to gain a visa, work permit, or permanent resident status, the threat of this rapid deportation prevails. In response to apprehensions about unauthorized immigrants facing sex crime charges and not being included in the detention prerequisites of the Laken Riley Act, the District Attorney clarified that the verbiage of the law permits local authority to discern its application in cases of severe bodily injury.
During the fiscal year of 2024, the McLennan County Jail held 108 undocumented immigrants facing solely misdemeanor charges. The accumulated duration of these individuals’ jail time amounted to 4,601 days, constituting an approximate cost to the county’s taxpayers of $387,036.12. These costs encompass only the base daily rate of $84.12 per inmate, excluding any potential medical costs incurred.
Currently, the county’s jail roster lists roughly 50 defendants with immigration detainers who have been held for multiple months on felony charges. For the fiscal year 2024, the total budget for the country jail amounted to $39.7 million, from which the federal government reimbursed $8.8 million for inmates held due to federal charges.
Ultimately, the county allocated between $22 million and $24.4 million to detain the three-quarters of all inmates who face charges mounted by the state for felony offenses. While the circumstances surrounding the Laken Riley Act continue to court controversy, what remains certain throughout this legislative turmoil is the unwavering dedication of local law enforcement in guaranteeing the well-being and security of their citizens amidst changing immigrant law.