ICE Publicly Shames Travis County Sheriff's Office But With Inaccurate Data—Again

TRAVIS COUNTY, TX — Immigration Customs & Enforcement (ICE) officials have trained their sights on the Travis County Sheriff's Office for criticism about their handling of detainers, but local officials note their aim is faulty yet again.

ICE officials issued a press release on Tuesday affirming that Travis County Jail officials released inmate Julio Cesar Mendoza-Caballero from custody "...without notifying ICE." Officials reportedly later recaptured the suspect, a reputed gang member.

The accusation is part of a long-standing feud ICE has had with the sheriff's office, which the agency views as not aggressive enough in honoring its detention requests. Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez had vowed to honor ICE detainers only for high-level offenders rather than those committing misdemeanors before being compelled by law to honor all a wider array of requests.

A detainer essentially is a maximum 48-hour hold requested by ICE to give an agent enough time to fetch a detainee and process him or her for deportation. Critics cite Constitutional violations of due process with such ICE-mandated holds, noting they often stretch beyond 48 hours when undocumented immigrants are ensnared on a weekend or holiday. ICE agents usually need the time window as they typically arrive in Austin from the San Antonio ICE base.

Sheriff's Office officials issued a statement taking issue with the accusation it released a detainee they had wanted held. For one thing, TCSO spokeswoman Kristen Dark confirmed that the sheriff wouldn't have the authority to release an inmate—Julio Cesar Mendoza-Caballero—from custody. That ability is reserved for judge to make as was the case with Mendoza.

What's more, ICE was given ample notice not only of the detainer request status and failed to provide a court order or warrant to prevent the inmate's release, Dark said. She noted Mendoza had been charged with assault causing bodily injured and a city ordinance violation, and was booked at 9:12 am. before bonding out by 8;52 p.m.

"In actuality, ICE was notified of the declined detainer request June 16, 2017, at 2:41 p.m.," Dark wrote in an email, listing five different ICE points of contact notified. "A judge ordered Mr. Mendoza-Caballero be released on a personal recognizance bond and he departed the Travis County Jail at 8:52 p.m., giving ICE a full six hours to provide a court order or warrant, indicating a probable cause for his transfer to their custody."

Despite that ample time window, ICE provided no warrant or court order that would have compelled officials to keep the inmate detained. "No such judicial documents were provided, though court-ordered removal documents are currently provided on a routine basis and honored," Dark wrote.

ICE officials couldn't be reached for comment. But this isn't the first time they've issued false information about the workings of the sheriff's office, Dark wrote: "It is unfortunate that once again, ICE has presented inaccurate information in what appears to be an effort to publicly shame agencies with which it disagrees. Open communication between the Travis County Jail and ICE is a daily, if not hourly occurrence. A simple phone call or email would have clarified their error privately and professionally."

This isn't the first time ICE has issued false or inaccurate information in its zeal to paint law enforcement agencies as uncooperative with its requests. A short-lived list of ICE-provided data purporting to show non-compliance published by the White House was ultimately shuttered given that it was consistently riddled with errors based on a misreading of local agency detention logs.

Williamson County Robert Chody was among those complaining of their inaccuracy, despite his own self-described mission of honoring all ICE detainer requests. Rather than garner praise from ICE For his cooperation, Chody was painted as non-compliant by virtue of ICE officials' inability to accurately discern the Williamson County data, helping to prompt the end to those published lists by the White House which has made immigration crackdown a priority under Donald Trump.

The latest ICE-initiated squabble is the latest attempt at public shaming for perceived non-compliance aimed at the Travis County Sheriff's Office. Recent ICE raids in Austin that took place at unprecedented levels were confirmed to have been payback for the sheriff's softened stance on ICE detainer requests, despite the federal agency's assertions they were routine operations.

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