TX. the third largest county in the country. there are about 10 municipalities. including the city of Houston. But outside the city of Houston. in the city of Pasadena. a community of about 125.000 people. the city mayor and police chief came to me and said that they had a problem. Their biggest problem was with undocumented aliens that they picked up for various misdemeanor and felony charges. and upon arraignment and release. they would contact. or try and contact. the regional office or the district office of the INS and never be able to get through to anybody to explain to them what was going on and what to do with these individuals who. once being arraigned under State statute. were now subject to Federal immigration statute. but nobody was there to follow through. After months and months of trying to work with the INS here in Washington. and joining with my colleagues in the Harris County. TX. delegation. we finally were able to obtain some relief in getting more detention beds. going from about 250 detention beds to 750 detention beds for the Harris County area. But still. it is far insufficient. Of the deportations that occurred last year from the Harris County region. of the approximately 3.300. 2.200 were those of criminal aliens. So this is a severe problem. This legislation will affect and help cities. not just like the city of Houston. but the cities like Pasadena.
Keywords matched
undocumented deportations immigration