AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ever since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed “enhanced targeted operations” in Austin as part of a nationwide effort, the agency has not answered many of KXAN’s specific questions about the operations.
Gov. Greg Abbott has also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to assist federal officials.
“These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country,” Abbott said.
On Monday, Chris Cabrera, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent in the Rio Grande Valley sector and vice president of the National Border Patrol Council – CBP’s union – sat down with KXAN to discuss what’s going on. CBP acts in a similar capacity to ICE, but they each have different focuses.
“It’s the really bad seeds that we’re trying to weed out here,” he said, summing up the goal of the operation.
Will ICE detain someone who doesn’t have a criminal history?
The short answer from Cabrera is: It’s possible.
His long answer is below.
“The unfortunate consequence of some of this is that if you’re a bad guy with a criminal record, and you’re hiding at your grandma’s house, and she’s not legal, we can’t overlook that,” he said. “It’s collateral damage. It’s unfortunate that she’d have to go, but if you know you’re wanted, obviously don’t put yourself around those people, because you’re going to get them caught up in your nonsense.”
Cabrera also said the process of serving these warrants and detaining individuals varies by jurisdiction.
What if someone is in the process of obtaining citizenship?
Cabrera said federal agents will take whether an individual has made an effort to obtain citizenship into account.
“There are different scenarios, you know,” he said. “Like if they’re almost complete with it, or they haven’t started it or aren’t trying to. If they have been here for 25 years and haven’t lifted a finger to make things right. Or if they happened to be married with children and in the process of getting their paperwork fixed. It varies from individual to individual, but it varies from one extreme to the other.”
Where are ICE detainees being kept?
KXAN asked Cabrera about the potential ICE holding facilities in Pflugerville and Taylor. He was not privy to specifics on these locations, but confirmed detainees are being kept in federal facilities.
“It all depends, it varies by jurisdiction, if there’s a federal facility, if there’s bed space nearby, but they are being kept,” he said. “It depends, sometimes they have to move around a little bit. Somewhere like Houston for example would have more of a capacity than somewhere up in let’s say rural Kansas or somewhere.”
What types of warrants are getting pursued as part of the targeted operations?
“ICE is spearheading this operation,” Cabrera said.
“There’s not a dividing line, per se, but if you have somebody who has multiple felony convictions, somebody who’s wanted for murder or drug trafficking,” he added, providing examples. Some others he gave were:
- Violent felonies
- Crimes against women or children
- Child pornography charges
Additionally, a DPS spokesperson said, referring to anyone who is undocumented who gets arrested on new charges, “reporting illegal immigrants arrested for crimes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is handled by county jails.”
Below is a portion of our interview with Cabrera.
Reporter Brianna Hollis: What about someone who has a few shoplifting charges and maybe a list of misdemeanor crimes, how does that play into this?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Chris Cabrera: I think eventually they’ll get around to those folks, but in no way are they at the top of any list right now. Right now, there are bigger fish to fry.
Hollis: What is your message to people who are currently undocumented, aren’t getting into any trouble, and haven’t gotten into any trouble in the past?
Cabrera: Know the law, know what you can and can’t do, know what you need to do to get your papers right, it’s that simple.
