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Bill Ensures Deportation Of Illegal Aliens Who Commit Crimes

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (Kerrville) filed HB 1256 which allows local law enforcement to hold illegal immigrants in city jails, fingerprint all minor offenders who do not have identification, and detain illegal immigrants who returned to the U.S. after deportation for criminal convictions or have defied previous deportation orders.

HB 1256 does not require local law enforcement to seek out illegal aliens exclusively or do the border patrol's job. To the contrary, the bill allows local law enforcement who come into contact with an illegal alien through the course of responding to a call or performing their daily law enforcement duties to have the authority to deliver the suspect to federal immigration officials.

"If a police officer arrests an individual for committing a domestic disturbance or any other crime, that officer should have the authority to inquire about the suspect's immigration status," Rep. Hilderbran said. "It makes no sense to allow a foreign national who is in the country illegally to stay here after being arrested or detained by law enforcement."

In January 2004, 18-year-old Virginia Garcia was raped and murdered in Austin by David Diaz Morales, an illegal alien who had been previously arrested for child molestation. Because Austin police officers are not allowed to determine immigration status, Morales was released back onto city streets after his detainment. In September 2006, a Houston police officer was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop by Juan Leonardo Quintero, an illegal immigrant who had returned to the U.S. after being deported in 2004 due to a conviction for indecency with a child. Read more at house.state.tx.us.

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