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In Austin: From Minor Violations, Deportations

March 19, 2012 (1 min read)

Front page, above the fold, Sunday, Mar. 18, 2012, Austin American-Statesman:  "Dave Harmon, who has reported on border issues since the 1990s, and database editor Christian McDonald spent two months combing through three years of Travis County Jail booking records — totaling 258,000 entries for more than 100,000 individuals — to find out which charges led to suspects being flagged for deportation. Harmon also interviewed more than a dozen people and reviewed hundreds of pages of reports and testimony about Secure Communities and other immigration initiatives."  See also related links:

How 'Secure Communities' Works

Policy changes urge discretion, spark review of pending deportation cases

When do Class C misdemeanors mean a trip to jail for undocumented immigrants?

"Secure Communities takes fingerprints of suspects and compares them against immigration databases. Officials are supposed to use discretion in choosing which cases to pursue."