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Nearly 10% of Harris County Jail Inmates Held On ICE Detainers Amid Surge In Violent Crimes
Charlie Kirk Staff
10/28/2024
In Harris County, Texas, nearly one out of every 10 inmates in the county jail has an active U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold, as revealed by a recent open records request submitted by Fox News.
An ICE hold, or detainer, is a request by ICE to local law enforcement, indicating their intent to assume custody of the detainee. This detainer requests details on the individual’s release and asks officers to hold the person for up to 48 hours to allow ICE to take custody, Fox reports.
Currently, the Harris County Jail holds 9,527 inmates, 1,170 of whom have ICE detainers. Taxpayer dollars are impacted as these cases move through the court system. According to Fox News records, as of September, 174 of these ICE holds are connected to sexual assault cases, with over half involving victims under the age of 14.
Additionally, 43% of cases with ICE holds are classified as violent crimes by the FBI. Among these are 75 murder cases, 22 of which involve capital murder charges.
One recent case includes two illegal immigrants from Venezuela charged with capital murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. Jocelyn’s mother has publicly blamed the Biden-Harris administration’s border policy for her daughter’s death.
Another suspect, 32-year-old Osman Estanly Solorzano Sanchez, is an illegal immigrant from Honduras, according to ICE. Sanchez is accused of fatally shooting 27-year-old Ricardo Vega, a father of two, during a road rage incident in April. Vega had reportedly called 911 to report that he was following an armed road rage suspect, providing the car’s description and license plate before he was shot.
Victoria Garcia, Vega’s mother, spoke with Fox News, sharing a cherished image of her son wearing a backward hat and smiling, which she keeps as his contact photo. “It’s a call I will never receive again,” Garcia said.
Garcia, who has Mexican American heritage, acknowledged her understanding of the drive for immigration and seeking a better life. “I get it, you know,” she said. “But they need to know who they’re allowing to come into our country, our country that we work every day for, that we pay taxes for. I didn’t ask for this. Ricardo didn’t ask to be killed. I didn’t ask for my son to be murdered. It’s a decision that Osman, an illegal from Honduras, decided to take upon himself.”
Garcia described her son as someone who loved to cook and fish, with a smile that could light up any room. As the case proceeds, she is committed to seeking justice.
“Ricardo isn’t here to fight his fight,” Garcia says. “But his mom is. I don’t want Ricardo’s case to be another road rage in Houston. I don’t want Ricardo’s case to be swept under the rug. I am going to fight for Ricardo.”
While the Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to Fox News’s request for information, similar requests to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office in Austin were denied and referred to the Attorney General’s Office for review.
