In thousands of local jails and prisons across the country, federal agents use computer databases to look for possible undocumented immigrants, then file what’s known as a detainer a document requesting that local authorities notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement before releasing an alleged immigrant and delay his or her release for up to 48 hours so ICE agents can take custody of them. In Travis County, where an average of almost three undocumented immigrants have been deported every day since 2009, making it one of the busiest deportation sites in the country, Sheriff Greg Hamilton has said federal regulations require him to comply with those detainers. But Hamilton has recently come under increasing pressure from critics, including his opponent in the Democratic primary, who contend the detainers aren’t mandatory and urge the sheriff to follow the lead of a growing number of other urban areas that have stopped automatically honoring all of them…

Read more http://www.statesman.com/news/local/sheriff-faces-pressure-to-stop-holding-jailed-immigrants-2317505.html

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