Sheriff partners with ICE to help execute arrest warrants

Ironic in a way.

Saturday afternoon, into the early evening hours, hundreds of protesters gathered in McAllen, gnarling up traffic on S. 10th St., claiming that ICE raids unfairly target the “immigrant” community.

The local news media showed up, and the group was off and running, taking selfies up the wazoo.

Mexican flags were waving, people were cheering, sombreros were bobbing. The only group not represented were the six people with outstanding arrest warrants that ICE agents had collared the week before.

Local Partnership

For his part, Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said he’s happy that ICE agents are around to help capture people for whom the sheriff’s department has outstanding arrest warrants.

“Like I told CNN, my job is to make sure that my community is safe. These are the people that I don’t want in my community. And here I got a federal agency that’s willing to help me remove them, right? Who can say no to that?”

What about those protest signs seen Saturday, though?

“Stop mass deportation.”

“No one is illegal on stolen land.”

Honk, honk, honk.

Several signs read: We speak for those who can’t.

That’s because they might have been in federal or state custody by then, unable to attend the protest parade.

Over the past week, the sheriff said, ICE agents went out to go round up people, charged with committing serious crimes, who were also in this country illegally.

Through a cooperative agreement, Guerra handed 45 arrest warrants to ICE agents, and they were able to find six.

The sheriff reckons that the remaining 39 have already left for their country of origin, knowing home port may not be great, but compared to an American prison, why not take off before they get arrested?

Indecency with a Child?

Asked what sorts of crimes the six captured by ICE agents are accused of committing, Guerra said:

“One aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, two of them (are charged with) indecency with a child — sexual contact, and two of them (for alleged) sexual assault and rape.”

Guerra says that ICE agents, and the other federal agencies with which his department has a working partnership, all of whom have now been given Title 8 authority (immigration enforcement), are not going after your everyday person walking the streets, going to work each day, or school, or church.

“They’re not raiding the flea market, they’re not raiding places of employment,” said Guerra.

What ICE is doing, though, said the sheriff, is helping his department capture serious violent offenders (alleged) who have an outstanding arrest warrant filed against them.

Not only his department, but other law enforcement agencies spread out across the RGV as well.

For his part, said the sheriff, after spending part of last week and the weekend in D.C., meeting with federal agencies to discuss border issues, the law-enforcement work now being done along the border to arrest and/or help track down (alleged ) violent offenders is just fine by him.

“Like I said, my job is to ensure the safety of our community.”