This latest version did not include a provision that was in the original House bill that would have allowed law enforcement to return illegal immigrants to the border without first going through the judicial process.One of those is what happens to county jails that aren't along the border, like Dallas and Tarrant counties?And the other big worry for counties is the cost.
Adam Haynes, with the Council of Urban Counties, said the proposal is an unfunded mandate. He said counties would have to pick up the tab for housing these individuals, but the bill establishes a way for counties to be reimbursed through the governor's discretionary fund. If a person is caught in the state illegally, it would be a Class B misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail, and they would have to stay in a county jail until a state agency transports them to the border after they've served their sentence."My initial concern was that, what happens to local jails away from the border," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said.
"What we're arguing for and believe we're going to get is only if you see the illegal crossing or illegal entry. It has to be on view, so that really wouldn't apply to Tarrant or Dallas or any of us up here. It would only apply to the peace officers on the border," he added."We need it to ensure American’s possess the most basic element of sovereignty and that's the ability to determine who becomes a part of our community," Melissa Ford Maldonado said.