Migrants caught in Texas’ border crackdown could face longer prison stays

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Hundreds of migrants are sitting in Texas prisons, waiting for their first chance to appear before a judge for months.

Retired judges and prosecutors from across the state have been recruited to help deal with the constant flow of new cases. But based on the current pace of small-town courts going through the misdemeanor cases, a defense group estimates migrants arrested in rural Kinney County this month will wait up to a year in prison – the maximum prison sentence for trespassing – before they can even appear in court virtually and plead guilty or not guilty.

So far, state-selected retired judges at the men’s first trials have often agreed to release them from state custody in exchange for free bonds as their criminal cases slowly advance through the new migrant trial. Other men who can afford their cash loans are fired earlier. The released men are usually transferred to federal immigration services, after which they are either further detained, deported, or released to the United States pending an asylum hearing.

But a controversial convulsion from the conservative Kinney County district judge responsible for the vast majority of Abbott trespassing arrests could lead to even longer incarcerations and potentially keep men who cannot indefinitely cash bail in jail, be it for, they plead guilty to their first hearing in exchange for a prison sentence already served.

This week, Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan canceled hearings for 20 men and dismissed the three retired judges – two Republicans and one Democrat – who, according to a letter received from the Texas Tribune, top the most trespassing cases in his county had listened to. Instead, the region’s administrative judge said Shahan himself selected five district judges whom he hopes will help with the high caseload caused by the arrests of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.

“I suspect he’s friends with these people,” said Stephen Ables, the area’s chief administrative judge who appointed the three retired judges from a state roster to aid Kinney County. “He feels like you probably understand West Texas.”

Unlike the visiting judges, Shahan did not allow migrants to be released in exchange for free bonds after pleading not guilty in his court. Instead of this Stay in state prisons that Abbott has converted into prisons for immigration-related crimes while awaiting future trial or trial.

Shahan didn’t respond to questions emailed about his decision, and his court coordinator said the judge is still out of the office after contracting COVID-19. But the defenders have sounded the alarm. They argue that Shahan is trying to brush the current judges aside because he doesn’t like migrants being released after months in prison. They describe his move as ethically unfounded, as retaliation and as an attempt to compel migrants to confess guilt.

“This is clearly in retaliation against the judges who released hundreds of people and dismissed defective cases as part of Operation Lone Star, and poses a threat to the rule of law,” said Amanda Woog, executive director of the Texas Fair Defense Project.

Defense groups noted that the judge’s letter was sent the day after the county’s misconduct attorney Brent Smith tried to prevent visiting judges from dismissing cases or reducing bail amounts on trespassing cases. Smith, who refused to answer questions Thursday because the case is pending, argued without producing evidence that defense attorneys and acting judges filed motions without involving prosecutors. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which represents hundreds of migrants accused of trespassing, denied the allegations.

In condemning the timing of Shahan’s decision, defense lawyers also referred to the legal aid group’s recent request for all of the remaining 153 clients in prison to be released on free bail as the men have been in jail for months without a trial. Visiting judges were expected to hear many of the cases as Shahan was out of the office after testing positive for coronavirus.

The move also follows a trend in hearings for men not guilty of trespassing, with only about 10 men in Kinney County having accepted guilty plea agreements to date. Texas judges must warn defendants at the hearing that criminal convictions can adversely affect immigration proceedings. More than 30 charges were dismissed in court, and dozens more men were released on free bonds after pleading not guilty.

Kristin Etter, a Texas RioGrande Legal Aid attorney, argued that the steps of Shahan and Smith come when the new state criminal justice system – which was quickly established in response to an increase in border crossings – collapses with resistance from migrants and their defense lawyers.

“The only way to get this working is by making it a huge mill,” she said.

Since July, state police have arrested an average of 90 men a week for alleged trespassing in Kinney County. Often running through private ranches or a remote train station in the rural border district, the men are detained as part of Abbott’s border security crackdown to bring state charges against migrants suspected of illegally crossing the border. A spokesman for the Republican governor seeking re-election said the state’s new arrest initiative should “stop this revolving door and prevent others from entering illegally.”

But the system has been plagued by missteps since its inception, including unlawful arrests of migrants and their families and migrants who have been illegally detained for weeks without charge or assignment of a lawyer. And although Abbott put nearly $ 3.2 million in government funds to fuel Kinney County’s efforts, the backlog continues to grow. During more than a month of migrant’s first court hearing, defense lawyers complained that their clients had been in jail for 70 days, then 90 days, and now over 100 days despite being legally innocent.

This growing backlog is why it is illogical to prevent judges from hearing the trespassing cases, argued Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in a letter to Ables on Thursday that pushed Shahan’s decision back.

“All of our clients have been held in state prisons for months at taxpayers’ expense … They will eventually be tried in December before a deputy judge whose authority has been challenged by Judge Shahan’s attempt to remove them.” Letter read. “If Kinney County has filed more cases than it can effectively manage, the solution is to hire more judges, more prosecutors, more court staff, and more defense lawyers, not the judges who heard the vast majority of OLS cases in the US to remove the county. “

But court officials say Shahan is in his right to dispatch new district judges to help share his files even if his motive is questioned. And together with Shahan A district spokesman said Smith may also be adding more district judges to his bank, he said he also hoped for additional funding to hire additional prosecutors, court officials and office space in the sparsely populated district.

Abbott’s office didn’t directly respond to questions about new funding or concerns about delayed migrant hearings, but spokeswoman Renae Eze noted that part of the money already transferred to Kinney County will be used to pay additional legal fees for Operation Lone Star cases.

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/10/texas-border-security-migrant-prisons/