ICE Says Felon Arrested After Texas Sheriff Ignored Request
AUSTIN (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it arrested a man who immigrated from Mexico illegally after law officers in Austin ignored a "detainer" request to turn him over.
ICE said it took 33-year-old Julio Cesar Mendoza-Caballero into custody Sunday, about a month after it sent the detainer to Travis County. ICE says Mendoza-Caballero was deported four previous times and convicted in 2008 of stealing a firearm.
Complying with detainers is voluntary, but ICE has repeatedly criticized Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez for rejecting most of them not for someone accused of a violent crime.
A sheriff's spokeswoman says the Sheriff's Office kept ICE informed of Mendoza-Caballero's status throughout his case.
Mendoza-Caballero was booked into the Travis County Jail in June on a misdemeanor assault charge.
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