UPDATE: Statement from Travis County Sheriff Office
Earlier today, media outlet(s) reported a pending release of Inmate Hugo Javier Gallardo-Gonzalez from the Travis County Jail after the posting of a bond. An ICE detainer had been requested and initially declined, since it was not apparent that the noted charge met criteria established by current TCSO Policy. After reviewing the probable cause affidavit submitted for the charge of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child or Children, which was received by booking staff after magistration on the charge, staff learned of the aggravated sexual abuse element contained therein. Actions were immediately taken to reinstate the requested ICE detainer to keep Hugo Gallardo-Gonzalez in custody. He remains in the custody of the Travis County Jail.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office intends to review this matter and consider possible policy modifications to account for similar future issues.
There are only four crimes that Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez thinks are egregious enough to honor an I.C.E. detainer: capital murder, murder, aggravated sexual assault, and human trafficking.
And even though 31-year-old Hugo Javier Gallardo-Gonzalez is being charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl, that wasn’t enough to qualify for an immigration hold.
“Can you imagine anyone, anyone in this country thinking that that is right?” asks Precinct 3 Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty. Daugherty has been an outspoken critic of Sheriff Hernandez’ new policy.
“When ICE tells you they want you to put a detainer on a person that they have the legal right to ask you for that,” he says, adding, “you have a mandatory, statutorily reason to comply with that. That’s what you did when you took your oath to be an elected official.”
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