Dallas County Sheriff Faces Lawsuit Over Federal Immigration Holds
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The Dallas County sheriff who was warned by Governor Greg Abbott about not complying with immigration holds has been sued by people who say they were detained for extended periods because of such holds.
The lawsuit was filed Monday, the same day Abbott made public a letter to Sheriff Lupe Valdez. The letter threatened to penalize Dallas County over the sheriff's revised policy to no longer honor all federal immigration detention holds. Governor Abbott said he wrote the letter with the purpose of reversing what he calls Valdez's 'unilaterally enacted policy' of refusing to automatically detain all criminal immigrants
The holds are generally for an additional 48 hours.
The lawsuit, which also names Dallas County and seeks unspecified damages, says that the 16 plaintiffs were held for extended periods after bond was set.
Valdez said last September that the jail would no longer extend holds on immigrants believed in the U.S. illegally and suspected of minor crimes.
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