Published: May 21, 2010

Houston, Texas (05-17-2010 – Pakistan Chronicle News): Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia this past Monday in the jail located along San Jacinto announced a high profile advisory panel for the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Program called 287(g). Panel includes people of varying background and communities. Sheriff Garcia has formed this committee to advise him on the screening of county jail inmates for immigration status.

Sheriff's deputies trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement work side by side with federal immigration agents in the county jail identifying inmates, who may be undocumented immigrants under the 287(g) program. The inmates are turned over to ICE after they have served their sentences for local crimes.

Committee members include:

Co-Chair Mustafa Tameez, Founder and Managing Director, Outreach Strategists LLC;

Co-Chair Beto Cardenas, Counsel, Vinson & Elkins LLP;

Ali Zakaria, M. Ali Zakaria and Associates;

Wafa Abdin, Legal Director, Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance at Catholic Charities;

Jackson Chang, Pwner, Pan Jackson Company;

Cecil Fong, president, Houston 80-20 Asian American PAC;

Long Le, PhD, director of international initiatives for global studies, University of Houston;

Mace Meeks, VP/partner, Dean and Draper Insurance, President of "C" Club of Houston;

Jeff Moseley, President and CEO, Greater Houston Partnership;

Laura Murillo, President and CEO, Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce;

Danny Nguyen, Broker/Owner, DN Commercial;

Mosis Willett, Vice President, African Correlation PAC; and

Chris Wilmot, President and CEO, WCW International Inc..

Committee members will give the Sheriff feedback about the program from multiple points of view. The memorandum of agreement between the Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security calls for the creation of the committee.

Since implementing 287(g) in August 2008, the Sheriff's Office has identified over 17,400 inmates, who could have been in the country not through legal means. They were detained for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to later to determine their immigration status once their criminal cases were resolved.

Talking to the media, Sheriff Garcia said: "We are working every day to make sure that concerns of racial profiling are not part of this program. To that end, this 13 member advisory committee, which will look at how 287 (g) is implemented and make recommendations to me ways it could work better. Their advice to me will be to make sure that we are implementing the program as prescribed by and envisioned by ICE and by me, so we can make sure Harris County is free of controversy," Sheriff Garcia said.

He said his office has received no complaints specific to the way the program is implemented at the jail, only critics who argue about the 287(g) in general.

The sheriff says this is an ethnic and religious cross section of Harris County, business and community leaders whom he trusts.

"We're not here to debate the critics or proponents. We're here to listen and look at the application of the law," said Cardenas.

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