Authorities in Kinney County, Texas, are making it difficult for relatives, friends and advocates of some 1,000 migrants to recover the bail money they paid to free them after being arrested on low-level charges, such as It’s home invasion. This money, which technically belongs to them, is accumulating in a county bank account and the sum reaches more than $2 million, reported Texas Tribune.
Delays and obstacles to recover the money
In Texas, most criminal defendants are eligible to get out of jail on bail while their cases are pending, usually by paying a certain amount of money to make sure they show up for their hearings.
- If the person appears in court and follows the release conditions, the money is supposed to be returned to the payer or the defendant. Conversely, if you don’t make it to court or meet the conditions, the county could keep the money.
- In the case of relatives of migrants, they are being required to give up their right to recover the money, although it is argued that it is a measure so that only one person can claim it.
- In addition, judges are making defendants appear in court in person to qualify for reimbursement, even if they have already been deported.
- And for the money to be returned, the responsibility of looking for it in court has been placed on the migrant.
A flow of money to the county coffers
Defense attorneys and civil rights groups have raised concerns that the county is creating a new stream of money, at the expense of migrants’ pockets, for its own coffers.
- However, the Kinney County Sheriff dismissed concerns that the bonds would be improperly held. “No one at the border has ever been prosecuted for trespassing before,” he said. “So, are there going to be setbacks? Yes, there are going to be some setbacks.”
- In July 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that, with the permission of landowners, the state would for the first time punish people suspected of crossing the border illegally by arresting them on suspicion of trespassing on private property. This measure would be part of the Lone Star operation, launched by the governor to stop drug cartels and traffickers.
- Since then, some 3,000 immigrants in Kinney County have been arrested and charged with trespassing alone. More than 1,000 of those migrants were released on cash bail, with the average set at about $2,200.
- In recent months, the cases have begun to close and some of the money should be returned to those who paid it. While he doesn’t know how many people qualify to have their payments refunded, the county clerk noted that only one person has had their money refunded and a few more checks will be mailed soon.
With information from: Texas Tribune
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