Guest Blogger Series: Sheriff Adrian Garcia “Keeping Harris County-Southeast Texas Safe”

My job as the sheriff of Harris County – a county of more than 4 million people – is to help keep them safe.

Harris County is a growing and vast metropolitan area in southeast Texas – home to one of the most culturally rich cities in the nation. Our size and diversity present constant challenges and opportunities to our men and women of law enforcement, committed to creating and maintaining a secure community.

As Sheriff, I also run the county jail. We book and release about 140,000 people every year. Less than 10 percent of them are suspected to be illegal immigrants. Once their local case is over we turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and have been since I took office in 2009.

I am the proud son of immigrants, and was born and raised in Houston. I became a police officer here and arrested many law-breakers. So when the bad guys come to my jail for violating the criminal laws of Texas, I make room for them in my crowded jail. If they are here illegally, we refer them to ICE.

My brave and hardworking deputies are fighting crime every day even though we are battling budget cuts from the county, state and federal government because of the economy. Our shrinking budget and manpower is making it challenging to maintain appropriate response times and clearance rates. We are doing more with less, and taking on more responsibilities that should fall on the federal government will not serve Harris County residents well. Besides, I need the confidence of my community to report crime and to serve as witnesses in the prosecution of criminals.

We need a comprehensive immigration policy such as the one President Obama has asked for and as President George W. Bush asked for during his time in office. A policy that effectively secures the border.  A policy that addresses the many families that reside in our communities; families that are working hard, raising their children to respect the community and succeed in school, and families who have never violated any criminal laws. A policy that also holds other countries accountable for failing their citizens to the point that they’re fleeing their homeland for a better life.

My father was a guest worker and returned back home after he completed his contract, and when my parents realized that their homeland was not going to provide a meaningful future for their family, they waited their turn in a long line to enter this country legally. We continue to be a nation of many heritages and the land of opportunity, but we also continue to be a nation of laws. We need leadership in Congress to provide solutions to this issue and stop forcing local communities to deal with federal matters.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia heads the largest sheriff’s office in Texas and the third-largest in the United States. Sheriff Garcia is a native Houstonian who chose public service as a profession and became an officer with the Houston Police Department in 1980.