HOUSTON, TEXAS JUDGES IMPOSE HIGH BOND FOR SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Most people who are arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated in Harris County, Texas are released on bond of $500.  But this is not the case for those who the judge suspects are in the US illegally.  For them, bond is set at $25,000.   This has been policy in the county since last June, and defense attorneys in the area claim it is unconstitutional. 

The judges claim they are only trying to ensure that defendants who do not have many ties to the community remain in the area until their case goes to trial.  According to one judge, the high bond amounts ensure the defendant is tried before he is deported, if he is deportable at all.  Michael A. Olivas, a law professor at the University of Houston calls that idea “nonsense,” according to a story published recently in the Houston Press.

This new policy replaced one of denying bond altogether to those who the judge suspected were in the US without authorization.  The new policy was adopted after judges became concerned denying bond altogether was unconstitutional. 

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