On the other hand…immigration cases in Houston dismissed in record numbers

I know, it’s kind of schitzo. On the one hand Texas has called a full court press to identify and deport undocumented criminals. And on the other, Homeland Security officials are busy helping to dismiss immigration cases that are overflowing the courts in Houston.

So which is it? Only in Texas, it’s both.

The Houston Chronicle reports that in one month 200 cases were dismissed.

Some folks who don’t like this process call it a “back door amnesty.” Which it isn’t. Because while criminal cases may be dismissed, the immigration status remains unchanged.

The difference between the aggressive criminal process across the state and the dismissal of some cases in Houston rests in the criteria. This from the Chronicle’s piece: “Government attorneys in Houston were instructed to exercise prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis for illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least two years and have no serious criminal history, Gonzalez said.

To qualify for dismissal, defendants also must have no felony record or any misdemeanor convictions involving DWI, sex crimes or domestic violence…”

You can read the entire article here.