Texas Sheriff Expects Fewer Deportations

Published November 26, 2014 at 12:20 PM CST

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, pictured here at a news conference on Jan. 25, 2013, says he expects fewer deportations — and thinks that's a good thing. (Pat Sullivan/AP)

President Obama, as part of his executive actions last week, is doing away with a controversial law enforcement program known as Secure Communities.

Under Secure Communities, undocumented immigrants picked up by local police for even minor violations could be held in custody and eventually deported if their fingerprints matched a federal immigration database.

Under a new program that will replace Secure Communities, only the more serious criminal offenders will be deported.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, a Democrat elected to office shortly after his county became the first Secure Communities jurisdiction in 2008, is the only American born in his family of Mexican immigrants.

He tells Here & Now’s Robin Young that he expects fewer deportations because of the changes, and thinks that’s a good thing.

Guest

Adrian Garcia, sheriff of Harris County, Texas. He tweets @SheriffGarcia.