Houston Chronicle
@HoustonChronA Harris County-licensed bail bondsman was among four people indicted in connection to bribes made to an ICE deportation officer to lift immigration detainers on those pending trial.
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Former ICE Officer, Houston Bondsmen Charged in Detainer Bribery Scheme
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A federal grand jury has indicted former Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer Jose Angel Muniz and three Houston-area bail bondsmen on charges that they bribed Muniz to lift immigration detainers on people held at the Harris County Jail.
Prosecutors allege that between April 2023 and March 2024, Leopoldo Perrault Benitez, owner of A Way Out Bail Bonds, his son Anthony Benitez, and Isaac Sierra of International Bonding Company paid Muniz to remove federal holds that would have kept non-citizen defendants in custody pending removal proceedings. The indictment, returned on 24 June and unsealed 2 July, says the scheme allowed the detainees to be released before immigration authorities could act.
All four defendants made their initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston and were ordered held pending further proceedings. Each faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of either $250,000 or the equivalent value of the alleged bribes, whichever is greater. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said the case underscores its “zero tolerance” stance on corruption in immigration enforcement.
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