Tragedy changes justice system

Carolyn Hileman* | June 12, 2007

Filed Under Crime Criminals Justice, Immigration

One year ago, the name Garcia Reyes didn’t mean much to me or this community.

It wasn’t until last June when he crashed his car into a Mt. Juliet couple on Old Hickory Boulevard and was charged with DUI and vehicular homicide that his name meant something to all of us.

Over a five-year period, Reyes, an illegal immigrant, had been booked into the Davidson County Jail 12 times prior to these June 8, 2006, charges. Although upon each arrest we submitted his name to the federal government, it wasn’t until his charge reached an aggravated felony status that the federal system flagged him as an illegal immigrant.

Most of his charges over the years involved DUI, driver’s license charges and other misdemeanor offenses. As we moved through last summer, it seemed a similar scenario played out in many areas of Davidson County. In three months, there were six separate homicides all involving illegal immigrants — many of whom had previous encounters with the justice system.

For years, we had a false sense of security believing we were releasing people back into the community who had cleared every hurdle necessary, including a check with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). What we didn’t know was the federal government was failing us all. When searching for answers with Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas and District Attorney General Torry Johnson, we found a little-known program called the Delegation of Authority Program, or 287(g), operating in only three counties nationwide.

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