About a hundred Cameron County inmates have been transferred north to Nueces County.
They were quickly boarded onto a county bus Friday afternoon wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles.
Sheriff Omar Lucio said moving the inmates 125 miles North to Driscoll was the only option left to avoid what he called “overcrowding.”
The sheriff said the unprecedented action was a direct response to ballooning numbers at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center.
The county, he explained, was in danger of breaking state jail rules and breaching a federal inmate contract with the US Marshals that generates millions of dollars a year for the county budget.
Sheriff Lucio said he repeatedly warned this day would come.
"I have been preaching this on a constant basis ... On a constant basis," said the sheriff.
County Judge Carlos Cascos said the US Marshal's pays the county $36.35 per federal inmate per day per.
The contract approved Friday, requires the county pay another facility $48.00 per day per inmate.
In order to comply with the federal contract the county must make room for their prisoners.
Cascos said it was also necessary to transfer local inmates to another facility in order to comply with the Commission on Jail Standards regarding the jail population and avoid an overcrowding issue.
The net cost to the county will be $11.65 per inmate per day, according to records from the County Auditor.
Judge Cascos believes with about 90 inmates transferred the county’s monthly net out of pocket cost will be $31,455.
He anticipated the addition to the Carrizales-Rucker facility to be completed within the next 10 months, which will provide an additional 356 beds.
Once the addition is completed, he said county inmates will be transferred back.
“We have continuously had concerns regarding jail overcrowding and the County Commission continues to work to mediate these issues within the financial constraints & resources we have available,” said Judge Cascos.
Cameron County received $559,000 from the "State Criminal Alien Assistance Program" (SCAAP), which was not budgeted as revenue during our budget process.
Judge Cascos said these funds will be utilized to pay for the housing of the transferred inmates which eliminates the need to utilize any County reserves at this time.
“We do not anticipate running into any problems and don’t anticipate having to raise taxes or cut any county programs or services because of the inmate transfers,” he explained.
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