IMMIGRATION INJUSTICE

SAN ANTONIO’S BEXAR COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ALLOWED A TRAFFICKER TO WALK, WITNESSES WANTED TO TALK

BEXAR COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NICO LAHOOD 

(Photo- Bexar County)

By RAICES

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood failed to respond to multiple emails from the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), the firm that represents twelve individuals who were rescued from the back of a trailer in San Antonio on December 23, 2017. Lawyers from RAICES met with Mr. LaHood, a prosecutor and an investigator on January 11, 2018, and agreed to make witnesses available for preliminary interviews over the phone and via Skype so that the prosecuting attorneys could ask questions and confirm the witness statements that were provided in December in preparation for trial.

RAICES sent multiple emails over a two-month period contacting the prosecutor assigned to the case with no reply.  On April 3rd, 2018, Henry Allen Nichols, the individual apprehended at the scene as the truck driver, was released because no indictment was filed in his case. LaHood did not respond to RAICES’ outreach until after Mr. Nichols’ release. LaHood recognized that his office had failed to follow up.

Mr. Nichols was caught in the act by police officers who were wearing body cameras. Moreover, evidence of his criminal activity prior to arrest was captured by a nearby security camera. The twelve eye witnesses provided complete statements to the police. The witnesses maintained contact with their attorneys at RAICES, whose multiple attempts to contact the Office of District Attorney Nico LaHood went unanswered.

 “The hateful billboards littering the San Antonio highways and the statements by Nico LaHood that his witnesses were not available simply cannot be justified by the facts,” said Jonathan Ryan, Executive Director of RAICES.

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RAICES, founded in 1986 as part of the sanctuary movement in South Texas, fights for the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, and immigrants to create a more just world.