Just unbelievable!

[Beiruty]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Dallas-C ... 45324.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

by REBECCA LOPEZ

WFAA

Posted on July 9, 2010 at 6:26 PM

Updated today at 6:26 PM

DALLAS - A Dallas County jailer is facing deportation after she was arrested by federal agents while on the job Friday morning.

Maria Elvia Ross, 31, is suspected of being in the country illegally, and appears to have worked for the county illegally for nearly a decade.

Commissioner John Wiley Price said the news has come as a shock to those at Dallas City Hall. He also said the mistake should have been caught when Ross was originally hired with the county in 2001, which was when Jim Bowles was sheriff.

"That's probably the $64,000 question," Price said. "It happened in a prior administration, you really don't know. I guess at some point in time, something always gets through the cracks."

Ross had extra responsibilities and was on Sheriff Lupe Valdez's quality assurance team, which oversees improvements to sanitation.

"Their job is to make sure that the jail meets all of the safety compliance standards," Price said.

Price said Ross was caught when she applied for a deputy position and had to undergo a second background check.

"Once you are vetted through the process, I'm sure periodically they check," he said. "But, to be able to check that many officers every day, I mean nobody does that."

The commissioner said the county follows strict federal guidelines when it comes to checking immigration status, but called the Ross incident a fluke.

A News 8 investigation uncovered more than 1,000 illegal immigrants were charged with serious crimes and then deported from Dallas County before their cases went to trial. Those inmates were locked up in the same jail system in which Ross was responsible for helping oversee quality control. After the reports, a loophole in the law was closed to ensure those charged face the justice system.

E-mail: rlopez@wfaa.com

[RPBrown]

Does not suprise me at all. Look at all the other coruption issues within the county.

[Beiruty]

I am fed up with those pro illegals that they do not take away jobs and hi paying jobs. As if those illegals would never produce fake documents to secure employment. What is the risk? Deportation? They would come back as easy as their first entry.