PHOENIX - It's been almost one week since the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office changed its policy on releasing undocumented immigrants from the 4th Avenue Jail after Sheriff Paul Penzone said he would no longer hold these inmates past their release dates.
Since Sheriff Penzone made his decision public, more than 30 undocumented immigrants have been let out of jail. Some have very serious charges.
Jose Paramo was booked for aggravated DUI and released. Tania Alvarez was booked for assault and released.
These are just two of the more than 30 undocumented immigrants that have been released from the 4th Avenue Jail in the last week.
Being fully transparent, MCSO opened jail doors to local news stations, so we could give you a unique look at their operations.
First, Capt. Mike Dawson led the tour of the medical area.
"Everybody that comes into our custody or comes into this building is first given an initial health assessment," Dawson said.
Then the tour moves to where inmates -- both documented and undocumented -- are booked.
"If they're arrested on a warrant, new charges, all of that information is being placed in there as well as a probable cause for the arrest for the courts to see," Dawson said.
And finally, crews see where ICE is stationed. It's the end of the process, once booking is wrapping up.
"We check to make sure the warrants are booked correctly or that the booking itself is done correctly," Dawson said.
Of the more than 30 inmates that have been released because of Penzone's policy change, ICE took five of them back into custody.
In the past, MCSO performed courtesy holds for more than 48 hours. But Penzone, in an exclusive interview with KTAR, says the Maricopa County Attorney's Office advised him that, legally, they cannot do that.
"This is not something that I wanted to do," Penzone said. "It is something I was required to do."
Penzone also told KTAR that they can notify ICE about 15 minutes before an inmate will be released, leaving it up to the agency to meet them at the backdoor.