Texas AI Jail Surveillance Oversight Request Cornyn

Dear Senator Cornyn and Staff,

My name is LeRoy Nellis II, a Texas constituent and former detainee of the Williamson County Jail. I am reaching out to share a formal civil-rights complaint that I recently filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division – Special Litigation Section.

Evidence record:

The complaint documents how AI-enabled surveillance systems inside the Williamson County Jail record and analyze detainees' movements, voices, and facial expressions — including privileged attorney–client communications — while feeding this data into federal databases such as NCIC, TCIC, and CJIS. Because this occurs under an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with the U.S. Marshals Service, it raises urgent questions about constitutional violations, privacy breaches, and federal accountability. The surveillance operates without judicial authorization; the capture includes protected communications; the data transfer is continuous and one-way — from the detainee to the federal systems, with no feedback loop back to the detainee or to the attorney trying to speak with him.

Why this letter matters:

County jails are not federal buildings. They operate under state authority with federal money under contract. When a county signs an IGSA with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal detainees, the county agrees to federal custody standards — not to waive constitutional rights, but to operate under them. The surveillance this letter documents is not the byproduct of the agreement; it is an operational choice by whoever configured the systems inside the facility. An IGSA does not grant the right to record attorney–client communications. The right exists. The recording does. The question Cornyn can answer — and the author of this letter has asked him to — is whose job it is to shut it down.

What I am asking:

I respectfully request a meeting — virtual or in-person — with your staff to discuss possible legislative oversight and policy safeguards to ensure Texans' rights are protected within county detention facilities. Your long-standing leadership on justice and government reform gives me confidence that your office can help ensure transparency and uphold constitutional standards. I would be honored to provide additional materials and testimony.

Respectfully, LeRoy Nellis II Austin, Texas [email removed] · [phone removed]

Attachment: DOJ Civil Rights Complaint — Williamson County Jail (Exhibits A–D)

“I am reaching out to share a formal civil-rights complaint that I recently filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division – Special Litigation Section.”

Why this letter matters:

County jails are not federal buildings. They operate under state authority with federal money under contract. When a county signs an IGSA with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal detainees, the county agrees to federal custody standards — not to waive constitutional rights, but to operate under them. The surveillance this letter documents is not the byproduct of the agreement; it is the operational choice of whoever configured the systems inside the facility. An IGSA does not grant the right to record attorney–client communications. The right exists. The recording does. The question the Senator can answer — and the author of this letter has asked him to — is whose job it is to shut it down.

What the Record Shows:

The appeal is addressed and signed. The complaint is attached. The recipient is a United States Senator whose office has the authority to convene hearings, request briefings, or direct staff review. The ask is specific — meet with your staff to discuss oversight — and the attachment is enough to give that staff anything they need to evaluate the request. Cornyn's office will either respond, delay, or deflect. This article will preserve whichever occurs — the response, the silence, or the timeline — so future readers do not need to take the filer's word for any of it.