Local sheriffs no longer honoring all ICE detainer requests

In a shift from previous policy, local sheriffs are no longer holding inmates at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a court order.

The change comes following a court case in Oregon and an advisory from American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

Sheriffs offices across the county and in Iowa are changing their policy regarding ICE holds, including those in Linn and Johnson counties.

'We will no longer hold any inmates past their release time merely on an ICE hold,” Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said this week.

The changes were quietly made in May and June.

Under the previous policy, when someone was booked at the jail, ICE received a list of bookings, according to Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek. ICE would then review that list and occasionally request a 48-hour hold be placed on an inmate while their immigration status is checked. Pulkrabek said they'll no longer honor those requests without a court order, which would then transfer them to the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

'When they are released on local charges, we're going to release them, we're not going to hold them any further,” Pulkrabek said. 'If ICE isn't here to pick them up, they go on their merry way.”

The policy shift was born out of a court case in Oregon. On March 14, 2012, Maria Miranda-Olivares was arrested for violating a domestic abuse protective order and booked at the Clackamas County Jail. The following day, the jail received a detainer request from ICE, which it honored. Miranda-Olivares was told she could not leave the jail, even if she posted the $500 bail. She remained in custody on state charged until March 29, but was not allowed to leave for an additional 19 hours because of the ICE detainer. Miranda-Olivares filed a lawsuit against the county, arguing that the detainer was not mandatory and constituted false imprisonment.

In April 2014, a judge found in favor of Miranda-Olivares.

'That kind of put sheriffs offices' on notice,” Gardner said of the court order. 'They had to be careful as far as how long they allowed these inmates to remain in custody.”

Following the ruling, ACLU of Iowa sent a letter to Iowa county sheriffs, informing them that ICE detainer requests 'do not provide independent legal authority to detain a person” and complying with those holds could set up the counties for additional lawsuits.

A message left for ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer was not returned.

Pulkrabek and Gardner both said the change in policy would have a minimal effect on their respective departments. On May 23, the day Gardner changed policies, there was one inmate in the Linn County Jail on an ICE detainer, he said.

The sheriffs said they would continue to work with ICE and provide them with the same booking details and other information they have in the past.

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