Counties should refuse ICE detainers

'If someone is held in absence of a warrant or any sort of probable cause issued by a judge, that raises serious constitutional concerns,” said Erica Johnson of the ACLU of Iowa.

We agree, and applaud the Iowa sheriffs now refusing to honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For years, local jails detained individuals without a warrant or judge's order at the request of federal officials. The additional detention, up to two days, allowed federal agents to check the person's immigration status.

The ACLU of Iowa announced last week that at least 22 counties will no longer honor such requests. Four of the seven counties in our region are no longer holding people without a warrant - Benton, Iowa, Johnson and Linn.

Polk County, home of the state's largest jail facility, received 488 detainer requests in 2012 and 2013. Linn County received 206 in the same time period. According to data from Syracuse University, about 3,000 people were detained by ICE in Iowa jails between 2012 and 2013, and 63 percent had no criminal history.

It is a significant policy shift for most departments, which previously booked inmates and routinely honored ICE's requests for 48-hour immigration status check holds, and is well overdue. A 2012 Oregon lawsuit determined such detainers constituted false imprisonment.

Following the Oregon decision, the ACLU of Iowa sent letters to local law enforcement, informing detainer requests 'do not provide independent legal authority to detain a person.” Continuing to do so, the letter cautioned, could pave the way for additional lawsuits.

Beyond such legal risks, the immigration detainers force local law enforcement to serve in the role of federal immigration officers, and result in additional local taxpayer expense as inmates are held longer in local facilities. It is also believed that a fear of being held by local law enforcement quells local immigrant populations from reporting crimes like rape, theft or domestic violence and perpetuates such crimes within local communities.

The number people requested to be detained by ICE who were later deported from the U.S. remains unknown. While some surely were, others are likely able to apply legally for visas, especially if they have been the victim of a crime and aid local law enforcement.

It is time for all Iowa county officials and federal agencies to honor due process.

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