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Residents urge Medina County not to house ICE detainees; commissioners say county holds U.S. Marshals contract, not ICE
Summary
Several Medina County residents urged commissioners during public comment to refuse any contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Commissioners and staff said the county currently has a federal contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, not ICE, and indicated the sheriff would play a primary role in any detention contract.
Several Medina County residents used the May 27 public-comment period to urge the Board of Commissioners to refuse any contract that would allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, to detain immigrants in the county jail.
Nola Lother, a Medina resident, told commissioners such contracts “come at a serious cost to our values, our community safety, and our public trust” and said cooperation with ICE would transform local institutions “into extensions of a controversial and often abusive deportation system.”
Kathy Jones, a resident of Sharon Township, asked commissioners whether Medina County currently has any contract with ICE. County officials responded that the county has “a federal contract, but it's not with ICE.” Commissioner comments during the exchange identified the county’s existing federal relationship as a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service that has existed for decades.
Jones urged the board to reject any future contracts with ICE, saying such agreements could lead to “costly lawsuits,” reduce voluntary crime reporting by immigrant communities, and erode trust in local law enforcement. Pauline Chapman of Montville Township also spoke, saying she did not want the county to be remembered as a jurisdiction that “succumbs to a lawless rule of law breaking administration” for federal dollars.
Commissioners and staff clarified process questions during the comments. One commissioner said the sheriff would have primary operational authority over custody and that a county role would depend on whether an arrangement came in the form of a contract. The board indicated that, if a contract were proposed, commissioners would be involved in approving it.
No contract with ICE was presented or approved at the meeting. The exchange during public comment included residents’ appeals to the board and a staff/commissioner clarification that Medina County’s long-standing federal detention relationship is with the U.S. Marshals Service, not ICE.
