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Sheriff: ICE agreement with Berrien County limited to jail warrant holds, not community task force
Summary
Berrien County Sheriff clarified the county's agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement covers only warrant service for people already in custody, denies that the sheriff's office operates an ICE community task force and said he lacks authority to enforce federal immigration law.
Berrien County’s sheriff told the board he has entered into a warrant‑service agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that formalizes a long‑standing practice of honoring ICE holds for people already in the county jail, but he said the agreement does not create a community enforcement task force.
At the meeting the sheriff described three models referenced in the 287(g) and related agreements — a warrant service officer model (the county's agreement), a jail enforcement model and a task force model. The county has only the warrant service officer model, which the sheriff said applies only to incarcerated individuals for whom ICE has placed a hold or administrative warrant. He said ICE has 48 hours to pick up a person after notification. "This is jail only and someone who's incarcerated," the sheriff said.
Addressing concerns raised by media coverage, the sheriff said the MLive article that referenced a task force model did not list Berrien County because the county does not participate in that model. "I don't enforce immigration law. That's their job," he said, adding the county would assist federal partners only in high‑risk operations when requested. He said he and Prosecutor Burton met with local faith leaders to explain the county’s limited role.
The sheriff said the warrant service arrangement streamlines processes when ICE has a valid administrative warrant and reduces the safety risks and logistics of making arrests in the community. He emphasized the county will not undertake ICE’s role in community enforcement absent federal direction or specific high‑risk requests.
No formal board action on the agreement was taken at the meeting; the sheriff said the agreement formalizes practices the jail has followed for years.
