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Residents tell Mahoning County commissioners they fear ICE detentions create legal, fiscal risks
Summary
Public commenters described detainee health and family impacts and urged the county to verify ICE procedures and documentation; commissioners responded that county contracts had been reviewed and defended law enforcement.
Two residents used public comment time at the Oct. 23 Mahoning County commissioners meeting to say the county should scrutinize its contract and cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), raise concerns about detainee medical care, and warn of potential legal liability.
Chris Harris, who said he organizes weekly prayer vigils for detained immigrants, recounted encounters at the county jail and said some detainees have significant health needs. “It should not be in jail,” Harris said of immigrants detained for civil immigration matters, and he urged commissioners to consider the family impacts when fathers are detained.
A second speaker, who identified himself as Devlin and said he is a lawyer in Youngstown, pressed the commissioners on liability and documentation. Devlin said Mahoning County is paid about $125 per detainee per day and estimated roughly 110 individuals were being detained; he argued the county could face suit if any detentions were wrongful. “It is estimated that we will make $4,000,000 from their detentions in 1 year alone,” Devlin said, and he asked whether the county could produce documentation to prove each detainee received full due process.
A commissioner responded during public comment, saying county attorneys, prosecutors and judges had reviewed the contract and that it was “totally legal.” That commissioner also warned against public criticisms of law enforcement, saying the county would continue to “help” law enforcement and that commissioners supported local, state and federal officers.
Why it matters: commenters said detainee health care and family impacts create moral and fiscal concerns for the county, and they asked for specific documentation the county could produce if litigation followed. Commissioners said legal review of the contract had already occurred.
What was not decided: the board did not vote that day to change the county’s contract with ICE or to commission an independent audit; commissioners answered the public comments but did not direct staff to produce the detainee-level documentation requested during the public comment period.
Speakers at the meeting also exchanged heated remarks after the public-comment speakers left the podium; commissioners cautioned commenters about the forum’s purpose and defended local law enforcement and the contract review process.
The commissioners moved on to the rest of the agenda after public comment.
