Resident asks Beaver County commissioners for records on alleged 287(g) agreement with ICE; county and sheriff provide differing descriptions

Joel Dixon, a Freedom resident, told the Beaver County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 14 that he and a community group believe the Beaver County Sheriff's Office has entered a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said he filed a Right-to-Know request seeking records.

Dixon said the group's concern centers on how local law enforcement participates with ICE and whether constitutional and due-process rights of immigrants are being observed. "We want to ensure that we're following the constitution and have due process rights of any immigrant regardless of what their status is," Dixon told the commissioners, providing a copy of his request to county staff.

The county responded in the meeting that the commission and the law department had not approved any 287(g) agreement. A law department representative told the board that contracts and agreements signed on behalf of the county normally require a resolution from the commissioners and that they had not seen the agreement Dixon referenced.

A representative of the sheriff's department told the commissioners that…