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Berrien County sheriff: local agreement with ICE covers jail holds only, not community task force
Summary
The sheriff told commissioners the county’s agreement with ICE covers only warrant service for people incarcerated in the county jail and does not authorize community enforcement or a task-force model; county leaders and the prosecutor have discussed the limits of local authority with faith leaders.
The Berrien County sheriff told the board that the county’s local agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) applies only to a warrant-service function for people already in custody and does not create community enforcement or a task-force authority.
The sheriff explained the three components referenced under the 287(g)-style framework discussed in media coverage — a warrant-service model, a jail-enforcement model, and a task-force model — and said the county has signed only the warrant-service arrangement. Under that arrangement, the sheriff said, the county honors ICE holds for people in the county jail and assists with serving warrants while an incarcerated person remains in custody; ICE then has 48 hours to pick up the person for transfer if it chooses to do so.
The sheriff emphasized the county is not engaged in community enforcement: “I don't enforce immigration law. That's their job,” he said, noting the county lacks authority for community-based immigration enforcement and that the county does not participate in the task-force model described in a recent MLive article. The sheriff said prosecutors and county staff have met with faith leaders to explain the county’s practices and to dispel misunderstandings arising from media coverage and a map accompanying the article.
Why it matters: The scope of local involvement with federal immigration enforcement has been a subject of public concern. The sheriff’s remarks sought to draw a clear distinction between long-standing jail procedures for honoring holds and the separate, more expansive enforcement models some jurisdictions pursue.
The sheriff said the warrant-service approach is primarily intended to limit arrests in the community by facilitating transfer from custody, and that the county has long honored valid holds and administrative warrants for people in jail. He said the county would assist federal partners in high-risk situations if requested but would not undertake administrative immigration enforcement in the community on its own authority.
Prosecutor Burton joined the sheriff in meetings with community leaders, the sheriff said, to reassure residents about the county’s practices.
