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Office of 1st Defense recounts case where lawyers cleared immigration detainer for 17‑year‑old
Summary
Staff described a recent CAFA case in which attorneys established U.S. citizenship for a 17‑year‑old arrested on a nonviolent misdemeanor, coordinated with jail and federal contacts, and secured removal of an immigration detainer within hours.
Kristin Jernigan, chief counsel for the Office of 1st Defense, described a recent client case that staff said illustrates the difference CAFA can make for people newly booked into the county jail.
"We had a 17 year old high school student arrested for a non violent misdemeanor," Jernigan said, recounting that an immigration detainer was placed on the teenager. OFD lawyers checked identification and family documentation, contacted jail staff and the federal immigration contacts the jail maintains, and within hours the immigration detainer was removed, preventing transfer to federal custody.
Commissioners pressed staff on how U.S. citizens can come to be detained under immigration warrants and whether local officials can lift those holds; jail records and OFD staff explained detainer placement is controlled by federal authorities and the county's role is to communicate established documentation to ICE contacts to resolve contradictions. Lieutenant Michael Everil, who oversees Central Booking, said the records unit has established contacts with federal agencies to begin that communications process. Staff agreed to preserve a written record of the case and the points of contact for follow‑up.
