Over the last several days, a number of sheriffs from the Finger Lakes have released their department’s policies as it pertains to working with federal immigration officials and the role each agency will play when it comes to the detention of illegal immigrants.
From Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione:
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office offers the following facts regarding our role and authority in enforcement related to this topic.
- Improper entry into the U.S. is a violation of Section 1325 of Title 8 of the U.S. Code. Local law enforcement officers, including sheriff’s deputies, are not authorized under federal or NY State laws to arrest or detain anyone based solely on a violation of this federal code. As such, in the course of their regular duties investigating criminal activity and calls for service, Ontario County Sheriff’s Deputies do not inquire about the immigration status of individuals they encounter.
- Immigration Detainers and Administrative Warrants issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative officers do not give a Sheriff or Jail authority to detain an incarcerated individual beyond their scheduled release date.
- A Federal Criminal Warrant of Arrest is based on probable cause and signed by a federal judge or federal magistrate. Local police officers in NY State, including sheriff’s deputies are authorized to execute such warrants. The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office will assist our federal partners with the execution of such warrants upon request and upon coming into contact with an individual wanted on a federal warrant.
- While the NY State Green Light Law prevents local law enforcement from sharing NYS Department of Motor Vehicle data with U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, we are legally able and do share other information with these federal partners, including court dates and release dates for incarcerated individuals.
- The safety and security of those who reside and travel through Ontario County is of paramount importance to all members of this Office. We have and will continue to work cooperatively with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in the furtherance of this goal.
Yates County Sheriff Francis Ryan:
There have been many recent changes to the way our Federal Government has been dealing with issues involving immigration and enforcement, much of which is being publicized on various media outlets. Our office, and I, as your elected Sheriff, would like to address some concerns that have arisen with respect to recent news reports and what our role is in such efforts.
As local law enforcement, it is vital to secure the safety and well-being of the citizens of our county, in compliance with Federal, State, and Local laws. We are not authorized under Federal or State law to arrest an individual based solely on a violation of Federal Code Title 8 section 1325, improper entry into the United States. As a matter of practice, it is not the mission of the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office to actively seek out the immigration status of those we come into contact with during routine patrol activities. However, there are circumstances where we will assist, or may be asked to assist with investigations by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies. This shall include anyone incarcerated in our correctional facility.
We want to assure you that we will assist our Federal Partners to the fullest extent we are allowed to by law. We will assist our Federal Law Enforcement Partners with Federal warrants of arrest but only when a warrant is signed by a Federal Judge or Federal Magistrate. New York State Green Light Law prevents local Law Enforcement from sharing NYS Department of Motor Vehicle data with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Border Patrol. This law does not prevent us from sharing other information with our Federal partners to assist them in the performance of their lawful duties.
We assure you that we are continuing to research, and educate ourselves on this ever-evolving situation and will always strive to work with our Federal and State partners in compliance with the law.
Seneca County Sheriff Timothy Thompson:
In light of the most recent issues surrounding immigration, I felt that it was necessary to inform the residents of Seneca County of the position of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office. As Sheriff, I have a critically important responsibility to protect the public while providing guidance to the workforce to carry out that mission. With President Trump’s new administration, illegal immigration has been brought to the forefront and has caused major division between different levels of government and our citizens.
It is imperative for law enforcement leaders to understand the facts and make educated decisions while complying with the Constitution, law, and policy. This week, I have formulated clear guidelines for the members of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office to navigate this challenging issue.
With respect to the holding of illegal immigrants in the Seneca County Correctional Facility, our members will honor any arrest warrant signed by a federal magistrate. We will hold the individual in the same manner that we would for any other law enforcement agency. This also applies to the discovery of an arrest warrant outside of the Correctional Facility where a Deputy Sheriff encounters the individual in the community. The wanting agency will be notified and will be their responsibility to assume custody of the wanted person within the legal timeframe.
It has been further ordered that all members of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office will respect the authority of any federal immigration law enforcement agency and will be prohibited from interfering, obstructing, or subverting their law enforcement action(s). Members will immediately respond to assist any federal immigration law enforcement agency if an emergency is taking place, but will notify their Commanding Officer if the request to assist is not an urgent matter. A decision will then be made if the assistance is approved. This provision has been put in place to protect our members and shift the liability onto the Command Staff.
In recent years, New York State has prohibited some computer database access to federal immigration law enforcement agencies. Therefore, I have prohibited our members from sharing any protected information through any computer database with any federal immigration law enforcement agencies in an effort to safeguard our members from any potential civil or criminal liability.
I realize that this issue is fluid and could change rapidly with court injunctions, new laws, executive orders, etc. However, I feel that this guidance gives our members clear expectations while providing them with legal protection given the challenging political climate that currently exists.
This community elected me to be their Sheriff and I fully accept the responsibility to provide protection to the residents and visitors of Seneca County. I acknowledge that illegal immigration is a federal issue, but any negative impacts on our citizens locally is my issue. Illegal immigration is a crime under federal statute and our members will uphold their duty to protect and serve.
Wayne County Sheriff Rob Milby:
Several media outlets have inquired as to how Wayne County would be involved in the deportation efforts that are being conducted in the United States.
Our policy at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has been very consistent over many years. We do not stop anyone based upon suspicion of illegal status in this country. We do not detain anyone based upon immigration status in this country. Only federal authorities have the jurisdiction to enforce civil immigration violations.
I am on the National Sheriff’s Association Border Security Committee, and am Chairman of the New York State Sheriff’s Association Border Security Committee. Last weekend I was in a meeting in Washington DC that included Tom Homan, President Trump’s appointed Border Czar. From his mouth to my ears, I heard Mr. Homan say that ICE is not conducting raids anywhere. ICE does not conduct sweeps either. ICE targets known criminals that are in this country illegally, and in the present, they are targeting known criminals. In the search for those individuals, if ICE officials encounter others that are here illegally, they will not turn a blind eye. They will do their job. There have been rumors out in just about every community that ICE has been seen conducting raids. The rumor mill has not escaped Wayne County. As of this writing, ICE has not had any activity here that I am aware of.
As far as The Sheriff’s Office responsibility in all of this, there is none, other than to tell you what we know. If ICE does come into this county, and something happens where they need our immediate response, we will certainly respond. What we do in that response will be dictated by the nature of that call. Will we collaborate to conduct immigration sweeps? No. If we have reason to believe that someone has committed a criminal federal offense, we will certainly detain that person and contact the appropriate authorities. If we are housing someone at our jail based upon our state laws and we are presented with a detainer by federal authorities, we will not hold that person any longer than what the sentencing judge’s/justice’s signature authorizes. We will notify federal authorities of the time that release will take place. If those authorities arrive to take custody of that person, we will facilitate that transfer.
I am concerned about the security and the future of Wayne County. The issues regarding immigration are being given the face of a family being denied the chance of the American Dream, by those that oppose it. That is not how I see it. I look at this from the angle of Public Safety, Homeland Security, and the Humanitarian issue concerning the over 300,000 missing children that were drawn into this. Cartels have been infiltrating our borders for years, trafficking humans and trafficking drugs that kill us. Last year, there were a greater number of encounters on the northern border than there have been in the last 17 years, combined. (Those numbers came from the Swanton sector that covers New York and Vermont. ) In the last two years over 66% of our overdose deaths in Wayne County involved Fentanyl, which we know is trafficked across our borders. Known and suspected terrorists are being encountered at our borders. Their preference is the northern border, where the numbers are 6 times higher than that of the southern encounters. The north has few obstructions in place when it comes to topography. Anyone with determination can walk across from Canada to New York, undetected. It is wide open, and the cartels have delivered people to our state. Their destination? We do not know. What I do know is that there are state routes that lead to, through and into Wayne County. Those that have crossed paid far more to get here illegally than if they had taken advantage of legal routes. There are foreign gangs that have infiltrated our New York borders and are running criminal operations in our state. These are the things that are not being told on the evening news.
We have already seen a dramatic decrease in crossings since January. Roughly 11,000 encounters at our borders per day are down to nearly 600 because of the efforts to control our border. We must get back to the rule of law, which states that there is a process to come to the United States. That was ignored for too long. As a result, the cartels took advantage of it, and in my opinion, they have killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization. We need to do better.
The members of your Sheriff’s Office are committed to a safe Wayne County.
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck detailed his department’s policy earlier this week and can be read by clicking here
Sheriffs from neighboring counties are also weighing in on the issue. Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley stated that federal agents would need to have a warrant signed by a judge for him to detain those accused of being in the country illegally. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has warned of potential retaliation after Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne’s office allegedly released a migrant with a federal arrest warrant.
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