Clark County will follow the lead of other Washington counties that are no longer detaining immigrants eligible for release, said Ric Bishop, the county’s chief jail deputy.
“We’ve already got a count of the people that are in our custody, and we’re starting to take those detainers off,” Bishop said.
The move follows policy shifts at jails in Walla Walla, Thurston and Kitsap counties. As of Thursday night, Bishop said his draft of the new policy was already awaiting a signature from Clark County Sheriff Garry Lucas.
SEATTLE — Counties in Washington state have joined a growing number of local jurisdictions in Colorado and Oregon that will no longer detain immigrants who are eligible for release on behalf of federal immigration authorities.
Clark County will follow the lead of other Washington counties that are no longer detaining immigrants eligible for release, said Ric Bishop, the county's chief jail deputy.
"We've already got a count of the people that are in our custody, and we're starting to take those detainers off," Bishop said.
The move follows policy shifts at jails in Walla Walla, Thurston and Kitsap counties. As of Thursday night, Bishop said his draft of the new policy was already awaiting a signature from Clark County Sheriff Garry Lucas.
Walla Walla, Kitsap and Thurston counties are some of the first confirmed counties in Washington to change their policy following a recent court decision in Oregon that found that such detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not commands that local jurisdictions have to abide by, and that sheriffs could be liable for constitutional violations for holding people past the time when they would otherwise be released.
“It significantly reduces the possibility that Walla Walla County will get sued for similar conduct that got Clackamas County (Ore.) sued,” Sheriff John Turner told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Clackamas County was sued after a woman — who was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 48 hours in jail — was detained for more than two weeks because of an ICE hold. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that the county that detained the woman violated her rights under the Fourth Amendment by prolonging her incarceration without probable cause. She had been eligible to leave after posting bail.
In Colorado, Denver Sheriff Gary Wilson said Wednesday that he would stop honoring ICE detainer requests, joining a handful of other counties in the state that have made the same decision. Those include Boulder, Mesa and San Miguel counties.
Nearly 30 counties in Oregon changed their policy following the court ruling.
In Washington, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project are putting pressure on sheriffs to stop honoring the so-called detainers. The two groups sent letters to 38 county sheriffs, except in King County, telling them the federal court ruling opens the possibility of lawsuits.
“Anyone could file a lawsuit on behalf of individuals who are unlawfully detained, not just our organizations. But we will certainly be monitoring how these jurisdictions react to the ruling and be prepared to assist individuals whose constitutional rights are violated,” said Jorge Baron, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
A spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office said the agency is reviewing its policy.
For years, immigration agents have combed jail rosters looking for immigrants who are illegally in the country. The Obama administration has said its immigration policy is heavily focused on deporting immigrants with criminal records and enhancing programs — such as Secure Communities, which checks fingerprints for violations — around those goals.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will continue to work cooperatively with law enforcement partners as the agency seeks to enforce its priorities through the identification and removal of convicted criminals and others who are public safety threats,” ICE spokesman Andrew Munoz said in a statement.
The issue around holding immigrants in jails has been a rallying point for immigration advocates. In Washington, a measure was pushed in Olympia that would have prohibited local jurisdictions from detaining immigrants unless the person had been convicted of a serious crime. The Washington bill died, but a similar measure was approved in California and the number of detainers has dropped significantly.
Last year, King County joined numerous jurisdictions and states around the country that have stopped or limited their compliance with detainer requests. Lawmakers in Massachusetts and Maryland are considering similar legislation.
Mitch Barker, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said he’s worried counties will get sued, and disagreed with that part of the court ruling.
“They believed they were acting in good faith and legally,” he said.
In Kitsap County, a memo was sent last week outlining the change, said Deputy Scott Wilson. In Walla Walla, the new detainer policy issued said the Oregon case clarified the federal law around detainers, saying they are “requests” and not commands.
“As a result of these decisions, the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office shall cease to hold individuals in custody when the only authority for such custody is a request contained in a DHS ICE immigration detainer,” the order said.
Violeta Chapin, a clinical law professor at the University of Colorado who has worked on immigration cases, said she has a client in Boulder who has spent six months in jail for his first ever traffic offense.
“It has been shocking to see how disproportionate and severe the punishments have been for noncitizens living here in Colorado as compared to similarly situated citizens that come in the jail and pay their bond and get out and go home to their families,” she said.
