Last month, some local sheriffs pushed back against a report from an immigration think tank that called their counties “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Now, 10 News has learned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement considers an internal document on which the report was based to be outdated.
The report came from the Center for Immigration Studies. It said it tracks localities that aren’t cooperating fully with ICE to turn over noncitizens who have been arrested for crimes.
Several agencies in our area including Bedford and Botetourt counties were listed. Bedford County Sheriff Mike Miller told 10 News last month he was shocked to see his office named in the report.
“And that’s what we’re here to make sure our citizens know that we work well with our federal partners,” Miller said. “We call every time we can, we probably call them too much but we’re going to continue to do that as long as someone is violating the law.”
Mike Miller, Bedford County Sheriff
CIS updated its list in August, based on an internal ICE document the group obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Sources with ICE tell 10 News the document was previously used to identify areas where additional resources may be needed for communities that were either unable or unwilling to honor DHS requests to hold inmates who are noncitizens.
However, the information has not been used for many years, so the information should be considered obsolete.
Both Miller and his counterpart in Botetourt County both discussed the issue with ICE after the report was released.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement values our ongoing coordination and cooperation with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies – this coordination is crucial to ICE’s mission of ensuring the national security, public safety, and integrity of the nation’s immigration system. ICE also recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned about providing cooperation to federal immigration officials.”
Jeff Carter, ICE spokesperson
Also, Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an opinion on the issue on Thursday after receiving a request from Miller.
“It is my opinion that sheriffs may cooperate with ICE with respect to inmates in their custody who are the subject of an ICE detainer by providing immigration officers prerelease notification of those inmates’ scheduled releases.”
Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia
Miller had sought to clarify a 2015 opinion from then-Attorney General Mark Herring found that ICE detainers are voluntary requests.