Across Northeast Ohio, several sheriff’s departments are partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house detainees and assist with immigration enforcement. But now, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio (ACLU) is suing the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, claiming it has refused to release a copy of its contract with ICE.
In Mahoning County, Sheriff Jerry Greene is one of the officials who offered jail space to ICE earlier this year to help house detainees.
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“Our contract is plain and simple. It's $125 a day per inmate and then there's an hourly fee if we have to transport them anywhere,” Greene said.
They already had an agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal inmates in their jail, which News 5 obtained. Then, in February, the contract was modified to include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a participating agency.
“The Marshal’s contract is allowing, or ICE has been allowed, to piggyback the Marshals' contract that exists, and that makes things a whole lot easier,” Greene said.
The Mahoning contract is an example of what Geauga County’s agreement could look like, but it hasn’t been made available, which is why the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a lawsuit against the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.
RELATED: Geauga County sued to release contract for ICE detainees
“We know that those agreements have either already happened or are forthcoming, and there it is of the great public interest to kind of figure out how federal and state local offices are engaging in this work and collaborating together,” said Amy Gilbert, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Ohio.
Gilbert said they requested any contracts between the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, or the U.S. Marshals Service.
According to the lawsuit, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office provided some documents but responded by saying the records requested are “prohibited by federal law.”
“I think, you know, if they are doing nothing wrong, then great, but we don't necessarily have to take their word for it. That is what our public records laws allow,” Gilbert said.
News 5 reached out to the Geauga County sheriff’s office for comment. Chief Deputy Thomas Rowan responded with the following statement:
“We have conflicting guidance from legal counsel. Our council says one thing, the ACLU says another thing, now it's up to the courts to make that determination,” Rowan said.
“My opinion is I’m not sure why they didn't. They obviously could have had advice from the prosecutor's office,” Greene said.
Greene notes that housing ICE detainees is nothing new for many departments.
“We had already housed in the past ICE inmates. I believe it was around 2007 to 2009, 2010 — I don't remember getting any protests or anything like that over that situation,” Greene said.
He stands by the work his department is doing—not just for the federal government, but for the local community.
“I'm proud of the fact that how we run our jail. I'm proud of the fact that the standards, the policies and procedures, the certifications that we've received from the state. We're proud of that, and that's probably why we're so transparent as well,” Greene said.
News 5 also reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service and other departments requesting contracts from other counties currently working with ICE. We are awaiting a response.
