The Franklin County Jail detained an immigrant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even as Sheriff Dallas Baldwin claims his office doesn't honor the agency's requests to detain immigrants, per reporting from the Columbus Dispatch.
The Dispatch reports in that March of last year, a man was held by the jail for 12 hours after he posted bond so that ICE could arrest him. Baldwin, a Democrat, told the paper his staff didn't follow policy in this case.
The Dispatch cited several cases where immigrants were held by the jail on detainers.
The sheriff's office hasn't confirmed the reporting to WOSU despite repeated requests for comment on Monday.
Baldwin's office has said in the past his office doesn't honor civil immigration detention requests by ICE, only criminal ones. He's faced blowback from other elected officials in the county, demanding he review and change his policy, including from the Franklin County Commissioners and Columbus City Council.
Ohio Immigrant Alliance Executive Director Lynn Tramonte told WOSU Baldwin is wrong and that all immigration cases are civil law, even if someone is being held in jail on a criminal charge. She said this isn't an isolated case.
"(Baldwin) is saying that his policy is not pro-ICE, that they don't honor civil detainers. They're saying this is an anomaly. Immigration lawyers have many different cases where this happened," Tramonte said.
Tramonte questioned Baldwin's understanding of immigration law and encouraged him to sit down with immigration lawyers to gain a better understanding.
"It's not a surprise to me that the Franklin County Sheriff's Office is helping ICE enforce civil immigration laws. We've all known this. Immigration lawyers have been saying this for years. And what is a surprise to me is that the sheriff continues to speak from the hip about things he obviously knows nothing about," Tramonte said.
Tramonte said ICE can do its job without help from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
"They don't need the jail to serve as a sort of warehouse for immigrants and they'll get to them whenever they get to that. And that's what the sheriff is helping to facilitate," Tramonte said.
