(By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office Public Relations Coordinator)
On Aug. 26, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released an opinion regarding contract agreements between federal immigration authorities and counties that host Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, such as Seneca County. Yost’s opinion stated that “county commissioners may enter into an agreement with federal immigration authorities,” but “county sheriffs do not have independent contracting authority for this purpose.”
The Attorney General’s opinion has no impact on Seneca County Jail operations because the original contract between the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Seneca County Jail was signed by then-Seneca County Commissioners Timothy Rook and Kenneth Estep. The contract is dated March 1, 1996.
A subsequent amendment to the contract made the terms of the contract “indefinite.” The change reads: “This agreement shall be in effect upon execution by both parties, and shall remain in effect indefinitely, unless terminated sooner in writing, by either party…” The amendment was signed on Feb. 13, 2003, by then-Seneca County Commissioners Tom Distel, Jimmie Young, and Joe Schock.
“I checked with our county prosecutor, county administrator, and county commissioners to verify the information on our contract, and we are in full compliance with the Attorney General’s opinion,” said Seneca County Sheriff Fredrick Stevens.
Attorney General Yost’s Opinion No. 2025-015 included two additional statements in the syllabus regarding a 48-hour limit on detention of “an alien” when no contract is in place and regarding transportation of “aliens detained for violations of immigration law.” Neither of these statements apply to the Seneca County Jail because it is in compliance with the first element regarding contractual agreements.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a statement saying, “The ACLU of Ohio demanded the county sheriffs immediately release the immigrants who are being held unlawfully and immediately cease carrying out any unlawful immigration enforcement.”
The Seneca County Jail houses only illegal immigrants, and it is operating in full compliance with the law and the Attorney General’s opinion. Sheriff Stevens wants to ensure the public that, if county officials had determined otherwise, the Seneca County Jail would not have immediately released illegal immigrants into the public. Jail leadership would have arranged to have the detainees transported to another ICE facility.
“We would not let illegal immigrants wander throughout Seneca County,” Sheriff Stevens said.