LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that it will partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let deputies hold undocumented arrestees for deportation.
- LCSO announces partnership with ICE
- Deputies can hold undocumented arrestees for up to 48 hrs.
- ICE will take them into custody if deportation criteria met
Deputies say when undocumented immigrants are charged in Lake County and held in jail, ICE agents can decide if they meet the criteria for deportation, according to a LCSO news release.
If ICE decides to proceed with deportation, deputies can hold the detainee for up to 48 hours, in which agents will take them into custody.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office is one of several Florida counties partaking in the program.
A federal court ruled in 2014 that local law enforcement agencies could not detain people for deportation based on requests on ICE.
But according to the Lake County release, the written agreement now designates the Sheriff’s Office as a holding facility for undocumented arrestees who meet ICE’s criteria for deportation.
In early May, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions at a news conference in San Diego reinforced the Trump administration’s hardline approach to immigration enforcement, emphasizing the White House’s hallmark "zero-tolerance" policy.
Though a study by the Migration Policy Institute said the level of deportations under the Trump administration is below its peak level, primarily due to local push back from sanctuary cities and states.