Every year in Minnesota, thousands of people, mostly immigrants and people of color, are detained in county jails on behalf of the Federal Government. They are held on the basis of a detainer that is authorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It goes like this, when an individual is arrested for any reason and booked into jail, the jails send booking information to ICE. ICE then singles out individuals based on things like being foreign-born or a fingerprint "hit" in an ICE database. Some jails also report individuals to ICE if they suspect they are noncitizens subject to detainers. We have heard that individuals with foreign sounding names or limited English proficiency are often singled out to be reported to ICE. ICE then sends a detainer, which is a formal request to a local jail to notify ICE before they release somebody from custody, and to hold the person for up to 48 hours (not including weekends or holidays) after he or she would otherwise be released so that ICE can arrange to take over custody. If the county chooses to honor the request, they will detain the individual, sometimes for up to six days beyond when they should have been released.
An ICE detainer is not a warrant; it is not approved by a judge. It does not mean that there has been a finding about the person's immigration status; in fact many ICE detainers have been issued against US citizens. It does not even mean that ICE has probable cause to believe the person is deportable. The ACLU finds this practice to be unconstitutional and the courts are agreeing with us.
Minnesota Sheriffs are doing this on behalf of the federal government even though Minnesota law does not provide sheriffs any authority to deprive persons of liberty because the federal government suspects they may be subject to civil immigration enforcement proceedings. It is even more troubling because we have heard that Minnesota Sheriffs are using ICE detainers as an excuse to racially profile Latinos in Minnesota. Furthermore, holding these individuals in county jails is costing Minnesota Counties hundreds of thousands of dollars that is not reimbursed by the Federal Government.
The ACLU-MN sent a letter to all Minnesota County Sheriffs urging them to stop honoring these immigration detainer requests because they are unconstitutional and because local law enforcement may be held liable for money damages for complying with them.
Local law enforcement's top concerns should be community trust and public safety. Victims and witnesses of crimes should not fear calling the police, but that's what happens when the community fears that contact with law enforcement can be the first step in a seamless transfer to jail and then to immigration proceedings.
