Inmate wanted by ICE is prematurely released from Wake County Jail, then recaptured
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office on Monday prematurely released from jail a man who was wanted by Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.
ICE placed a federal criminal detainer on the man for reentering the United States illegally and had a warrant for his arrest.
Detention officers with the Sheriff’s Office released the man because he finished his sentence for an assault offense. But detention administrators did not see there was a federal warrant out for the man, a release from the Sheriff’s Office stated.
When the Sheriff’s Office realized it had made a mistake, officials had the man back in custody within two hours, the release stated.
“Disciplinary actions are pending against the detention officers responsible for the unauthorized release,” the release said.
Detainers request local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE of undocumented immigrants who are being held in criminal custody. ICE requests that agencies notify them at least 48 hours before an inmate’s release and keep an inmate in jail for 48 hours so ICE can take them into custody. This sometimes means holding people up to 48 hours beyond the time they were sentenced.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office does not honor ICE detainers, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Eric Curry said Monday evening. But this is different, he said, because ICE also had a criminal warrant out for the man reentering the United States illegally.
“We do not call ICE to alert them,” Curry said.
Compliance with ICE detainers is voluntary. They are not warrants themselves. Being in the United States while undocumented is a civil violation of the law, not a criminal violation, Politifact reported. Illegally reentering the country, however, is a criminal violation of the law, and ICE had a criminal warrant for the man’s arrest.
Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker is not the only sheriff in North Carolina who does not comply with detainers. Sheriffs in Buncombe, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford and Mecklenburg counties also do not honor ICE detainers.
The Republican-majority state legislature attempted to pass legislation that would force sheriffs to comply with ICE detainers, but Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, The News & Observer reported.
Complying with detainers may pose risks to sheriffs. Courts have ruled that keeping people for 48 hours longer than their sentence violates people’s civil rights. It also opens up sheriff’s departments to lawsuits, which are often settled for tens of thousands of dollars, Politifact reported.