Kent County sheriff must tell us what is happening with the detention of non-citizens

WHAT IS THE POLICY FOR THE DETENTION AND HANDOVER OF NON-IMMIGRANTS TO ICE?

We need our county sheriff, Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young, to clarify what policy is currently being used when ICE places individuals in Kent County Jail here in Grand Rapids into custody and what happens if ICE wants to remove them.

It appears that the Sheriff's office policy has recently changed from what was stated in 2019 after the scandal in the case of Jilmar Ramos (a marine/veteran), when the Sheriff's office announced that they would not turn people over to ICE without a warrant signed by a judge, a politically correct decision and in accordance with the law.

But it seems that everything is changing. Recently, at least in the last few weeks, we have noticed that the Sheriff's Office is detaining people for up to 48 hours when they receive an I-247 document, which is simply a detention order, not a warrant signed by a judge. For example, a few days ago, a Guatemalan man was detained by the local police and taken to the Kent jail. Then the ICE office sent an I-247 form, which is NOT a court order, and when the family went to pay the bail so he could be released, they were told that he could not be released until 48 hours had passed. When the family member, who was well informed, asked why, If the sheriff's policy is that they can only detain a person when there is a warrant signed by a judge, the person in charge of receiving bail told him that he knew nothing about that and had to wait to consult with a higher authority until the next day. Several hours later, we don't know exactly what time, ICE agents arrived and took the man to North Lake PRISON for his almost certain deportation.

The next day, when members of the Rapid Response and Cosecha groups showed up to request the man's release and speak directly with the sheriff to clarify what the real policy of her office is, she was supposedly unavailable, nor did they give any clear answer as to why they handed the Guatemalan immigrant over to ICE if there was no warrant signed by a judge in his name.

We are demanding answers and transparency. We understand that the Sheriff's Office has changed its policy to cooperate with ICE, but without formally explaining why and how they changed the policy regarding the detention of individuals for up to 48 hours even when their bail has been paid or their case has been closed or dismissed and without a court order.

It is important that if the sheriff wants us to trust her and her office, she must clearly and formally explain what her office's current policy is and whether they changed it because they did not do so publicly.

If we do not receive answers in the coming weeks, we will begin a formal campaign demanding answers and justice for immigrants. The sheriff cannot say that she and her department are following the law and respecting the rights of non-citizens when they are clearly contradicting or changing their own policy without prior notice.