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How ICE works at the Oklahoma County jail
by Kayla Branch
Published: Tue, July 30, 2019 5:00 AM
Public continues voicing opinions on ICE presence at Oklahoma County jail Public demands jail trust remove ICE officers from Oklahoma County Jail Oklahoma County commissioner releases statement, supports ICE presence at county jail
Drone image of Oklahoma County jail, foreground center, looking east toward the Oklahoma City skyline. [Dave Morris/The Oklahoman]
As part of worldwide protests against poor conditions faced by migrants, Rena Guay organized a demonstration outside of the Oklahoma County jail, sparking local debate about the immigration enforcement officers who work there.
Guay, director of advocacy group Just Future, expected only a couple dozen people to show up on July 12; she'd put the event together just 36 hours beforehand.
But more than a hundred came with signs and candles to protest the presence of the two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who work in the jail.
"People are really feeling like, 'How can I do anything? What can I do?'" Guay said. "But at least you can stand up on a corner and, for your local institution that is affiliated with ICE, say, 'Not in our name.' To me, that is why people are responding."
ICE at the jail
For years, two ICE agents have used office space in the jail to help screen inmates for citizenship status during intake, said Mark Myers, spokesperson for the sheriff's office. This is separate from any formal program ICE offers for local law enforcement, which Oklahoma County is not part of.
"It's imperative working in a jail that we know who is in our facility," Myers said. "So we do deep background checks. It's part of the process."
Inmates are fingerprinted, and those fingerprints are run through various databases, according to an ICE official.
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If a person has records related to immigration, if they say they are foreign born or if they cannot provide proof of citizenship documents, ICE agents can request an immigration detainer be placed on that person.
A detainer or "hold" means the agency has officially declared interest in that inmate and may want to take them into ICE custody after their release from county jail.
In 2018, 544 inmates had ICE holds put on them, according to data from the sheriff's office. For the first six months of 2019, there were 226.
The Oklahoman previously reported that since President Donald Trump took office, ICE holds at the jail have increased.
Jailers notify ICE when inmates with holds are going to be released. While the jail can keep inmates for up to 48 additional hours until ICE can pick them up, Myers said it doesn't honor the extended 48-hour period.
"If ICE is not there right when that person has finished being processed out of the jail, which usually takes about six hours, then they walk free," he said.
But the ICE official said that with ICE agents in the jail and an ICE office located close by, that is never a real concern.
ICE then typically transports people to facilities with federal contracts to hold ICE inmates. In Oklahoma, this is usually the Tulsa County jail.
Oklahoma County used to have a similar contract, but that ended in 2008 when the Department of Justice found numerous civil rights violations in the jail, Myers said.
"In Oklahoma County, the case is that they are a very busy county," said Marc Moore, director for ICE's Dallas Field Office, which covers Oklahoma. "That's why we feel, like we do in many other locations across the country, that having an officer or more assigned to that facility enables us to ensure that we are able to identify and act on individuals that are foreign-born nationals that are in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and also criminal violators or convicted criminals."
Officials said information was not readily available on how many inmates who have holds placed on them are actually transferred into ICE custody or how many have violated immigration law and been deported.
Having ICE agents work in the jail is voluntary, Sheriff P.D. Taylor said.
"They asked if it would be all right, and in the spirit of working together and all of us moving forward, we accommodate them and gave them a space in receiving," Taylor said.
But there are some mandatory stipulations local jails must follow.
The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 says county or city jails must make a "reasonable effort" to determine the citizenship status of a person with a felony or DUI charge. If someone is not in the country legally, authorities are notified.
Steven Langer, an immigration attorney in Oklahoma City, said jails have discretion to do more than just the bare minimum required by law.
"It's similar to a local law enforcement officer that lets people drive by them that they know are going over the speed limit with no seat belt," Langer said. "So even though there is something that says, 'Jailer, you are supposed to do this,' they have discretion to do more."
Another portion of the 2007 law says no government body or official can "prohibit or in any way restrict" another official from gathering information on immigration status for federal authorities.
"The people of the State of Oklahoma declare that it is a compelling public interest of this state to discourage illegal immigration by requiring all agencies within this state to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities in the enforcement of federal immigration laws," the law reads.
Mixed opinions
In the roughly two weeks since Guay's protest, local advocates have protested the possible detention of migrant children at a facility in Fort Sill, spoken out at an Oklahoma County Jail Trust meeting and are gathering signatures for a petition to be presented to city and county leaders.
"Being booked into the county jail is not a declaration of guilt," said one speaker at the July 22 jail trust meeting.
The jail trust is a nine-member body tasked with reforming the struggling county jail. They will eventually have control over day-to-day operations at the jail, but currently do not have the authority to make any changes, said Chairwoman Tricia Everest.
In response, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan released a statement July 23 declaring his support for ICE's presence at the jail and that he believes it is "simply irresponsible" to end the working relationship.
Commissioner Kevin Calvey agreed with Maughan's stance, but Commissioner Carrie Blumert said she is not in favor of ICE at the jail and supports the petition and efforts of the public.
"Not only do I have issues with the purpose of ICE in the first place, but I also have an issue with a federal employee fulfilling a federal duty in a county-run facility," Blumert said.
But until the jail trust takes over authority of the jail and possibly decides to make changes, ICE officers will remain in the facility.
"We're not doing anything more or less than we've ever done," the sheriff said. "I really don't (expect changes), but I don't know."
Kayla Branch
Kayla Branch covers county government and poverty for The Oklahoman. Branch is a native Oklahoman and graduate of the University of Oklahoma. She joined The Oklahoman staff in April 2019. Read more ›
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