Montgomery County will not hold immigrants without probable cause — Gazette.Net

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said Tuesday the county will not comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement civil detainer requests, unless there is adequate probable cause under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Leggetts statement comes on the heels of an identical directive from Gov. Martin J. OMalley to the Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gregg Hershberger for a state-run jail in Baltimore, and advice from the Attorney Generals Office that without probable cause, continued detention likely violates the constitution.

Immigration detainers are notices to local law enforcement agencies that ICE intends to assume custody of an individual being held locally. Detainers not only notify local law enforcement that ICE means to take a person into custody once they are no longer subject to local detention, detainers also request the local agency hold individuals for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to provide ICE time to take custody, according to http://www.ice.gov.

According to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, federal courts have found that detention on the sole basis of an immigration detainer request violates the Fourth Amendment. Three federal courts have found that such detention raises constitutional concerns and that counties are liable in damages to the individuals they detain on that basis, according to the release.

In August, Adam D. Snyder, chief counsel, Opinions & Advice for the Maryland Attorney Generals Office, reached a similar conclusion finding that an ICE detainer alone does not mandate or authorize the continued detention of someone beyond when they would be released under state law.

Thus, if a local law enforcement officer does not have probable cause to extend custody over the subject of an ICE detainer, the continued detention likely constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment, he wrote in a letter of advice to Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore.

In June, the ACLU of Maryland urged all counties in the state to stop complying with the detainer requests. Councilwoman Nancy Navarro requested in September that Leggett conform county policy to match the OMalleys recent directive on the issue.

In her request, Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring said she understood from Arthur Wallenstein, director of the County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, that the practice locally was to contact ICE when there is a detainer in the system and the individual is available, even if local matters are concluded.

My understanding is that Montgomery Countys policy for responding to ICE civil detainer requests may be inconsistent with [state policy], Navarro wrote.

Wallenstein was not able to be reached Tuesday for comment.

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Montgomery County will not hold immigrants without probable cause -- Gazette.Net