Washoe County Sheriff Michael Haley announced today that his office will no longer hold people in custody at the Washoe County Detention Facility based solely on a request to detain by federal immigration authorities.
Sheriff Haley said that courts have recently ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers are simply requests, not mandates. Based on these rulings, a detention facility could be held liable for any legal violations related to honoring a federal detainer.
“If ICE provides a warrant saying that they are arresting an individual and are taking them into their custody, we will hold that person on behalf of ICE,” Haley said. “However, we will not hold a person in our custody based solely on an ICE-issued detainer saying that they may have some interest in that person.”
Haley said the decision not to honor federal detainers is consistent with similar decisions being made by sheriff’s offices across the country. He said the policy is not a statement on immigration issues, but that it is aimed at protecting Washoe County from legal liability based on a court interpretation of the law.
“We took a serious look at the recent court rulings and reviewed our policy accordingly,” Haley said. “Our policy was then updated to conform with current case law so as not to put the taxpayers of Washoe County at risk.”
