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Sheriff in Detroit fights back against detaining immigrants

Posted at 2:54 PM, May 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-18 14:55:02-04

A Detroit-area sheriff has ordered his staff to deny requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to turn over immigrant inmates without an order signed by a federal judge or magistrate.

An April 28 memo from Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon obtained by The Detroit News says detainer requests for inmates will be rejected unless there's a probable cause judicial statement or a warrant from a judicial officer.

Detainer requests are usually issued by ICE when agents think an inmate might be violating immigration laws. Agents ask local police to hold accused inmates, to allow ICE to take them into federal custody.

Detroit ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls says he's delaying any comments about the memo "until we've had a chance to fully review the (Wayne County) policy."