Trump advisers accuse two Maine county jails of disobeying immigration law

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : "That is huge, because now if an inmate is scheduled to be released on state charges and ICE wants them held, the ICE employee takes them into custody," Joyce said.
52% : We will provide backup for ICE upon request like we would for any other law enforcement agency," he said in a written statement.
48% : In response, he demanded that if ICE submits a detainer request, the agency must also provide him documentation to show probable cause for doing so.
47% : While ICE reported that the jail doesn't provide adequate notice that an inmate is going to be released, Joyce said the facility has offered some advanced notice for ICE to take such people into custody and re-book them in the jail.
47% : As of Tuesday, Cumberland County Jail has 33 people in custody for ICE.
45% : "In some of the cases, the inmate was found to be a legal citizen and in another case, ICE never notified the Sheriff that (they) could release the inmate and the inmate was held for numerous days beyond their release date," he said in a written statement Tuesday.
43% : In June, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified jails in the two Maine counties, along with 146 other institutions nationally, as not fully cooperating with immigration detainer requests, which ask a law enforcement agency to notify ICE before releasing an inmate who may be living in the country illegally.
42% : The detainer requests ask the county jails to hold such inmates up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release date until ICE can take them into custody and investigate whether they should be subject to deportation.
42% : Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the sheriff's office has never refused to assist ICE and is not "providing sanctuary.
41% : Joyce also came under fire in 2017 when former Gov. Paul LePage ordered all sheriffs in the state to fully cooperate with ICE or be removed from office.
41% : "Thus making the detention an ICE detention and not putting the jail in a position of failing to release the individual lawfully."While the sheriff's office will provide backup for ICE, it won't act as ICE agents, Joyce said.
28% : Dec. 31 -- A nonprofit foundation made up of advisers to Donald Trump has sent a letter to officials in two Maine counties warning that they could face legal problems for violating federal immigration law.

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