Cambria County approves agreement with ICE on detained illegal immigrants at prison
NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. – The Cambria County commissioners Thursday approved a new agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal of detained illegal aliens in the Cambria County Prison.
This is part of the Warrant Service Officer program under Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that allows ICE agents to partner with state and local law enforcement to identify and remove criminal aliens from the country.
Cambria County Solicitor Ronald Repak said people arrested and detained at the prison who are flagged as illegally in the country by the Department of Homeland Security during processing would be held without bail due to their immigration status.
Federal agents would then arrive at the prison within 48 hours to collect the detained person for potential deportation proceedings.
'That's consistent with what the prison has been doing,' Repak said. 'They're not taking over as an ICE agent – they're simply filling the papers out (and) making sure they're served appropriately. But it's all under the supervision of ICE.'
This agreement is one of three the county could have adopted. The others are the Jail Enforcement Model and Task Force Model, which provide more immigration authority to local and state law enforcement.
Repak said the agreement is voluntary and 'working closely with ICE is something the commissioners are interested in doing.'
ICE and President Donald Trump's administration in recent months have increased deportation efforts that in some cases have led to the detention of some college students, arrests of legal permanent immigrants and dramatic scenes as agents carry out their duties.
Trump has also invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to target alleged Venezuelan gang members and send them to a prison in El Salvador, which has brought up questions of due process from rights groups. U.S. judges in New York and Texas barred those deportations for now Wednesday.
Cambria County Prison Warden Kurt Wolford said the arrangement won't have an impact on jail operations and described the action as a continuation of cooperation with the federal agencies.
'We've always had a good working relation not only with the Department of Homeland Security, but really any law enforcement agency,' he said.
Wolford said he recognized that immigration is a 'hot-button issue,' but said the agreement simply allows Cambria County Prison officials to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency.
According to the ICE website, the Warrant Service Officer program empowers ICE officials to 'train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency's jail.'
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