How long should Virginia sheriffs hold inmates beyond their release date? Michael Pope reports that will be an issue in the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
Holding people who are incarcerated past their release date is a hard ask for many sheriffs. And some say they will not be voluntarily holding people for 48 hours after their release date – even if federal immigration officials request it for specific people. Now, the Virginia Sheriffs Association is supporting legislation that the removes the discretion of the sheriffs and requires that they work with federal immigration officials.
"They got elected to uphold the law," says association president John Jones. "You know, it's not always in the sheriff's discretion to do what he thinks is nice. He's got to uphold the law and provide services, public safety services to his community based on the law."
Jessica Pishko is author of the “Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy."
"With these laws, I think that what they are hoping to do is hold people past their release date so that ICE agents have the opportunity to come, pick people up and put them into deportation proceedings," Pishko says.
The upcoming budget season is likely to be a time of conflict, as local elected officials will be forced to make a choice: resist mass deportation or risk losing state and federal funds.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
