Clarke County sheriff says tracking of immigrants to improve at jail in wake of Riley death
Clarke County Sheriff John Q. Williams said Thursday that his office is strengthening its procedures on documenting what happens when an immigrant is jailed on criminal charges.
Williams’ office also issued a news release to clarify its policy, which was instituted in 2018 by former sheriff Ira Edwards.
Williams came under fire by some citizens at a rally in downtown Athens where the issue of undocumented immigrants was a core cause of protest. An immigrant who entered the U.S. unlawfully now sits in the county jail, charged with murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley as she jogged on the University of Georgia campus last month.
That slaying has put a national focus on the immigrant issue and on Athens.
Various media outlets, including Fox and the New York Post, reported that when Williams was campaigning for office in 2020 he said he had no intention of cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.
Williams responded to the negative coverage on Thursday by saying “a lot of facts are being left out. It’s being painted one way.”
“The biggest thing is we realize there are some weaknesses in reporting. We tried to get data (on cases reported in Athens) back from ICE and that’s taking quite a few days and we still haven’t gotten it,” he said.
“We realize we need to track it better as far as anyone who comes in and out of the jail,” he said about efforts now underway to improve record keeping on immigrants who come into the jail.
Williams said it was also important to note that the Laken Riley murder suspect, Jose A. Ibarro, 26, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela living in Athens, was never booked into the jail prior to his arrest for murder.
Williams said his office does notify ICE of undocumented immigrants because it is part of the normal booking process.
He also objected to any suggestion that his office supports Athens as a sanctuary city.
“There is no sheriff that has the authority to declare a sanctuary city. That is not in the sheriff’s purview. And one policy does not affect that either,” he said.
Williams has worked under a policy in place when he assumed office.
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“Our policy reflects that ICE detainers are requests, not a court order or warrant. Holding a person based solely on an ICE detainer constitutes a warrantless arrest,” according to his statement.
“The policy does allow for detaining if a warrant or court order signed by a judge is issued,” the statement reads, adding that the sheriff’s office does not prevent ICE from picking up undocumented persons.
The issue now, according to the sheriff’s office, is to improve the record-keeping practices used to identify and track responses to “any interactions with subjects determined to be undocumented.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Clarke County sheriff says office is improving tracking of immigrants
