DEKALB COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE DEKALB SHERIFF WILL

DEKALB COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Jeffrey L. Mann, Sheriff

4415 Memorial Drive

Decatur, Georgia 30032

www.dekalbsheriff.org

MEDIA CONTACT:

Cynthia Williams, PIO

O-404-298-8144

C-678-548-3923

Email: cbwilli@dekalbcountyga.gov

___________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release

DEKALB SHERIFF WILL NOT HOLD RELEASED INMATES

FOR IMMIGRATIONS AND CUSTOMS WITHOUT WARRANTS

DECATUR, GA. December 4, 2014 – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office will no longer

honor requests by the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to further

detain released DeKalb County Jail inmates without a warrant or other sufficient probable cause,

Sheriff Jeffrey L. Mann announced today.

ICE hold requests specifically seek further detention for up to 48 hours for individuals otherwise

authorized to be released from custody so that ICE officials can check for federal immigration

law violations. Some federal court decisions have ruled that detainer-based detention by state and

local law enforcement agencies constitute violation of the Fourth Amendment.

“I requested and received a legal review of this practice,” says Sheriff Mann. “The law does not

allow us to hold anyone without probable cause. If our judicial system determines that an

individual should no longer be held in custody, it is not in my authority to countermand that

decision. We all benefit from a nation of laws that regulate the ways people can be detained, and

we should be grateful that is the case.”

The DeKalb Sheriff’s revised policy is also consistent with a Department of Homeland Security

decision to discontinue the Secure Communities program – specifically, to replace requests for

detention in most circumstances with requests for notification of a pending release.

###