Commissioners Reaffirm ICE Contract
Geauga County Commissioners voted Sept. 9 to continue the county’s 2009 agreement to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inmates in the county jail.
Geauga County Commissioners voted Sept. 9 to continue the county’s 2009 agreement to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inmates in the county jail.
Due to pending litigation, commissioners said they would not be making any detailed comment on the resolution, which further ratified the agreement with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and United States Department of Justice.
“What we can say is that we are voting to take formal action to reaffirm our support for the sheriff’s housing of ICE inmates and for his cooperation with law enforcement,” said Commissioner Carolyn Brakey.
While a reporter in the audience asked what it meant to further ratify the agreement, Brakey said the board could not answer due to the pending litigation.
“Stay tuned,” Commissioner Jim Dvorak said when pressed on the item.
Lawsuit Update
In May, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office for not releasing records related to its ICE contract as part of a public records request.
The sheriff’s office argued releasing the records would violate federal regulations and directed the ACLUO to contact ICE for the records, while the ACLUO said the statutes cited by the sheriff’s office apply to personal information about detainees, not contracts or administrative information.
The ACLUO is seeking for the Ohio Supreme Court to compel the sheriff’s office to release the records, while the sheriff’s office has held firm in its decision not to.
The case has continued to move forward with a filing Aug. 20, setting a deadline for both sides to file evidence with the court. The ACLUO must file a brief within 30 days and the sheriff’s office must file a brief within 20 days of the ACLUO’s brief.
Evidence filed with the court includes an affidavit by Diane Peterson, the GCSO records clerk, that said the ACLUO sought “contracts, drafts of contracts and related memorandums, agreed to and executed by (United States Department of Homeland Security,) (ICE) or the (United States Marshall Service) at any time between June 1, 2024, and March 3, 2025.
The GCSO did not agree to or execute any contract with those services during that span of time, Peterson said.
However, the GCSO did execute a contract with the USMS March 20, 2024, taking effect April 1, 2024, she said.
The GCSO does not have a draft of this contract in its possession, Peterson said, adding the contract “contains provisions requiring pre-approval of outside medical care to be provided to federal inmates and notice to the federal government about that care, transportation of federal prisoners upon the request of the federal government and other requirements related to keeping records that contain personal and identifying information of federal prisoners.”
The sheriff’s office and ACLUO also filed a statement of facts detailing the events leading up to the lawsuit, as well as copies of emails detailing correspondence between both parties following the public records request.
Courthouse Update
In other business, commissioners executed another change order with Infinity Construction for the courthouse expansion project, increasing the project by $31,586.
The change order consists of $37,829 worth of additional courtroom security audio and a switch for the bailiff to turn it on and off, a number brought slightly down by the elimination of a $6,243 dedication plaque.
“Basically, if the sheriff sitting at the front desk clicks on a courtroom, they can hear the audio if that switch is turned on,” Project Manager Brett Bestgen explained.
Courthouse staff are expected to move into the expansion in December, he said.
