Vote almost removes ICE officers from Oklahoma County jail
Officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency were nearly prohibited from working inside the Oklahoma County jail during a Monday meeting.
The Oklahoma County Jail Trust voted 4-2-1 Monday to prohibit ICE officers from being stationed inside the jail to check citizenship
status and issue immigration holds, which has gone on for years.
But late Monday, trust chairwoman Tricia Everest said the trust's attorney indicated that the vote did not count because a majority of trustees did not vote in favor of the measure.
Eight of the nine trust members were present at the meeting, and only seven voted. A majority vote requires five members, and only four voted to remove the ICE officers.
“While the vote among those voting was four to two for approval, with one abstention, the trust did not take official action because there were less than five affirmative votes,” the attorney said.
It is unclear when the trust might take up the measure again.
Trustee Francie Ekwerekwu pushed for the trust to discuss ICE procedures, which was a topic that came up last summer before the trust officially took over operations of the jail.
“From Day One, we made the excuse, `Oh, we don't run the jail yet,'” Ekwerekwu said. “Well, today we do. It is time for us to stop being contributors to the terrorism of families.”
Ekwerekwu was joined by trustees M.T. Berry, Ben Brown and Jim Couch in voting to remove the officers. Trustees Todd Lamb and Kevin Calvey voted to keep the officers, and trustee Danny Honeycutt abstained. Trustee Sue Ann Arnall was not present at the meeting, and Everest left the meeting before the vote was taken.
Several demonstrators were at the meeting, and they chan ted and yelled while trustees discussed the legal requirements around checking for immigration status.
The trust was told that state law requires facilities to make a reasonable effort to identify the citizenship status of people with certain criminal charges, like DUIs. But state and federal law does not define what a reasonable effort is, and it isn't required for ICE officers to actually receive office or desk space inside of a facility.
“What we are talking about is, is it reasonable ?” said Honeycutt, who represents the county sheriff's office. “Is it reasonable to have ICE agents in the building? ... That's debatable.”
Several individuals spoke during public comment, pointing to a lack of translation services and saying the current procedures violate personal rights.
“Policies like this that have been perpetuated at the Oklahoma County jail tear apart communities. They take parents away from their children,” one man said, choking up. “That has a lasting impact on these kids. ... Lives are completely ruined for a minor infraction.”
Monday's meeting was the first time the trust had fully discussed ICE procedures during a public meeting. The trust took over operations of the jail July 1.
Last summer, several demonstrations were held to push for the removal of the ICE officers.