I'm not pushing for local law enforcement to conduct immigration raids. I just want them to quit interfering and obstructing when the Feds (ICE) do their jobs. The most that is being asked of local enforcement is to NOT RELEASE illegal immigrants they arrest during their normal duties until ICE can pick them up.
FFS, those same local LE hold people a long time during extradition processes. How is this any different?
Let's say you are arrested in Georgia, and you are wanted in Montana for a crime. The computer spits out the warrant when a cop checks your license. You are arrested because there is a warrant for your arrest.
The warrant is signed by a judge. Now, the cops in Georgia aren't going to hold you indefinitely. They'll notify Montana that you are arrested. Montana has to do some things to get you transported to them.
Now, all of this started when a Judge signed a warrant. For an ICE detainer, it's not signed by a judge, or filed with a court.
Now, let's play that out with ICE. You get picked up for Disturbing the peace. Everyone else who is arrested for that is processed in, and bail is low, so you're out again with a small amount of money paid and a court date assigned. But ICE sends over a request to hold you.
So you are held, twenty four hours later, you're still held, seventy two hours, and you are still held. You call an attorney and ask for help. The attorney is hired, and goes to the court demanding to know why you are being held still. The Sheriff's department says you are being held because they have a detainer request from an ICE agent.
Three more days go by, and nothing. Now, you have been held longer than the average jail sentence for the crime you were picked up for, you have no additional charges filed, the sheriff is on the hook for the wrongful detention lawsuit. The Sheriff has no legal reason to hold you, all he has is the detainer request.
A request is asking for a favor. To borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbor, or ask the neighbor for help. A request can be granted, or denied. You can tell your neighbor that your lawnmower is acting up and needs to be repaired. You can tell him you are all out of sugar and need to go to the store yourself.
That is the first difference, there is no order from a judge, so the sheriff is holding the individual named in the detainer request indefinitely. That is actually risky for the sheriff, after a little while, he is liable for the damages in the lawsuit. The claim that he was doing a favor is not a defense against wrongdoing.
The 48 hour window that everyone talks about, that is how long you can hold someone without charging them with a crime. That means walking them before a judge and a prosecutor actually telling the judge the crimes they are accused of.
After that, it's a civil rights violation to hold them.