Via press release
Today, the League of Women Voters of Kentucky released Immigration Detention in Kentucky Jails: Who’s in Charge and What to Ask Them. The report is a guide to help the public understand who makes decisions about their county jails, and suggest questions to not only learn about the conditions for immigrants and other detainees in the jails, but to shine light on a system that could potentially obscure Constitutional violations, such as due process.
The report is the second in a series of reports that the League will issue over the next several months to bring transparency and accountability to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions in Kentucky county jails.
“Kentuckians have a right to know what is happening in publicly-funded jails,” said Jennifer A. Jackson, M.D., president of the LWVKY. “Depriving any person of their liberty is a serious matter. Under our Constitution, due process is protected for everyone on U.S. soil. Holding individuals in jail without criminal charges or a trial violates that core right. The League of Women Voters urges Kentuckians to look closely at our facilities and ask the hard questions about operations and funding to ensure immigrants and other detainees are treated humanely, not as a commodity.”
Please share this to get the word out!
The report identifies three groups of local elected officials that Kentuckians can approach to ask about what is happening in their local jails:
- Jailers or corrections department directors: Jailers run the jails in most counties, and can be asked about immigrant detention. In counties without jails, the public can ask the county jailer where immigrants are sent, and then ask questions of administrators of those facilities. In Jefferson and Fayette counties, corrections department directors can be asked these questions.
- Fiscal court or urban council members: In 118 counties, the fiscal court makes important decisions about jails, including approving the budget, deciding whether to hold people from outside the county (including ICE detainees) and what fees to charge for those detentions, and setting rules for how prisoners will be treated. In Jefferson and Fayette counties, city councils have these responsibilities. Kentuckians can ask questions of these elected officials or attend fiscal court or city council meetings, which provide time for public comment.
- Judge/executives and mayors: In most counties, judge/executives have specific jail responsibilities that include the power to inspect the jail, draft the jail budget along with the county jailer and treasurer, and request hearings on any jail violations identified by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. In Jefferson and Fayette counties, those responsibilities fall to mayors.
The League suggests a number of questions that community members can ask these officials, including questions about:
- Numbers and overcrowding: How many ICE detainees are held in the local jail, and are they accepted when the jail is already over capacity?
- Release of immigrants: What happens to immigrant detainees who are not from the county when they are released from the local jail?
- Basic rights and due process: How does the jail ensure that immigrants' basic rights and needs are met, including contact with families and attorneys, and access to religious services, health care, indoor and outdoor recreation, and translation services?
- Financial implications: What are the financial implications of accepting immigration detainees, and how do payments for federal detainees compare to payments for state and local detainees?
- Jail inspections: How often is the jail inspected, what deficiencies have been found, and how were they addressed?
The report, Immigration Detention in Kentucky Jails: Who’s in Charge and What to Ask Them, is available at lwvky.org. The public also has the opportunity to share what they learn by using the QR on the report or a link on our website.
--30--
Comments
