CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will have more time to pick up detained, undocumented individuals at the Chesapeake Correctional Center.
When someone is arrested, local jails inquire about their immigration status and, if the person is undocumented, they contact ICE. ICE has discretion on whether to take them into custody. Enforcement practices vary depending on the administration.
ICE can ask an agency to hold someone for 48 hours. However, the Chesapeake's Sheriff's Office announced a special agreement with ICE that establishes the correctional center as the only facility in the region to allow 72-hour holds for ICE to complete custody and removal proceedings.
"They have 72-hour regional hubs in different areas, and that's the model we're following," explained Chesapeake Sheriff Dave Rosado.
Rosado said the agreement enables Norfolk's field office to transport detainees more efficiently.
"In our talks, they mentioned how we could help them further," Rosado said. "They have a limited amount of agents working with them and we figured a 72 hour facility here, nearby, would be helpful. Because otherwise once they have someone in their custody, after processing them there, they would have to drive four, four and a half hours away."
"Is ICE paying you all to extend the time?" asked News 3 reporter Erika Craven.
"It is off a federal US Marshals contract that is existing now which we hold federal inmates. So we get paid that rate for them," said Rosado. "It's fiscally responsible instead of holding them for 48 hours without any compensation, which is not the most important thing, but for liability reasons and fiscal reasons it is [still important]."
News 3 asked local immigration lawyers about the change.
"[The 48 hour hold] has been on the books for years. So in that regard it doesn't really change much other than it gives ICE some extra time to pick the person up from the local facility," said Hugo Valverde, immigration attorney at Valverde Law.
John Gardner, co-owner of Gardner & Mendoza, PC Immigration Law noted, "as a practical matter it doesn't change too much because the jails have always been super loose with this rule. I would routinely deal with jails that would say, 'Oh, we'll give them one more day, we'll give them another couple days,' and the only thing you can really do is file in court to force the jail to release them to comply with federal law but the time you do that ICE has gotten their act together and come around anyways."
However, some attorneys expressed concerns.
"It's a tricky situation and this is basically Chesapeake just saying, 'look, we'll help you guys getting your job done because you can't get it done the way you're supposed to get done and so we're going to give you an assist.' I mean, if it's 72 hours, why not three months, why not six months, why not a year? Once you go down that road it's a slippery slope," said Gardner.
Sheriff Rosado clarified the 72-hour hold was the time suggested by ICE.
Another concern raised was the anxiety among community members.
"We have naturalized US citizens who have been naturalized for years calling us and saying, 'hey am I good? I'm afraid to travel.' You have a US passport you are fine to travel. People are just extremely afraid to do anything right now if they're not a natural-born citizen," said Radlyn Mendoza, immigration attorney and co-owner of Gardner & Mendoza, PC Immigration Law. "If people out there who are in an immigration process, in a lawful immigration process, they have to carry their documents with them, you know their receipt notices from USCIS, in order to cut down the possibility of a detainer being put on them."
Valverde said it's the same situation at his practice.
"Even if you're documented. I have received several calls a day from people who are here legally asking me if it's okay if they travel or if it is okay if they do this because there's a fear and a lack of understanding of how the government is enforcing the laws," said Valverde.
Mendoza emphasized the human aspect of immigration issues, stating, "These people that we represent are human beings, they're trying to go through this process. Your kids are going to school with their kids. They are your waiters, they're your nurses, they're the people that work in this community. Have a little humanity."
Sheriff Rosado reiterated his main priority is to enhance community safety.
"I want people to know you're safe here. The ICE immigration policies that are going on now, they are looking for people that are criminal in nature and that's their focus," said Rosado. "I want to make sure everyone here in the city [knows]—regardless of whatever your status you're at—we're here to help."
He added the longer ICE holds won't burden his staff and he emphasized that discussions about the agreement began in 2022.
