Orange City, Iowa — Sioux County has been called by some, a “sanctuary county.” People said that because Sioux County Sheriff Dan Altena, upon the advice of the county attorney in 2014, instituted a policy in which if an inmate whose time was up in the Sioux County Jail was in the United States without paperwork, the Sioux County Jail would not hold them for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or “ICE.”
Sheriff Altena explains the old policy.
He says that since the county didn’t want to get sued, they felt that their hands were tied and that they had to abide by that policy. However, things are changing in July, says Altena.
Altena emphasizes that the new law will not prevent the county from being sued, but it would give the county a legal reason for holding someone who was in the country illegally. He says people could challenge the state law, but at least it has been made clearer what the county should do.
According to Altena, effective July 1, 2018, the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office/Sioux County Jail will begin extending inmates’ detention for up to 48 hours after a valid Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (“ICE”) detainer request is made to the jail.
