Yesterday at 11:55 AM ·
PRESS RELEASE
LAKE COUNTY (OHIO) SHERIFF’S OFFICE
SUBJECT: IMMIGRATION 287g AGREEMENTS
DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
The Lake County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office has had numerous inquiries as to our co-operation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We have signed two agreements with Immigration regarding the 287g program. It should be noted we just received the signed agreements back last week and still need to complete specific training before we can begin limited participation in the 287g the program.
The following details those 287g programs and our intended limited participation:
• The Task Force Model (TFM): Authorizes deputies on patrol to enforce immigration laws during routine duties, such as traffic stops. In such cases, if a Deputy encounters a person who has a detainer by ICE for being in the Country illegally, and the Deputy does not have any criminal charges pending, the Deputy can take the person into custody on the Immigration detainer and take that person to an ICE facility. (Note, the Lake County Jail IS NOT an ICE detention facility )
We will provide continuous oversight and training to staff to ensure they understand our intended scope of their limited authority. Although the TFM agreement authorizes broader enforcement action, our participation will be limited to enforcement during encounters which occur during our course of routine duties. We will monitor all operations, including interactions with ICE, to ensure the constitutional and civil rights of community members are protected.
We will not participate in ICE raids at businesses, schools, or neighborhoods unless specifically requested for high-risk warrants involving violent offenders or cartel members. We will not initiate independent investigations related to immigration law violations.
• The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program: Authorizes trained jail staff to serve and execute ICE administrative warrants on individuals already in custody. In such cases, when a person presently incarcerated in the Lake County Jail on criminal charges or sentencing, and is due to be released, the jail will serve the ICE warrant on that person. The jail will then hold that person on the ICE detainer for up to 48 hrs until Immigration can come and pick the person up and remove them from the Lake County Jail. Note, we will not house immigration detainees under a pay-for-stay model such as the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM). We are not an ICE Detention facility.
Additional Information
The 287(g) agreements do not change existing jail operations. Since 2015, individuals in custody have been held for up to 48 hours in response to ICE detainers. The Warrant Service Officer program formalizes this process within current operations.
The Task Force Model also authorizes deputies to detain individuals subject to ICE detainers and transfer custody to federal authorities. It was in 2015 that a man in the Country illegally attempted to rape a young girl, murdered and raped a woman in one our townships, and then began shooting at people along the Greenway corridor. Our deputies had encountered that man 2 weeks earlier during a suspicious circumstance. However, due to Obama era immigration policies, we were unable to detain him. To help prevent that tragedy from occurring again, we decided to begin detaining illegal immigrants already in our custody on Immigration detainers for up to 48 hrs to help ensure the safety and security of our residents.
Sheriff Frank Leonbruno
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