An ACLU attorney whose opinion on ICE agents operating within the county jail complex was shredded by a Pima County staff attorney has dismissed the counter opinion as “political” and non-binding. American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Billy Peard argued in a May 7 memo that the Pima County Board of Supervisors can legally bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from operating within the county jail.
Peard’s memo stated that the county could be held liable for jail operations deemed as “tortious acts committed by its sheriff.”
Under this tort — a wrongful act or infringement of a civil right — the board can control how the sheriff operates a county jail and can impede ICE operations, Peard said.
Peard said there are board members who would like to remove ICE from the county jail, and they “can take action if they deem it desirable to do so.”
Peard urged the board to oust ICE from the county jail at a June 19 meeting, which was met with a round of applause, including from District 5 Supervisor Richard Elias. Peard was among several people who have denounced the federal agency during the call to the public portion of the supervisors board meetings, echoing the “abolish ICE” movement on the national stage.
At the request of District 2 Supervisor Ramon Valadez, the county had its attorney review the ACLU memo, and that opinion was made public Tuesday.
Deputy County Attorney Regina L. Nassen lambasted Peard's argument, saying it “materially overstates the board’s authority over the operation of the jail.”
She argued that in Arizona, county sheriffs have “significant discretion regarding how the jail is run, and the county’s board of supervisors has no authority to interfere with it.”
She also said the cases used in ACLU’s memo fails to support their own premise.
Nassen added that the board “cannot use its budgeting authority in a manner that unreasonably infringes on another elected official’s legitimate exercise” of power.
In an interview Friday, Peard said, “The county attorney’s response appears to be devoid of independent case research. This is a political position paper masquerading as a legal memorandum.”
He added that Nassen's advice was non-binding.
District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy, who represents Green Valley and part of Sahuarita, weighed in on the issue after Tuesday’s meeting.
“If the sheriff wants to have an ICE agent at all times sitting in a special cubicle … then the sheriff has every right to do that,” he said.
