ACLU-KY Statement on New ICE Detainer Policy at LMDC, Mayor Greenberg Collaboration with the Trump Administration

LOUISVILLE, Ky – A 48-hour ICE Detainer Hold Policy is in effect at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections.

This statement can be attributed to Amber Duke, ACLU-KY Executive Director:

“The Greenberg’s administration’s ICE detainer collaboration with the Trump administration is now in effect. According to the jail population dashboard at 7AM today, Louisville Metro Correction’s Main Jail Complex population was 1,501 people in a facility with a maximum capacity of 1,373 people. LMDC, which remains dangerously understaffed, has been trying to improve conditions and healthcare in the wake of 22 deaths in the facility over the last three years. Now the staff of LMDC, at the direction of Mayor Greenberg, will be forced to keep people in the facility up to an additional 48 hours beyond their release date for ICE. That’s 48 hours of additional monitoring LMDC Corrections staff will have to provide; 48 hours of additional care YesCare will have to provide; 48 additional hours an individual will have to spend in overcrowded conditions. At the end of the 48 hours, individuals will be turned over to ICE, an agency currently flouting due process rights and detaining people in conditions that have been reported as inhumane.

The Greenberg Administration was bullied into this collaboration with the Trump Administration and chose to bend the knee rather than stand up to threats of withholding of federal funding. Other municipalities and states have fought back against similar threats and withholding of funds and have been successful in defeating this illegal activity. It is unconscionable that the city of Louisville is now a 'victory' and model for the Trump Administration to use to threaten and bully other municipalities into compliance.”

The Trump administration “criteria” for classifying a municipality as a sanctuary is vague and inconclusive, leaving room for wide interpretation. Among municipalities and state who have stood up to these tactics, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from a dozen and followed the block with an order preventing further executive orders from circumventing the block.

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislature, and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms. For additional information, visit our website at: www.aclu-ky.org.