March 1, 2016
By Chinh Doan

SARPY COUNTY, Neb. —Are Nebraska counties going easy on illegal immigrants? According to the Center for Immigration Studies, which claims to be a non-profit think tank based out of Washington, DC, yes.

Its national website put Sarpy County on the map, but county leaders said it's for the wrong reasons, which led to a public discussion at Tuesday's Sarpy County Board meeting.

"We're on that website because we issued an opinion," Attorney Lee Polikov said. "There were four counties in Nebraska that issued an opinion back in 2014 that said we have to release people, you can't hold people without judicial authority."

Polikov wants the Center for Immigration Studies to stop referring to Sarpy County as a sanctuary county.

He wrote a letter to the organization's executive director back in July.

"He says we're on there because we're not cooperating with ICE," Polikov said. "I have communication from ICE that says you're cooperating with us, you're doing what the law requires."

Polikov and Sarpy County board members said residents have been asking questions, too.

"Someone said, 'What are we doing being a sanctuary county?'" said Jim Warren, Sarpy County Board Commissioner for District 5. "Thinking that anyone illegal in the U.S., that this is a place they could come and stay and would be exempt from prosecution."

That's why Warren said this discussion is necessary. After getting more information from Polikov, Sarpy County Board chairman Don Kelly said the public can rest assure that Sarpy County is not a sanctuary county.

"There are some constraints that are driven by statute, by precedence and lawsuits that can tend to tie our hands somewhat, but we do not knowingly release people that should not be released without thoroughly vetting them," Kelly said.

There is a pending lawsuit against Sarpy County. It dates back to 2013, when a U.S. citizen was wrongfully held in jail after ICE placed a hold on him, believing he was someone else.

ICE officials told KETV NewsWatch 7 that the agency doesn't have a list of so-called sanctuary counties or cities.

ICE also said 2014 updates to Department of Homeland Security policies have affected changes to its forms: from "Immigration Detainers - Notice of Action" to "Immigration Detainer - Request for Voluntary Action" and "Request for Voluntary Notification of Release of Suspected Priority Alien."

Polikov plans to send another letter to the website, and if Sarpy County isn't removed from the list, he's considering a lawsuit.

Other Nebraska counties listed on the Center for Immigration Studies website as "sanctuary sites" include Douglas, Lancaster and Hall.

http://www.ketv.com/news/website-say...rants/38281600