"I expect people to say these things and they have been proven not to be true." I get sued on occasion and inmates say things on occasion and it has always proven that it is not true and this is not true," Jones told The Enquirer. "As far as the comments, none of it is true. He particularly took aim at the alleged abuse in his jail of detainees and said, "it is simply not true." The only reason that I am ending the contract is because they have less prisoners here and it is a good time to end the contract," Jones said. "I have 60 days or they have 60 days and they are already getting prisoners out." “I ended the contract with ICE and within the contract, we have 60 days. He also noted that he can't speak on pending litigation. Jones spoke with The Enquirer Friday afternoon and said the claims of mistreatment are nothing new and, in the past, any claim along these lines has been dismissed. They both alleged deplorable conditions which included inedible food and no access to proper medical care. Morrow County technically still has a contract with ICE, according to Tramonte, but has not been housing ICE detainees since February due to a Covid outbreak in the jail.įormer detainees Demba Diawara and Abdoulaye Lam made video statements regarding their treatment while at the jail. "Because we don’t know how long it will take for the current contract to expire, we sent a letter to Sheriff Richard Jones yesterday urging that he act quickly to provide vaccine access to all detained people (including and especially immigrants) and staff at Butler County Jail." "We cannot speak to the status of any incoming legal inquiries or complaints, but we are relieved that Butler County cut ties with ICE and urge Geauga, Morrow, and Seneca counties to follow suit. More: Butler County sheriff quarantining after positive COVID-19 test The ACLU of Ohio responded via email to the discussion and said it would like to see all county jails end their relationship with ICE. She called for her clients, Bayong and Adem, to be released and pledged to litigate the lawsuit fully.Ĭontractor said that there have been many complaints against the jail and immigrant advocates from across the state are glad to see Jones end the contract with ICE. The lawsuit asks the court to grant damages and other remedies, according to Nathanson. The lawsuit accuses corrections officers’ repeated acts of violence, slurs, and anti-Muslim bias against two men, Bayong Brown Bayong, a refugee from Cameroon, and Ahmed Adem, a refugee from Somalia who is Muslim.īoth men are from Columbus and have family in Ohio. More: Opinion: Police must strengthen trust in immigrant communities Nathanson and Contractor discussed issues with the jail and a lawsuit that was filed on behalf of two immigrant detainees last December against Butler County after ICE detainees alleged abuse by corrections officers at the jail. and he was not willing to do that," Tramonte said.ĭuring the discussion, Tramonte was joined by, Danya Contractor of Ohio Immigrant Visitation, a group invested in fighting for the rights of immigrants and Anna Nathanson with the Norris Law Group. "Apparently, the new Department of Homeland Security wanted the sheriff (Jones) to actually follow through on the commitments in his contract which requires him to offer things like edible food, access to medical care and time outside of their cells, etc. Tramonte addressed the decision by Jones to end his ICE contract in a Friday press conference and also shed light on what is coming next as more county jails are relinquishing their contract to house detainees as well. That announcement caught the attention of Lynn Tramonte, the founder and director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, a project that works with immigrants, allies, and pro-immigrant organizations across Ohio. More: Butler County ending partnership with ICE Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones announced this week that he notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that effective immediately his jail will not be accepting any ICE detainees and will be terminating the contract, which he has held since 2003, to house them in the future.
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