Charleston Reporter

Rep. Nancy Mace has requested documents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office's failure to comply with detainer requests. This request follows a letter sent earlier to Sheriff Kristin Graziano of Charleston County.

"We understand under Sheriff Graziano’s leadership, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has refused to provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with adequate hold time to assume custody of illegal aliens and refused to provide ICE with notification they have an illegal alien in custody prior to their release," Rep. Nancy Mace's letter stated. "In fact, Charleston County has been recognized as a non-cooperative institution by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Criminal Apprehension Division."

The letter seeks specific information from ICE:

- All email communications between any employee of ICE and any employee of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office on or after January 4, 2021.

- All documents relating to detainer requests issued by ICE to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office on or after January 4, 2021, including the criminal charges brought against each alien and whether the alien was released from custody by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

"This is not an isolated incident. According to ICE data, since Fiscal Year 2021, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has refused to honor at least 51 detainer requests issued by ICE – opting instead to release these criminal aliens into our communities," Rep. Mace continued.

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