FILE - Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, sits Manhattan criminal court during Trump's sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP, file)
January 31, 2025 - 2:03 PM
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — A top U.S. Justice Department official said a county sheriff's office in upstate New York would be investigated “for potential prosecution” because it released a Mexican citizen from jail even though a judge had signed a warrant for the man’s arrest.
But Tompkins County officials quickly shot back, saying that the sheriff's office had, in fact, contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the man's pending release, and that federal agents simply hadn't come by to pick him up.
“There was no interference with federal immigration enforcement efforts,” county officials said in a statement.
The back-and-forth between federal prosecutors and the county began Thursday, when Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said in a news release that the office of Sheriff Derek Osborne, a Democrat, had failed to detain a 27-year-old Mexican man after he finished serving a sentence for assault on Jan. 28.
Federal agents arrested the man Thursday on a year-old criminal charge of illegally reentering the United States after a prior deportation.
Bove cited “sanctuary city” policies in the county's seat, Ithaca, New York, as he complained about having to re-arrest the man, saying it created a dangerous situation. He said the U.S. attorney's office in Syracuse, New York, had made a commitment “to investigate these circumstances for potential prosecution.”
“The Justice Department will not tolerate actions that endanger law enforcement and make their jobs harder than they already are, as they work to protect us all,” Bove said.
Osborne did not respond to phone or emailed messages from The Associated Press seeking comment, but county officials released a statement saying the sheriff and his staff followed the law.
“DOJ’s assertion that the Tompkins County Sheriff did anything to put federal law enforcement officers in danger is false and offensive,” it said. "The safety of all law enforcement is our top priority. In contrast, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were notified of when the individual in question was going to be released and had every opportunity to come to the jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Syracuse said the office would have no comment beyond the statement it released on Bove's behalf Thursday.
During President Donald Trump’s first week in office, the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, saying they could face criminal charges. Bove’s memo was seen as a warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.
Local jails are generally not allowed in New York to hold a person past the end of their release date as a favor to federal immigration authorities — unless a judicial warrant has been issued for that person's arrest.
In those instances, the state attorney general has advised local agencies to cooperate with federal authorities.
A resolution adopted by Tompkins County in 2017 instructs local agents to hold individuals for federal agencies for up to 48 hours under limited circumstances, including in cases where there is a judicial warrant or cause to believe the person has re-entered the country without authorization after being removed. County officers are also advised to cooperate if an individual has been convicted of a violent or serious crime.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Syracuse said that in this instance, the county sheriff’s office had been provided a copy of the January 2024 federal arrest warrant, but did not say when that had happened. The county, meanwhile, wouldn't say how much advance notice it had given federal immigration agents about the man's pending release.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025