Leaders in Warren County say it’s a mistake that the U.S. government put them on a new list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” for immigration enforcement, putting them at risk for losing federal funding.
“This report is wrong. A mistake has been made and incorrectly listed Warren County,” Sheriff Barry Riley said in a social media post Friday morning.
“We have reached out to representatives of the Department of Homeland Security to correct the issue. As Sheriff, I fully support the protection of our great nation’s borders and the citizens of this county.
“I stand behind the mission that if you are in this country illegally, you should be sought out, detained, treated humanely, processed according to the law, and returned to your home country. In fact, this was the directive I gave as soon as I took office.”
The Dayton Daily News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security on Friday afternoon, sharing the county sheriff’s detailed statements and asking for comment on Warren County’s claims that the designation was a mistake.
On Friday night, DHS sent a statement through a spokesperson that didn’t specifically address Warren County’s situation:
“Designation of a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on the evaluation of numerous factors, including self-identification as a sanctuary jurisdiction, noncompliance with Federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The list is actively reviewed, will be regularly updated, and can be changed at any time. President Trump and Secretary Noem have been clear: sanctuary jurisdictions should immediately cease violation of Federal law and cooperate with law enforcement.”
Warren County Commissioner Dave Young also believes there’s been an error.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) is working on getting this addressed, Young told FOX19 NOW early Friday.
“Believe it or not, Washington made a mistake,” he quipped.
A spokeswoman for the senator said he was not available Friday.
Besides Warren County, Ohio’s portion of the list has the cities of Cincinnati and Columbus, plus Lorain and Franklin counties.
This all comes after President Donald Trump signed an April 28 Executive Order directing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi “to identify and publicly highlight jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities,” DHS said in a news release Thursday.
DHS says it issued a comprehensive list of sanctuary jurisdictions, including cities, counties, and states “that are deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens.
“Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal illegal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in grave danger,” the news release continues. “DHS is committed to exposing these lawless jurisdictions to the public and making them accountable for not respecting the rule of law.”
Each jurisdiction listed will receive formal notification of its non-compliance and all potential violations of federal criminal statutes, according to the federal government.
“DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens,” the news release states.
“Note that the list can be reviewed and changed at any time and will be updated regularly. No one should act on this information without conducting their own evaluation of the information.”
It was not immediately clear Friday how Warren County came to be on the sanctuary list.
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell says DHS may have gotten his county mixed up with another Warren County in a different state.
“It was a surprise to us that that type of mistake had been made, but certainly it is a mistake,” Fornshell commented.
The Warren County prosecutor added that he and Sheriff Riley recently met with ICE officials.
“Myself and the sheriff, actually within the past two weeks, had a meeting with ICE officials just to discuss how to be more streamlined in terms of how we deal with these types of situations when we have folks who are here illegally, particularly those who have committed crimes,” Fornshell said.
Warren County is historically a Republican area, as voters have supported the Republican candidate for president all but once since 1856, the exception being Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964.