ALBANY – Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta was in Albany on Tuesday along with other county sheriffs and the Federation for American Immigration Reform asking a federal court to pause enforcement of a new state law that prevents jails from housing ICE inmates.
Orange County has temporarily housed federal criminal detainees pending deportation and not people scooped up by ICE on the street, said Arteta.
“The ones that were in the Orange County Jail were criminals, either had prior crimes, current crimes, or wanted by Interpol as well as being a criminal illegal alien in the United States,” he said.
Under a federal contract, now canceled by the state, the county will lose $10 million or more each year, Arteta said.
The county’s ICE population is down to 10, but they all must be removed by November 25.
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