COLUMBUS, Ohio — The ACLU of Ohio is calling on eight county sheriffs to release immigrant detainees, arguing they have no legal authority to hold them under a recent opinion from the state’s attorney general.

In an Aug. 26 opinion, Attorney General Dave Yost said only county commissioners, not sheriffs, can authorize contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ACLU said that means past agreements signed by sheriffs were invalid from the start and “hold no legal force.”

The letter, sent Thursday, was addressed to sheriffs in Butler, Fairfield, Fayette, Geauga, Lake, Portage, Mahoning and Seneca counties, as well as the executive director of the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio.

“Attorney General Yost has made abundantly clear that all county agreements with ICE must

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