(By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office Public Relations Coordinator)

On Aug. 26, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released an opinion regarding contract agreements between federal immigration authorities and counties that host Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, such as Seneca County. Yost’s opinion stated that “county commissioners may enter into an agreement with federal immigration authorities,” but “county sheriffs do not have independent contracting authority for this purpose.”

The Attorney General’s opinion has no impact on Seneca County Jail operations because the original contract between the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Seneca County Jail was signed by then-Seneca County Commissioners Timothy Rook and Kenneth Estep. The contract

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