Jenkins said the audit of 287g is unnecessary, and is a ‘political hit job.’
Frederick, MD – “Back off”: is the message from Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins to County Executive Jan Gardner. On Monday, Gardner announced that the county will do an audit of the Sheriff’s Office participation in the federal 287g program. . Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, who was a guest on WFMD’s Morning News Express with Bob Miller, said the audit is because Gardner and the Frederick County Council don’t like the program.
“The right thing here is to back off and let the sheriff do his thing, and let me continue to generate revenue and hand it back to Frederick County,” Jenkins said “but politically, [Gardner] can’t let herself do it.”
The 287(g) audit will only be of the Frederick County funds, which Jenkins said was only used for the training of correction officers.
Under the 287-g program, deputies can determine the immigration status of suspects they detain at a detention center. Jenkins said the county receives $83 daily from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for each inmate detained at the jail
“I’ve returned millions upon millions upon millions of dollars back to Frederick County,” Jenkins said. “Whatever they’re looking to find is not there.”
Jenkins said 1,575 people have been deported since joining the program in 2008.
A federal lawsuit was filed earlier this year against Frederick County, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Jenkins and two of his deputies for a 2018 traffic stop involving the detention of a Latina woman.
The audit will be conducted by an independent third party and will be completed in a few months.
A meeting between the council and the sheriff will be scheduled to discuss the program sometime in the fall. It will be open to the public, but no citizen comment will be taken.
By Timothy Young