Charleston County Sheriff Responds to Mace’s Allegations of Wrongful Release of Detainees

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano released a statement Tuesday afternoon rejecting claims by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace who accused the sheriff of “systematically dismantling immigration enforcement” in the county.

A release from Mace’s office says Graziano’s office has “ignored at least 51 ICE detainer requests” since 2021.

“Under your leadership, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has refused to provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement adequate time to take over the custody of illegal immigrants and has refused to notify ICE that it has an illegal immigrant in custody prior to his release. In fact, Charleston County has been designated by ICE as a non-cooperative institution,” Mace wrote. “In other words, you have intentionally and systematically allowed illegal immigrants to move freely throughout Charleston County and the surrounding areas. You have intentionally placed local residents, both adults and children, at risk.”

Graziano, a Democrat running for re-election, issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, whose district does not include Sheriff Al Cannon’s jail, never misses an opportunity to play performative politics. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office — like any other law enforcement officer in this state — cannot and has never been able to legally arrest someone because of their immigration (civil) status. That is a federal issue. And we never release or discharge a detainee without a judge’s order. Our policy clearly states on our public website that “SACDC will only detain residents for ICE purposes if they have a Form I-247, a detention order, and an immigration warrant signed by an immigration judge. An immigration judge’s order does not expire and would be honored to detain a resident.” (Politics 9-24 IV-B-4). We currently have 13 people in our facility who are in the custody of an immigration judge. We have never refused to obey a judge’s order, and ICE officers are responsible for obtaining those orders. Mace has a history of misrepresenting events for her perceived political gain, and this letter is particularly egregious. I suggest she focus on the people of the Lowcountry and do what she does best – whatever that is. She needs to let our law enforcement officers do their job.

Mace also accused Graziano of “using every reasonable effort to turn Charleston County into a sanctuary jurisdiction.”

Mace alleged that on August 23, the sheriff’s office denied ICE’s request to detain an “illegal immigrant” charged with two counts of enticing a minor into prostitution.

“Despite these serious allegations, the Sheriff’s Office refused to execute ICE’s arrest warrant and released the man on bail, further endangering the community,” the release reads.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Alexis Douglas said the sheriff’s office had not received an order from a judge to detain anyone as of Aug. 23, 2024.

“If we had done that, we would have stopped them,” Douglas said.

The first district congresswoman requested copies of all communications between Sheriff Kristin Graziano’s agency, Charleston County and Immigration and Customs Enforcement “regarding ICE detainer requests, undocumented immigrants detained by the Sheriff’s Office and the termination of the 287(g) agreement,” Mace’s office said in a statement.

Douglas said the sheriff’s office “is currently conducting research to determine how many jails in South Carolina are still participating in the 287g agreement.

“Our understanding is that there are only three counties left out of 46, and they are withdrawing due to cost and staffing issues,” Douglas said.

Mace’s office said Graziano has until Oct. 15 to provide the requested documents.

Read Mace’s full letter here:

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