27 April 2013 @ 11:05 PM
It’s come to our attention that those opposed to the Justice Center are now claiming that our local jail will be used as a place for ICE to lockup illegal immigrants. We feel this is a misrepresentation similar to the claim that a larger jail would be filled with students. Their statements about this are provided below in a snapshot from their public Facebook page.
Last night, a local police officer made a routine traffic stop. As part of the routine in any traffic stop, the officer called the Iowa City Police Station with the name of the person stopped. The officer was informed that the person being pulled over had two outstanding arrest warrants, stemming from a State of Iowa Department of Transportation-led investigation that is currently ongoing. Our local officer had no choice but to respond accordingly, and took the person into custody last night at the Johnson County Jail, per the State’s DOT, and not local law enforcement’s, order. This person was released on her own recognizance this morning.
We feel, so very much, for the defendant who had to settle for the alleged decisions made leading to the two warrants issued by the State DOT–decisions which undoubtedly were made with the best intentions to care for family, but were decisions that also led to the arrest and detention last night. The deepest heartache, by far, is that this arrest took place in front of the defendant’s children and other loved ones. Fortunately, the children involved are safe at home with loving relatives and a caring parent. And we wish to express our thanks to our local law enforcement in ensuring the children were taken care of safely. These are memories that will be painful for these children, difficult to explain, and painful for those closest to the defendant. Our thoughts are with those most tragically affected from the situation.
Our campaign will continue to provide updates, should this be necessary. We invite our opponents in respecting the privacy of the affected family by joining us in a pledge to not inject our local debate into such a sensitive issue. Instead, we invite all County residents to show compassion for the family affected while this event unfolds. There are some issues that transcend local elections, and give way to true stories of human tragedy. This is one of those stories.
Thank You.
