This is the apparent end of the saga. What is clear is that if you are a foreign national arrested in Glynn County, you will be detained and your immigration status will be checked. "Sheriff Bennett said Glynn County policy is to check all foreign nationals, regardless of the offence. In his statement, the sheriff said he has no intention of changing that policy."
According to the Govenor's Office spokesman "... an elected sheriff has the ability to set policy to some extent."
Ottawa Citizen Apr 18, 2007
Georgia jailer fired over Ottawa woman's ordeal
Two others suspended; sheriff says situation should have been quickly resolved
BY ANDREW SEYMOUR
One jail employee has been fired and two others suspended without pay after " officer error" resulted in 23- year- old Ottawa woman Cheryl Kuehn being detained for more than 10 hours at a Georgia detention centre for a pair of minor traffic violations.
In a statement released yesterday, Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett said Mrs. Kuehn's extended stay at the detention centre occurred when a communications officer conducting an immigration check missed the response from immigration officials stating Mrs. Kuehn was legally allowed to be in the United States.
" There were supervisors on duty at the detention centre who should have been astute enough to not only question the unreasonable delay, which they did, but who should have taken action to resolve a very obvious problem," the sheriff said in the statement, which explained the decision to discipline the employees.
Mrs. Kuehn was on her way to a Florida vacation with her husband, brother- in- law and a friend when she was stopped for speeding and running a stop sign near Brunswick, Georgia, on April 7.
While the Carleton University graduate student should have been briefly detained while her husband posted a $ 222 U. S. bond, she was instead forced to strip naked, shower and don a navy blue jail uniform before being put in a cell with other inmates.
Yesterday, Mrs. Kuehn said from her parents' Ottawa home that she was disappointed someone who was " bound by policy" lost their job as a result of the incident.
" If all they do is fire people on the front line, it is not going to change their policy," said Mrs. Kuehn, who has suffered panic attacks and been diagnosed with acute post- traumatic stress since her detention.
" It's not dealing with the root issue. There should be no ICE ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement) check and there should be no arresting of Canadians for minor traffic violations."
Mrs. Kuehn would like to see changes to state law so that foreign visitors don't have to be taken into custody until they post bond for traffic tickets, along with the elimination of immigration checks for people carrying passports.
According to Sheriff Bennett, the immigration check was conducted in advance of a Georgia immigration law, scheduled to come into effect July 1. While the law states only people charged with felonies or drunk driving should be subject to the check, Sheriff Bennett said Glynn County policy is to check all foreign nationals, regardless of the offence. In his statement, the sheriff said he has no intention of changing that policy.
" I want to make it clear that the process of checking all foreign nationals through the LESC ( law enforcement support centre) is a routine procedure for our office and it will remain our procedure," he said. " It should in no way delay the intake or release of offenders, coming and going."
That stance has caused a great deal of concern among high- profile opponents of the controversial law, which also includes provisions to prevent illegal immigrants from collecting social services and punishes employers who hire illegal workers.
Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said he anticipated the law could have " unintended consequences" for someone like Mrs. Kuehn, when his group opposed the legislation before it was passed last year.
" In order to prevent this from happening again, we need to make sure the state issues clear and specific guidelines on what the state can and cannot do in relation to" the law, said Mr. Gonzalez, who last week sent a letter to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, demanding an independent investigation.
" We need to have more friendly policies to foreign nationals who want to visit or do business in our state," he said, adding Georgia " should not be in the business of enforcing immigration laws," which is a federal responsibility.
Bert Brantley, press secretary to Mr. Perdue, said the governor's office is satisfied with the sheriff's report and does not intend to take more action.
" It appears it was an isolated incident and appropriate action has been taken to correct errors that have been made," said Mr. Brantley
He said it does not appear to be a statewide problem and doesn't appear to have anything to do with the new immigration law.
He said an elected sheriff has the ability to set policy to some extent.
" As long as policy and procedure are followed correctly, I think we are fine and there are no issues," said Mr. Brantley.
The governor's office is monitoring an investigation by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, which has responsibility for tourism, among other areas. Department spokeswoman Alison Tyrer said they are awaiting a report from the sheriff's office.
Mr. Gonzalez said an investigation by the sheriff ' s office isn't good enough. " Our state's economic interests are at stake, as well as our international image."
Atlanta lawyer Jamie Hernan, whose firm represents several immigrant rights groups in Georgia, said Mrs. Kuehn's case is an example of how the law is " flawed."
He said the law is the result of what he perceives as a growing " anti- immigrant" sentiment in the state and Mrs. Kuehn's case could be used to challenge the law and shape policy.
" The perception of the law is it is open season on immigrants in Georgia. ( Mrs. Kuehn's case) needs to be kept at the forefront because it is a classic example of how the law has allowed the state to move backward."
Mr. Hernan, who has offered to represent Mrs. Kuehn for free, if she decides to pursue legal action, said several high- profile groups, including the MexicanAmerican Legal Defence and Education Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, have taken an interest.
But Sheriff Bennett dismissed critics who accuse his department of being overzealous.
" This incident was not the result of our having poorly interpreted Senate Bill 529 as some have ridiculously asserted," he said in the statement. " Our policy is sound, it just wasn't followed properly."
