Barnstable County Sheriff To End ICE Agreement On 1st Day

BARNSTABLE COUNTY, MA — Donna Buckley will become Barnstable County's next sheriff on Wednesday morning. It won't take long for her to make changes on the Cape.

Buckley will be sworn in during a ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m. At 3:30 p.m., Buckley will sign a letter terminating the Sheriff's Office agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

The move serves as a swift completion of a campaign promise for Buckley, who said the 287(g) agreement "has not proven to keep us safer and causes many living on Cape Cod to live in fear."

The Sheriff's Office is the only agency in New England to have an agreement with ICE, according to officials. It allowed law enforcement agency personnel to perform certain functions of immigration officials after four weeks of mandatory training, including interrogating "any person believed to be an alien," and transporting "arrested aliens" to ICE-approved detention facilities.

"The mission of the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office is corrections, rehabilitation, and treatment," said Buckley. "Starting today, our focus will be on that core mission and the distraction of the 287(g) agreement will be where it belongs - behind us."

Buckley will be sworn in as sheriff at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Tilden Arts Center at Cape Cod Community College. She will sign the letter terminating the ICE agreement at 3:30 p.m. at the Sheriff's Office.