Press Release, August 22, 2008

• NINETY-FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PROCESSED AT PICKENS COUNTY DETENTION CENTER ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

     Sheriff C. David Stone states that the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center has processed 94 illegal immigrants over the past 12 months.  The Detention Center began keeping the statistics on August 17, 2007.  As of August 17, 2008, 37 illegal immigrants have been held for ICE for deportation hearings, and 57 have been released without holds.  All of the inmates, regardless of their immigration status, must first comply with local court orders, sentences, or bond requirements prior to their release to the Department of Homeland Security.  Currently, there are 12 illegal immigrants being held on local charges.

     The illegal immigrants processed are from the following countries: 80 from Mexico, 4 from Honduras, 3 from El Salvador, 2 from Colombia, and one each from Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, England, Guatemala, Paraguay, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam.   Charges range from Public Disorderly Conduct to Criminal Sexual Conduct.

     For more information, contact Capt. Phil Sargent, Jail Administrator, at 864-898-5502.

Press Release, October 19, 2007

• Illegal Immigrant Released to ICE
  
       The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office has turned over an illegal immigrant, Jorge-Luis Murillo Galvan, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this morning. Galvan, who had been incarcerated since September 17, 2007 on DUI, Open Container, and No SC Driver’s License, plead guilty on Wednesday and received a 90 day sentence.
       ICE was notified on Wednesday after the guilty plea, and agents took possession of him this morning. Galvan was to be transported to the ICE processing center in Mecklenburg County, NC, and appear before a Federal Judge to determine his deportation status.