Mace threatens to subpoena Charleston County Sheriff’s Office over immigration enforcement documents

WASHINGTON (WCBD)- U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) threatened to issue a congressional subpoena to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office Friday as a House committee probes whether the agency is attempting to withhold information related to its handling of immigration enforcement.

Mace, who chairs the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, demanded in October that the sheriff’s office hand over copies of all communications with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She said the agency has not cooperated, accusing the office of “willful obstruction.”

“Our message is simple: hand over the documents or prepare for a subpoena,” Mace said.
“Stonewalling Congress won’t fly, and I won’t stand by while public safety is put at risk. Graziano
needs to answer for her actions, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

The requested documents include details on the law enforcement agency’s handling of ICE detainer requests and the termination of the county’s 287(g) agreement.

“If you fail to produce the requested documents by November 15, 2024, the Committee will consider additional measures, including use of the compulsory process, to gain compliance and obtain this critical material,” a letter to the agency shared with News 2 stated.

In response, the sheriff’s office asserted that it is following the law and that enforcing immigration is a job for the federal government.

“Just because she and her congressional colleagues cannot solve our country’s federal immigration problem doesn’t mean they get to make it mine,” Sheriff Kristin Graziano (D) stated. “It does not make it the problem of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office or any other local law enforcement agency in the United States. Because Congress has failed to do its job, lawmakers like her think it’s their job to force someone else to do their work.”

“Not on my watch,” she added.

Graziano further claimed that Mace is “using her position to nationalize and influence a local election.” The sheriff is running for reelection against Republican Carl Ritchie, the former Mount Pleasant police chief.

“This is an abuse of power, and this what the taxpayers of the United States are paying for,” Graziano said. “I welcome her and her colleagues to send us a subpoena – to prove we are following the law and doing everything by the book. Bring it on.”

The threat is the latest development in a bitter battle that has emerged between Mace and Graziano after Mace alleged that undocumented immigrants accused of crimes have been released from the Al Cannon Detention Center under Graziano’s watch.

In a Sept. 24 letter, Mace accused the agency of ignoring ICE immigration holds, which are requests to law enforcement to detain a person for up to 48 hours before releasing them to give ICE time to take custody and potentially remove that person from the country.

The congresswoman, who is seeking a third term representing South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, further claimed the sheriff’s office had released illegal immigrants into the community and by doing so was “purposefully putting local residents at risk” of danger.

She also alleged the sheriff’s office has ignored dozens of detainer requests since 2021, noting that the agency is labeled an “uncooperative institution” by ICE. That designation is shared by more than 550 institutions nationwide, according to a June report.

Graziano later blasted Mace as “full of s—” and vehemently denied any wrongdoing by her agency, suggesting that Mace was “mischaracterizing events” for political gain.

There were 13 individuals housed in the Al Cannon Detention Center that were on a hold by an immigration judge as of Sept. 25, according to the sheriff’s office.

Graziano dissolved the 287(g) agreement between the sheriff’s office and ICE as one of her first official acts after taking office in 2021, citing the high cost to taxpayers to operate the program.

The optional agreement purports to “enhance the safety and security of communities by focusing resources on identifying and processing removable aliens who have been arrested and booked into the [law enforcement agency’s] jail/correctional facilities.” Participating law enforcement agencies select members to be trained to perform some limited functions of an immigration officer.

“The change that happened when we rescinded 287(g) is that we required ICE to have an immigration judge’s signature in order for someone to be put on a detainer or a hold in our facility,” CCSO spokesperson Amber Allen previously explained.

Only three jurisdictions in South Carolina — Horry, Lexington, and York counties — currently have 287(g) agreements in place, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

This story is developing and may be updated.