A Butler County Prison policy is being misinterpreted to mean Butler is a sanctuary county.

County solicitor Mike English said the prison does cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite any misconceptions.

“No one has said we're in violation of anything,” he said.

Sanctuary cities or counties offer safe harbor for illegal immigrants who might otherwise be deported by not cooperating with federal authorities. President Donald Trump on Jan. 25 signed an executive order to withhold federal funds from such sanctuaries.

English explained that the policy, which was set in 2014 by the county prison board, states the county cannot hold anyone in jail on an ICE detainer alone.

He said the courts decided people cannot be imprisoned without a judicial process.

A March 4, 2014, ruling by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia found Lehigh County violated the constitutional rights of Ernesto Galarza by holding him past a possible release date due to an ICE detainer.

Galarza, a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent, was mistakenly arrested in a November 2008 drug arrest by Allentown police. He posted bond the day after his arrest but was not released.

ICE requested his detention based on the false assertion he might have been an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic.

The American Civil Liberties Union subsequently sought damages for Galarza.

A panel of Third Circuit judges determined ICE detainers are requests, not mandates, so Galarza's constitutional rights were violated.

Settlements were then reached. The federal government and Allentown paid Galarza a total of $50,000. Lehigh County paid him $95,000.

English said the county cannot incarcerate anyone unless there is a court order.

He said the prison policy uses phrasing that could be misinterpreted to mean the county won't cooperate with ICE, but it actually is referring to cases of people not involving a judicial process.

Complicating the situation is numerous entities compiling their own sanctuary city and county lists.

“There is no formal legal definition by the federal government on what a sanctuary city is,” English said.

The Temple University Beasley School of Law's Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice issued a report on Pennsylvania counties' policies on immigration detainers that mentioned Butler.

In the report dated March 2015, Butler County was cited as a county that has a written policy stating it does not honor ICE detainers.

English stressed the report does not label Butler a sanctuary county.

People are contacting the county expressing concern about losing potential federal funding.

English said the county has not been informed any funding is in jeopardy.

He stressed the county is not refusing to work with ICE.

“That is not the policy of the Butler County jail,” English said.

However, he said, since there is confusion, the wording of the policy is being tweaked.

“The language is not perfect,” English said. “We are going to clean it up.”

The sanctuary city funding controversy may get muddier. The state Legislature is mulling a companion law to Trump's order.

State Senate Bill 10 of 2017 proposes local governments be required to follow mandates or requests relating to immigration.

However, the bill also states those mandates or requests cannot conflict with the state or U.S. constitutions.