Sheriff getting $195,000 from ICE for vehicles, equipment
The Butler County sheriff’s office has almost $200,000 coming from the federal government for vehicle and equipment purchases related to its partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sheriff Mike Slupe said the payment of about $195,000 was processed Tuesday, May 26, after being held up by a partial government shutdown over disagreement on funding immigration enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security.
Under the sheriff’s 287(g) agreement with ICE, the office may be allocated $100,000 for vehicles, $7,500 for equipment per operation, salary reimbursement and overtime coverage up to 25% of an employee’s annual salary. Quarterly monetary performance awards are also available.
The allocation comes two weeks after Butler County commissioners approved a $20,120 purchase of liability insurance for 13 sheriff deputies to work with ICE at the May 13 meeting.
“The deputies are once again looking forward to working with our ICE partners,” Slupe said Wednesday.
The one-year policy through Richmond National Insurance Company was purchased after the county’s liability insurance provider, Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool, known as PCoRP, notified the county in April that employees acting under the direction of any federal agency dealing with immigration enforcement will be excluded from liability coverage beginning June 1, which is when the new policy will begin.
County residents at commissioner meetings had previously questioned if the sheriff’s office assisting ICE would cost the county funds. The commissioners said any expenses incurred would be taken from the sheriff office’s budget.
President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation April 30 to fund Homeland Security except for its immigration enforcement operations, according to the Associated Press. The legislation ended the partial shutdown.
At the time, lawmakers were facing pressure after the partial government shutdown led to delays for airport security screening and Transportation Security Administration employees not being paid.
Democrats pushed to fund TSA and other parts of Homeland Security without funding ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. House and Senate Republicans looked for alternate funding sources through budget reconciliation.
The process allowed Republicans to adopt a resolution to eventually provide $70 billion for immigration enforcement operations for the remainder of Trump’s term in 2029. A funding bill has yet to be approved by Congress.
