Sheriff, Cassville chief detail procedures amidst national increase in deportations

By Sheila Harris Special to Monett Monthly

The Monett Police Department (MPD) is trying out a new tactic to aid in the apprehension of lawbreakers: posting their mugshots on the Monett Police Department’s Facebook page.

“We weren’t getting much response [to the photos], internally, so we decided to use social media,”said George Daoud, Monett police chief.

Beginning June 23, the first compilation of names and mugshots appeared, with no mention of the crimes that the featured people were wanted for. That first post has since been shared 165 times. Subsequent posts are receiving similar attention.

When Isaias Ax Cac — a native of Guatemala, who speaks no English and very little Spanish — saw his name and photo among the June 23 mugshots, he was embarrassed. He contacted the police station to see what he needed to do to clear his name and have his photo removed from Facebook.

When Ax Cac arrived at the police station on Thursday, June 26, he was taken into custody by the MPD: standard procedure said Daoud, for a person with an outstanding warrant for missing a scheduled court appearance (Failure to Appear – FTA).

“Typically, when a person pays their fine and court costs, or someone posts bond on their behalf, they’re released after the paperwork is processed,” Daoud said.

In Ax Cac’s case, a friend posted his $250 bond the following day, on Friday, and was told, they say, that Ax Cac would be released on Monday.

However, Ax Cac’s case did not follow the typical scenario.

The incident report issued by the Monett Police Department on June 26 reveals that, in addition to the Ax Cac’s outstanding warrant, a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was attached to the report.

“Ax Cac was taken into custody without incident, and contact was made with ICE regarding pickup,” the report, filed by PSR Evan Salazar, stated.

Whether Ax Cac’s friend was aware of the ICE detainer when they posted his bond the day following his arrest is unclear.

Either way, ICE agents arrived in Monett on June 28 and took Ax Cac to the Greene County Jail, in Springfield, where he’s held in federal custody.

According to ICE’s website, the Green County Jail serves as one of 120 nationwide detention centers and jails which serve as holding facilities for undocumented residents. The Greene County Jail serves as a Chicago Field Office for ICE.

While some local residents have expressed concerns the Monett Police Department is not being entirely forthright in its practices regarding the detention of Hispanic residents, Daoud said he’s been with the Monett Police Department for 25 years, and the department’s practices have not changed.

“We work with local, state and federal partners,” he said. “If somebody commits a criminal act, we run a data check. If there’s a hit on [ICE’s] side, they notify us.”

According to MPD Sgt. Paul Ferguson, ICE also notifies the MPD of whether or not they intend to pick up undocumented prisoners held in Monett.

According to ICE’s website, local law enforcement entities are required to detain prisoners for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released, in order to give ICE a chance to pick them up if they choose to do so.

The MPD may not have been aware of ICE’s intention to pick up Ax Cac when his friend posted bond for him. Even so, Ferguson said in a July 11 telephone interview with the Cassville Democrat that, currently, there’s rarely a time when ICE doesn’t opt to take undocumented residents into federal custody.

That hasn’t always been the case.

When asked if there had been an uptick in the detention of undocumented residents under the current administration, Daoud replied that there’s always been an ebb and flow in ICE detentions, depending on the political climate and different administrations.

“Whether this year’s detentions represent an increase over several years ago, I couldn’t tell you without checking,” he said.

Barry County Sheriff Danny Boyd said under the Trump administration, ICE agents typically arrive within three days to pick up prisoners being held for them, a change from past administrations.

“Previously, we would hold prisoners for ICE for three or four months before they picked them up,” he said.

Boyd said that the Barry County Sheriff’s Office does not actively pursue undocumented residents.

“We have the option of checking whether people are legal residents, but unless we see cause for suspicion, we don’t routinely check,” he said.

The Cassville Police Department maintains a similar policy.

Police Chief Donnie Privett said that if there’s a lawful law enforcement contact that arouses suspicion, his officers may run an Illegal Alien Query (IAQ), but it’s not done routinely, he said.

“We’ve not been told to proactively go out and hunt for [undocumented residents],” he said.

Privett hopes it doesn’t come to that.

“I have several hundred other things to do,” he said.

Under federal immigration law, the state of Missouri, as well as 39 other states, partners with ICE in what is known as a 287(g) program. The program, in turn, gives local and state law enforcement agencies the opportunity to do the same. In essence, 287(g) expands the reach of ICE by designating local officers and deputies to do the job of ICE in their jurisdictions.

“Barry County does not participate,” Boyd said. “For one thing, it would cost us money. We’d have to pay to designate a deputy for both the sheriff’s office and the state highway patrol.”

Currently, the Missouri State Highway Patrol participates in the program, as does the Christian County Sheriff’s Department and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, south of Kansas City.

Those opposed to 287(g) agreements say they can lead to racial profiling, civil rights violations, isolation of immigrant communities, and family separations.

According to the MPD’s June 26 Incident Report for Isaias Ax Cac, the crime that landed him on the MPD’s Facebook page was a charge of Failure to Appear (FTA) after he missed a court appearance. That appearance was scheduled for November 28, 2023, said Sergeant Ferguson, who was familiar with the incident.

According to the November 2023 police report located by Sergeant Ferguson, Ax Cac had been a passenger in a single-car DUI accident a few days before Nov. 28. He was arrested afterward by the MPD for fleeing the scene. After Ax Cac was booked, ICE officials also requested he be detained.

“When it was obvious that Isaias had been injured and needed to go to the hospital, I got permission from ICE to release him from jail for medical care,” Ferguson said.

Details of what happened thereafter are foggy. Ferguson couldn’t say whether Ax Cac was still hospitalized on the day of the Nov. 28 hearing; nor, due to HIPPA regulations, could he reveal the extent of the injuries Ax Cac suffered in the car wreck.

“Our records show that he was issued a summons to appear in court for the Nov. 28 hearing,” Ferguson said.

Whether Ax Cac understood the terms of the court summons is unknown. Nor is it clear whether Ax Cac was unable to make an appearance on Nov. 28, 2023, or simply chose not to do so. Either way, a warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest for failure to appear.

The friend who posted Ax Cac’s bond doesn’t know what will become of the money they paid the Monett courts.

“The bond money is the property of the defendant,” Court Clerk Michelle James said. “It will be up to the judge to decide how it’s ultimately dispersed.”

If the defendant is unable to show up for his scheduled July 29 hearing in Monett because he’s in federal custody, to whom the bond money will be dispersed remains an open question.

According to Officer Keller with the Greene County Jail, Ax Cac was still being held by ICE in their facility on July 17.

Repeated attempts by the Cassville Democrat to contact Homeland Security Investigations in Springfield for more information regarding Ax Cac were met with an automated response, followed by a disconnection of the line, no matter which selection was chosen.

Ax Cac’s friends fear they will never know what ultimately becomes of him.