Albany County Sheriff Disputes ICE Record in Heated Race

Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans issued a statement on Thursday denying that his office has authorized coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for extended custody holds. The denial lands in the middle of a contentious general election in Wyoming’s only purple county. Appelhans, the Democratic incumbent, faces Republican challenger Daron Wyatt in a race that has centered heavily on local immigration policy.

The core of the dispute involves a 48-hour hold on inmates after their local jail release. Wyatt argues that honoring these holds allows ICE to take custody in a controlled environment, reducing street-level operations. Appelhans says he refuses to honor these holds because ICE does not provide judge-signed warrants. He stated that he has not authorized coordination because the agency cannot provide the mandatory legal and constitutional documents required for extended custody.

ICE offers a different timeline. An agency spokesman told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that the Albany County Sheriff’s Office honored 16 detainers between 2021 and 2024. The agency broke down the numbers as six in 2021, one in 2022, two in 2023, and seven in 2024. The spokesman noted that Appelhans notified ICE in April 2025 that he would stop honoring detainers. Since that notice, the agency says no holds have been honored.

Appelhans challenges the agency’s accounting. He said he does not believe the list from ICE is accurate and does not know how the agency determines what counts as honored. He maintained that his office has not held anyone for ICE past the extended period for local charges. A Freedom of Information Act request to ICE for more complete data is currently pending.

The disagreement highlights a split in Wyoming law enforcement. Twenty-two other sheriffs, including Democratic Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, reportedly honor ICE detainers. Appelhans was appointed sheriff in late 2020 to fill a vacancy and won election in 2022. He recalled an April 2025 meeting where ICE attempted to contact his staffers to change his policy. He said he told them the county was complying with the law as written.

Wyatt used the ICE data to press his case. He called Appelhans’ answers shifting and accused him of making excuses regarding the legitimacy of his stance. Wyatt asked why the policy changed if the law did not. He noted that the only change from 2021 to 2025 is the person in the Oval Office. He described the current situation as politics over public safety.

Wyatt also cited a state law passed in March 2025. That law bans Wyoming cities, towns, and counties from implementing policies that restrict officials from communicating with federal immigration officials. Wyatt argued that Appelhans is violating this state law by declining to honor detainers. He warned that ignoring holds brings ICE into the community, potentially leading to force and collateral damage at family homes.

Appelhans said ICE threatened to place him on a list of non-compliant sheriffs. He clarified that Albany County is not on an official sanctuary county list. The two candidates remain at odds over whether the sheriff’s office has a legal obligation to hold detainees for the federal agency.