Native American Woman Nearly Deported by Polk Jail Detainer Error

(IOWA) A 24-year-old Native American woman nearly faced deportation this fall after a clerical error at the Polk County Jail linked her to an ICE detainer request meant for someone else, according to local officials and the woman’s family. The case, which unfolded in September and early November, ended with her release only after relatives provided documents proving her identity and citizenship. The incident has raised fresh worries among community members about how simple data mistakes can trigger life-changing consequences inside local jails that coordinate with federal immigration authorities.

What happened: facts and timeline

• The woman, identified by her family as Leticia Jacobo, was detained in September on a probation violation and for driving while barred. What started as a straightforward local custody matter changed several weeks later.
• In early November, a federal detainer request arrived for a different inmate who shared Jacobo’s last name. Polk County authorities—who have an agreement with federal agencies to act on detainer requests—mistakenly applied that detainer to Jacobo.
• The error surfaced when Jacobo’s mother called the jail to ask when she could pick up her daughter. Instead of routine release instructions, staff told the family Jacobo was set to be turned over to immigration authorities.
• Alarmed relatives rushed to the jail with paperwork. They provided a birth certificate confirming Jacobo’s identity and citizenship, which prompted the jail to reassess the record and remove the detainer. She was subsequently released.

Official response and cause

• Lieutenant Mark Chance of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said staff later realized the detainer was attached to the wrong person: “Dug deeper into it and realized it was incorrectly placed on this person; it should have been on another person.”
• The sheriff’s office emphasized that the detainer did not originate locally; it came from federal immigration authorities concerning another individual. The misapplication occurred during the jail’s cross-referencing process because of the shared last name.
• Their internal review, partly prompted by the family’s call and documents, concluded the detainer should have applied to a different inmate.

Why this matters: risks and consequences

• For families, minutes and hours matter. Being told a loved one will be handed to immigration officers can cause immediate fear and confusion.
• This case highlights how reliance on names and quick data entry can pull the wrong person into the immigration pipeline.
• Community members often become the last line of defense when internal checks fail; here, the mother’s insistence and documents prevented a wrongful transfer.

“The backstop turned out to be a parent who knew her daughter’s status and insisted on a second look.”
The difference between a routine release and a federal transfer came down to a clerical error that never should have affected her record.

System context: detainers and local-federal coordination

• Polk County has an agreement that allows federal officials to act on detainer requests at the jail. These requests are a routine part of coordination across the United States, but they depend on accurate identification.
• When inmates share names or when data entry is rushed, a clerical error can push the wrong person into the process.
• As reported by VisaVerge.com, Polk County’s arrangement with federal authorities is designed to manage detainers promptly, but it also means a local mismatch can have immediate federal consequences if not corrected in time.

For readers seeking official context on detainers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintains an information page explaining the detainer request process and the role local jails play in holding individuals for transfer; more details are available at ICE: Immigration Detainers. That federal page shows how detainers are meant to work in routine cases where identity is not in dispute — a distinction that matters here because a process built for speed depends on accurate identification at each step.

Gaps revealed and unanswered questions

• The timeline underscores how fast such a mistake can escalate: booked in September, detainer arrived in early November, family alerted staff, documents provided, detainer removed.
• County officials did not identify the intended recipient of the detainer or fully describe how the wrong linkage occurred beyond the shared last name and the later discovery of the mistake.
• Officials did not say whether any policy changes will follow, and there was no indication of disciplinary action.

Key takeaways

• Accurate inmate identification is critical when local jails coordinate closely with federal immigration authorities.
• Small data errors — especially name matches — can have outsized effects unless there are robust verification processes.
• In this case, the sheriff’s office credits the late-stage review and the family-provided documents as the safeguards that prevented a transfer to federal custody.

• Sequence remembered by those involved:

  1. September arrest
  2. Early November detainer arrival
  3. Mother’s phone call
  4. Rush to provide a birth certificate
  5. Review and corrected decision
  6. Release

The misfire reveals a point of fragility in the system—one that county staff acknowledged and corrected only after family intervention. For now, the incident will likely fuel questions from residents and advocates about how Polk County verifies identity when a detainer request arrives.