ICE agreements compounding vulnerability of victims, advocate says

Published 4:00 am Saturday, September 19, 2026

BERRYVILLE – The Purple Flower was established in 2014 to provide resources and support for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. It is located across the street from the courthouse in Berryville. As the controversy around the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office’s agreements with ICE ripples through the community, The Purple Flower Executive Director, Shiloh Grace, said the damage has already been done.

Grace and her staff provide a number of services for their clientele, including staffing a 24/7 crisis line, short-term safe lodging, resource referrals, court accompaniment, and law enforcement coordination. The vulnerable in Carroll County have come to depend on and trust The Purple Flower for their help and discretion. The program, completely funded by donations, has seen a recent increase in immigrant clients.

“We’ve seen more immigrant clients this year than in prior years,” Grace said. A fivefold increase, in fact. “There’s a lot of pressure and stress being put on these families.” This is a trend she noted that started in March, coinciding with the Sheriff’s Office entering into agreements with ICE.

Typically, they support their clientele through an established legal process. They help separate the client from the abuser, involve the police with the permission of the client, and help the client find a better situation. The fear of deportation has short-circuited that process. “What we now hear is an unwillingness to rely on law enforcement. There’s a distrust of local law enforcement [from the immigrant community] across the board but particularly the sheriff’s department,” Grace explained.

The staff regularly recommends to clients that, if their lives are in danger, they should call 911. “What are we supposed to do in a situation where they will not call law enforcement because they’re afraid that means they’ll get taken away from their kids?” Grace asked. “If we can’t utilize that process, what’s left for these families?”

Grace described her mechanisms of support as legs on a stool that continues to have those legs removed if victims can’t or won’t use the legal system.

Abusers can be manipulative and clever, Grace explained. She described incidents of abusers threatening to disclose the legal status of the abused in order to keep them from seeking help. She also described a situation in which the abuser acted as the victim, creating a situation in which the victim was put in the deportation pipeline so fast that nothing could be done to help.

Normal legal processes are being truncated, Grace explained. Someone can be sent to Louisiana within 24 hours as part of the deportation process. “They just disappear,” she said. “There’s no time for families or the rest of us to do anything about it.” This can leave children in vulnerable situations.

“They can be held and questioned regardless of their status,” Grace claimed. “There are people that have legal status that are also afraid.”

The Purple Flower exists to help people regardless of why or how they got here. “We don’t care about people’s status. All beings deserve safety. We want people to be held accountable when they commit violent crimes. We want abusers and rapists to be held accountable. We don’t care about their status. That’s not about status. That’s about behavior.”

Despite this point of contention, Grace said they still work with the Sheriff’s Office when necessary. “We still have a healthy and open line of communication,” she said. “We work with the whole system.” Grace said that the sheriff has referred people to The Purple Flower and, when appropriate, her staff will recommend that their clients involve the police. “They need us, we need them.”

Grace summed up the situation: “Without trust, people are less safe. Abusers are not being held accountable. People are staying in abusive households. The whole community is less safe because these cycles of abuse don’t get broken.”

The Purple Flower can be reached at 479-981-1676. Their website is thepurpleflower.org.