# U.S. Marshals *Federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice; in the Minnesota record, the federal party to the detainee agreement at the Sherburne County Jail.* The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency within the [[United States Department of Justice]]. It answers to the attorney general, and its assigned work is to carry out the decisions of the federal courts and to protect the federal judiciary.[^1] The office of marshal dates from the Judiciary Act of 1789, enacted during George Washington's presidency, which placed a marshal under each U.S. district court. The Service as a distinct agency dates from 1969, when it was created to support marshals across the federal judicial districts.[^1] In [[Minnesota]], the project record reaches the Service through two at-issue entries in its Sherburne County package. Both entries describe a U.S. Marshals agreement as the arrangement under which federal detainees have been held at the [[Sherburne County Jail]].[^2][^3] The record does not establish the agreement's number, term or per-diem rate. The entry that reports these terms as unpublished also flags the agreement number and per-diem as not verified.[^2] The Service's charge is to protect the federal courts. A November 2010 audit by the Justice Department's [[Office of Inspector General]] reported "weaknesses in the USMS's efforts to secure federal court facilities in the six USMS district offices we visited".[^4] ## Who The Service is headed by a director, a post originally titled chief United States Marshal. A deputy director serves as principal deputy and is first in the line of succession.[^5][^6] The director acts under the attorney general's authority and is supervised by the deputy attorney general.[^5] Headquarters units include the following: - an Office of Professional Responsibility - an Office of Equal Employment Opportunity - the Judicial Security, Witness Security, Investigative Operations, Tactical Operations and Prisoner Operations divisions - an Asset Forfeiture Division[^5] Each of the 94 federal judicial districts is led by a United States Marshal, who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.[^5][^6] Below the marshal are: - a chief deputy marshal (GS-14 or 15), who is the district's senior career manager - supervisory deputy marshals (GS-13) - deputy and special deputy marshals, as needed[^5][^6] The office was created by the First Congress. President George Washington named the first thirteen marshals, one for each federal district then in existence, six days after he signed the Judiciary Act.[^7] ## What The Service's duties are: - catching wanted fugitives - protecting the federal judiciary - moving federal prisoners - protecting endangered federal witnesses - managing assets seized from criminal enterprises[^8] The Service also runs the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and the Justice Prisoner Air Transportation System. It protects senior government officials through its Office of Protective Operations.[^1] Its power to execute federal writs, processes and orders, and to command assistance in doing so, rests on 18 USC 564. Other powers are listed at 18USC3053, 28USC566, 50USC24, 18USC3058 and 18USC3193.[^8] The Service has also performed other specialized assignments: - guarding African American students enrolling in Southern schools during the civil rights movement - escorting LGM-30 Minuteman missile convoys - policing the United States Antarctic Program - protecting the Strategic National Stockpile[^1] The November 2010 Inspector General audit set the Service's court-security record against that charge. According to the Wikipedia account of the report, the audit found the following: - The Judicial Security Division had hired private security firms to supply Court Security Officers before their background checks were complete. - Officers were not properly trained on screening equipment, so the equipment went unused. - In February 2009, several courthouses failed to detect mock explosives sent by Marshals Service headquarters to test security procedures. - 18% of court security officers held outdated firearms qualifications.[^4] The Inspector General report itself is not in the pack. ## When Washington signed the Judiciary Act into law on September 24, 1789.[^7] The Marshals Service was established in 1969.[^1] From 1981 to 1985 it ran Fugitive Investigative Strike Team operations aimed at fugitive capture in particular districts.[^8] The project's time table records that the Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho began on August 21, 1992. During the 11-day standoff, U.S. Marshals killed Sammy Weaver and an FBI sniper killed Vicki Weaver.[^9] In January 2007, Deputy U.S. Marshal John Thomas Ambrose was charged with theft of Justice Department property, disclosure of confidential information, and lying to federal agents. He had been assigned to protect a federal informant. A federal jury convicted him on April 27, 2009, of leaking secret government information about that informant.[^10] The Inspector General audit followed in November 2010.[^4] In 2012, marshals captured more than 36,000 federal fugitives and cleared more than 39,000 fugitive warrants.[^8] ## Where The Service's headquarters is in Arlington County, Virginia. Its district offices cover the 94 federal judicial districts; Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands share one marshal.[^5] New deputies complete an 18-week program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. The center belongs to the [[Department of Homeland Security]].[^11] ## How Under the 1789 act, each district was to have a marshal appointed for four years and "removable from office at pleasure". The marshal's duties were to: - attend the district and circuit courts - execute the lawful precepts issued under United States authority - command necessary assistance - appoint deputies[^7] Section 27 of that act allowed marshals to enlist willing civilians as deputies, the posse of the Old West. The Posse Comitatus Act barred the use of uniformed military units for this purpose. Today, the director holds statutory authority to deputize selected officers for one year, including Justice Department officers and federal, state and local law enforcement officers.[^8] Fewer than five percent of qualified applicants are typically hired. Selection requires a written test, an oral board, a background investigation, a medical examination and drug test, and Fitness In Total exams.[^11] ## How much According to the Wikipedia account of the Inspector General's findings, the Marshals Service awarded a $300 million contract to USProtect Corporation. The company had prior convictions for mail fraud, bank fraud and false insurance claims, and there was a civil judgment against its chief financial officer.[^4] Deputies start at the GS-5 to GS-7 grade. Once they graduate from the academy they are reclassified as 1811 Criminal Investigators, which adds 25% Law Enforcement Availability Pay to base pay. Before this change, the reclassification came only at GS-11, which was linked to financial hardship and retention problems.[^6] For the Minnesota agreement, the pack carries no dollar value or per-diem rate.[^2] ## How many The Service accounts for 55.2% of arrests of federal fugitives.[^8] Deputies advance one grade per year, to GS-9, GS-11 and then GS-12.[^6] ## In the at-issue record Both at-issue entries come from the project's *Sherburne Jail Brief*, in the section *The Warehouse County & the Two Offices Edition*.[^2][^3] **Entry AI-Sherburne-017.** This entry states three things: - Roughly 75% of the jail's federal detainees are held for the U.S. Marshals rather than ICE. - Public argument about the jail has been about immigration, while three-quarters of the business is the federal criminal docket. - The Marshals agreement's number, term and per-diem have never been published.[^2] The entry rests on two news sources, at hometownsource.com and startribune.com, neither of which is in the pack. It carries the flag "USMS IGA number/per-diem NOT VERIFIED".[^2] **Entry AI-Sherburne-022.** This entry states that ICE detainees were held at the jail under a U.S. Marshals agreement for roughly twelve years before the 2018 ICE contract. It cites a DHS notification for that history, which is not in the pack.[^3] **The anchor document.** Both entries are anchored to a March 2025 White House presidential action, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*. The pack does not carry that document's text, and the document does not itself establish the Sherburne figures.[^2][^3] ## In the Minnesota record ### What The project brief describes the arrangement as a U.S. Marshals agreement for housing federal detainees at the Sherburne County Jail. It states that about three-quarters of the jail's federal detainees are held for the Marshals on the federal criminal docket rather than for ICE.[^2] The same entry describes Sherburne as Minnesota's only regional Marshals housing facility, averaging 150–250 federal detainees. These figures rest on news reporting not carried in the pack.[^2] ### Who The entries name the Marshals Service as the federal party to the agreement. The other federal detaining agency they name is ICE, through a separate 2018 contract.[^2][^3] The pack does not show who signed the Marshals agreement for the county, or when it was signed.[^2] ### When According to entry AI-Sherburne-022, which cites a DHS notification, ICE detainees were held at the jail under the Marshals agreement from about 2006. That was roughly twelve years before the 2018 ICE contract, the year the public debate began.[^3] ### Where The arrangement concerns the Sherburne County Jail in Minnesota.[^2][^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, lead section (revision 1378217563, retrieved 2026-10-27), CC BY-SA 4.0 — the agency's place in the Justice Department, its mission, its 1789 origin and 1969 establishment, its program responsibilities, and its specialized historical assignments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^2]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, entry AI-Sherburne-017 (*Sherburne Jail Brief*, *The Warehouse County & the Two Offices Edition*), anchored to The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — the entry's statements of the ~75% Marshals share, the 150–250 average and the unpublished agreement terms, with its "NOT VERIFIED" flag. The entry's news sources are not in the pack, and the anchor document does not itself establish these figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, entry AI-Sherburne-022 (*Sherburne Jail Brief*), anchored to The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — the entry's statement that ICE detainees were held under a Marshals agreement from about 2006, before the 2018 ICE contract, citing a DHS notification not in the pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^4]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Criticism and controversy: Inspector General audits" (revision 1378217563) — the November 2010 OIG audit's findings, the February 2009 mock-explosive test, the 18% outdated-qualification figure, and the $300 million USProtect contract. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^5]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Organization" (revision 1378217563) — the Arlington County headquarters, the director's line of supervision, the headquarters units, the 94 districts and the district staffing structure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^6]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Personnel" (revision 1378217563) — executive and district titles, the presidential appointment and Senate confirmation of marshals, deputy pay grades, 1811 reclassification and the 25% availability pay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^7]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "History: Origins" (revision 1378217563) — the September 24, 1789 signing, the text of the act's marshal provision, and the appointment of the first thirteen marshals six days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^8]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Duties and responsibilities" (revision 1378217563) — the duties list, the 55.2% fugitive-arrest share, the 1981–1985 strike-team operations, the 2012 capture counts, the statutory citations and the deputation authority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^9]: Encyclopædia Britannica, *Ruby Ridge* (cited in project time table row TL-0580) — the siege beginning August 21, 1992, the 11-day standoff, and the deaths of Sammy Weaver and Vicki Weaver. https://www.britannica.com/event/Ruby-Ridge [^10]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Criticism and controversy: Internal thefts" (revision 1378217563) — the January 2007 charges against Deputy U.S. Marshal John Thomas Ambrose and his April 27, 2009 conviction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service [^11]: Wikipedia, *United States Marshals Service*, "Training and equipment" (revision 1378217563) — the hiring rate and selection steps, and the 18-week program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, Georgia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service