- Neighbors opposed to a Jackson County Sheriff's cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) came out in force to a County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
- Dozens spoke out against the agreement, calling on the Sheriff to discontinue it.
- The Sheriff's Office stressed the limited nature of the cooperation — that it does not involve patrols and is only about holding local detainees if they are subject to an ICE warrant.
Public comment during a Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting got rowdy as Jackson neighbors opposed to the Sheriff's cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement turned out in force.
WATCH WHAT HAPPENED:
At issue: an agreement we told you about last year between the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and ICE.
If someone's been picked up on charges locally, the agreement allows the Jackson County Sheriff's Office to hold that person if there's also an ICE warrant out for them.
With tensions rising over ICE activities in Minnesota and elsewhere, it was standing room only at the Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night as dozens of neighbors asked that the cooperation agreement be discontinued.
"When I along with millions of other people witnessed what is now going on in Minnesota — to put it simply, it's sickening," said Lee Brown.
As the audience applauded and booed, County Board of Commissioners Chairman Steve Shotwell struggled at times to maintain order…calling on the Sheriff at one point to consider clearing the room.
Undersheriff Anthony Stewart reiterated to me earlier in the day that the cooperation program is limited to handing over local detainees if ICE has issued a warrant for their arrest. Stewart stressed that local patrols are not working alongside ICE.
"I do know that there's a high profile incident that happened in Minnesota, and I can understand individuals being frustrated, upset about that. But to conflate that to what we're doing is just a little disingenuous," said Stewart.
Not everyone at the meeting spoke out against the cooperation.
"The Sheriff isn't going door to door arresting illegals. They're arresting the ones that broke the law," said one neighbor.
But Rubin Marquez, who attended Tuesday night's meeting, thinks the Sheriff should just stay out of an agreement with ICE:
"I don't think that was something he should be agreeing to. It's a federal thing. Let them do their thing. That's why they're federal. They're funded by federal money. Our police should have nothing to do with that."
Want more FOX 47 News? Here's how you download our Roku app
You can also see the latest news from across our mid-Michigan neighborhoods by liking us on Facebook or following us on X.
