Olmsted County sheriff: No special treatment for federal immigration agency

ROCHESTER — Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem knows national immigration discussions are spurring concerns locally.

“This is a conversation that has been ongoing with us and the community for a number of years,” he told Olmsted County commissioners Tuesday, adding he’s aware worries about potential deportation mean some residents might not report crimes.

“We are very aware of that and very concerned about that,” Ostrem said.

It was a concern also voiced by Phil Wheeler, a board member of Southeastern Minnesota Interfaith Immigrant Legal Defense, during Tuesday’s open-comment period.

“They fear for their safety given the rhetoric of the presidential campaign and yesterday’s inauguration speech,” he said of local undocumented immigrants, including asylum seekers.

During his first days in office, President Donald Trump initiated a variety of executive actions targeting federal immigration policies. They include ending birthright citizenship, children born to parents who are not U.S. citizens, and stopping immigration enforcement protections connected to schools and churches.

Wheeler said he’s concerned local officials could play a role in increasing fears for undocumented residents when it comes to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“The sheriff’s potential further collaboration with ICE would further alienate these members of our community from law enforcement and exacerbate their fears,” he said.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said nothing is expected to change locally, even as federal immigration policies shift. He said his department doesn’t provide any special collaboration with ICE agents

He said ICE is treated like any other law enforcement agency, meaning its agents can request to speak to a detainee, but the local department doesn’t take special steps to make that happen.

“We don’t force anyone to speak with anyone,” he said.

Torgerson said when ICE agents discover a local detainee might be undocumented it’s typically through the standard fingerprinting process, which includes digitalized prints being sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If a federal agency, or another county, calls about a detainee, the sheriff said it’s standard practice to provide requested public information. If the agency asks to be alerted when release is planned, a note is put in the file.

Torgerson said such a note doesn’t delay the release process, and it isn’t seen as special treatment when a federal agency is involved.

“The same thing would be in place if it were like Blue Earth County,” he said.

At the time of notification, Torgerson said it’s up to the requesting agency to make it to Olmsted County before the release process is completed.

He said that’s different from past practices when ICE would request some detainees to be held longer.

“They wanted us to hold them for three or four days,” Torgerson said, noting such requests are not honored by his department.

While three Minnesota counties – Freeborn, Kandiyohi and Sherburne – have contracts to hold ICE detainees, Torgerson said it’s not something considered locally.

He said the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center is reserved for people arrested under probable cause or a court order, and ICE detentions don’t qualify.

Additionally, he said local deputies don’t take part in ICE operations, unless there is a specific public safety threat as a result of the federal action.

“That’s not our job,” the sheriff said. “It’s not our place.”