County defies AG Ellison on jailing ICE detainees
Local law enforcement officials continue to wrestle with the quandary of how to handle illegal immigrants in custody and the legal questions raised by cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But law enforcement in at least one Minnesota county hasn’t been bashful about taking a stand and it’s not in line with the legal opinion recently issued by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The controversial issue surfaced when Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang appeared at the latest county board meeting. The Brainerd Dispatch notes they got right to the point.
“So I guess I do mean to put you on the spot,” said County Commissioner Paul Koering. “What if you have a bad guy and one of our federal partners asked you to detain that person? What are you going to do?”
“I am going to, as always, continue to work with our state, local and federal partners,” Klang said. Whenever there is a criminal justice need or there is criminal activity, Klang said they would partner with those who bring that person to the jail and hold them.
Ellison recently issued an opinion advising local law enforcement throughout the state that they could be legally liable if they honored ICE requests to detain illegal aliens up to 48 hours after their scheduled release. But the sheriff of the north-central Minnesota county put it back on the attorney general over the open-ended detention of individuals with mental issues.
Klang said he wished the state would work getting those who have been mentally committed in an appropriate facility instead of the Crow Wing County Jail.
“They’ve been in our facility for a year or more, oftentimes, because they just simply don’t have the bed space,” Klang said. “So I wish they would work on that versus on telling me that we can’t house people for longer than 48 hours.”
Moreover, Klang indicated he’s been in discussions to house prisoners from the U.S. Marshall in order to help plug a gap in funding at the Crow Wing County Jail. Before ending, the sheriff doubled down on his commitment to cooperate with ICE.
“And if, if we get somebody from ICE that’s — somebody that’s a criminal, we’re going to hold them until they can figure out where to get rid of them, whether that’s 48 days or 49 days.”
“Amen,” Koering said. “Good job, sheriff.”
The Trump administration’s policy of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants guarantees similar discussions will be held by elected officials and local law enforcement in jurisdictions statewide. Sooner, rather than later.