Johnson County supervisors, sheriff issue statement on immigration enforcement policy

IOWA CITY - Johnson County supervisors and Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek on Monday issued a statement concerning county immigration enforcement policy.

'The Johnson County Sheriff will not honor voluntary detainer requests nor will the Sheriff's Office assist United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement - ICE - in immigration enforcement raids,” the statement reads.

It continues: 'The Board of Supervisors supports the County Sheriff's position. Further, it is the position of the Board of Supervisors that the county will not assist ICE in immigration enforcement raids.”

The statement does not 'preclude county offices in assisting or participating in lawful warrants and criminal investigations,” nor does it 'preclude Department of Homeland Security grant-procured items from being used as required by law.”

The statement was issued during a work session one day before supervisors were to discuss a resolution drafted by Supervisor Kurt Friese in which the county was to take a stand against using county resources to aid in federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Friese's resolution was worded similarly to Iowa City's recent resolution stating no city resources would be devoted to federal immigration law enforcement. After reviewing multiple drafts of the county resolution and discussing the issue with Pulkrabek, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors decided to issue a signed joint statement instead or the resolution.

The statement comes as U.S. immigration authorities have begun arresting undocumented immigrants in a series of raids as part of President Donald Trump's Jan. 25 order to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally.

Officials said the raids target known criminals, but they also have netted some immigrants without criminal records. Trump has substantially broadened the scope of who the Department of Homeland Security can target to include those with minor offenses or no convictions at all.

The president has pledged to deport as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

Last week, at a Board of Supervisors work session, supervisors directed Friese to make changes to his original resolution to make it clear the language was the board's position on immigration policy rather than one directing other elected county officials, such as the Sheriff, how to handle issues related to immigration.

Friese told The Gazette the statement issued Monday is a way to reach a consensus among those involved. He said he still would support passing a resolution and that his motivation for writing it was 'an effort to do as much as we're capable of doing” regarding federal immigration policy at the county level.

'Today's statement went a long way I think,” Friese said. 'Hopefully it'll be unimportant. Hopefully (ICE) won't even come.”

The Board of Supervisors still plan to conduct a work session at 1 p.m. Tuesday before the board's regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the second floor boardroom of the Johnson County Administration Building, 913 S. Dubuque St. in Iowa City.

l Comments: (319) 339-3172; maddy.arnold@thegazette.com