Local Police Forces Nationwide Reject Trump’s Attempt to Commandeer Officers for Mass Deportation Agenda As They Pledge to Uphold Public Safety

Washington, D.C – This week, local police departments across the country are rejecting President Trump’s mass deportation and family separation agenda, refusing to participate in deportation raids that would erode community trust, undermine public safety and target American families. As part of his sweeping assault on immigrant communities this week, Trump has declared a national emergency at the border, stripped away protections that once restricted immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and churches, and ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to intensify interior enforcement operations that encourage racial profiling and put longtime residents and even U.S. citizens at risk of erroneous arrest and deportation. A threat that became reality yesterday in Newark, Jersey where American citizens and a U.S. veteran were detained. Just today, the Trump administration invoked an unprecedented legal authority, using a decades-old provision to further pressure local law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents.

“While immigration is supposed to be handled by the federal government, Trump has threatened state and local officials for resisting his agenda,” said Kerri Talbot, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “Through this kind of overreach, Trump seeks to intimidate local officials into cooperating with his harsh immigration policies, undermining community trust and local autonomy.” 

Despite these overreaching tactics, local police departments are standing firm against federal pressure to aid in these harmful efforts.

• The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated it “will not stop and question, detain, arrest, or place an immigration hold” on individuals based solely on immigration status. It restated its commitment to “protect the community with the highest regard for public safety and professionalism.”
• The Chicago Police Department reaffirmed it will not assist in civil immigration enforcement.
• Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the department has “no plans to participate in any raids” and emphasized “enforcing immigration law is the responsibility of federal law enforcement agencies not the Omaha Police Department.” It reinforced that officers “do not and will not stop individuals to check their legal status.”
• The Stockton Police Department in California declared it would not support ICE enforcement, emphasizing its dedication to serving all community members, including undocumented residents.
• The Minneapolis Police Department stated that officers are prohibited from asking about immigration status unless investigating crimes like human trafficking or smuggling.
• Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt emphasized that assisting ICE on immigration-related matters is “not our job” and clarified that the department focuses only on individuals committing serious crimes.
• St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter affirmed that city workers, including police, do not enforce federal immigration laws or ask for documentation as a condition for city services.
• A dozen Minnesota counties, including Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, and Ramsey, have policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
• The Beloit Police Department in Wisconsin announced that it will not engage in immigration enforcement unless the individual is suspected of a serious crime, emphasizing that immigration laws are ICE’s responsibility and reaffirming its commitment to community policing, “Our mission is to create safe neighborhoods by reducing crime, fear, and disorder through community collaboration using honorable, progressive policing.” 

Democratic attorneys general from approximately a dozen states have vowed to sue the Trump administration if the Department of Justice proceeds with enforcing this directive.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.