ND sheriff Keep politics out of immigration enforcement / Public News Service

Local law enforcement agencies, including in North Dakota, are decrying a move by the Trump administration to label some jurisdictions as “sanctuaries” over perceived differences related to immigration arrests.

The Department of Homeland Security last week released a list of jurisdictions, including cities and counties it said were “deliberately obstructing” enforcement of federal immigration laws. In response, some local departments said their city or county never adopted such a policy.

Steve Hunt, sheriff of Traill County and president of the North Dakota Sheriff’s and Deputies Association, said none of the departments listed for his state should have been mentioned.

“I was extremely disappointed and frankly, angry,” Hunt recounted. “On a much grander scale, it does have an effect.”

Hunt said he is still willing to work with federal partners in detaining a person under deportation orders, but he said politics should not be mixed with the mission of upholding the law. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to requests for comment but has taken down the list from its website after local pushback.

Some law enforcement observers wondered if there were clerical errors in creating the list but policy experts said the administration is applying more pressure to boost deportation numbers, and one way to do so is threatening to cut off federal funds for not complying.

Local departments said they were not told about compliance problems and Hunt stressed North Dakota offices were kept in the dark.

“We don’t know what criteria was used or what substantiated being placed on that list,” Hunt noted. “That’s probably the most frustrating part.”

Even if a local department backs the current administration, groups said what happened erodes trust with federal leadership. The “sanctuary city” movement is often aligned with left-leaning cities or counties limiting local involvement with federal immigration authorities. Supporters of the laws insist it does not block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from doing its work.

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More states are considering “clean state” laws, which establish a process to automatically seal records of most misdemeanor criminal charges.

Experts said West Virginia continues to rely on an antiquated record-keeping system for criminal records, and despite incremental steps to make expungement easier, most residents with a criminal history face difficult barriers getting their records cleaned.

Logan Seacrest, resident fellow for criminal justice and civil liberties at the center-right think tank R Street Institute, said most states rely on a petition-based system to expunge old criminal records, which is complex and expensive. He explained when people cannot clear their records, they are less likely to get a job or find safe housing.

“Most reasonable people would agree that a single error shouldn’t permanently define one’s future,” Seacrest pointed out. “Yet the current system we have in most states, even a minor conviction, something like a DUI or a nonviolent drug offense, can have lifelong ramifications.”

Earlier this year West Virginia lawmakers considered legislation which would have expanded eligibility for expungement to individuals who did complete successful rehabilitation programs or individuals enrolled in some type of diversionary program but the bill did not make it through the legislature.

Seacrest noted research shows one of the best ways to reduce recidivism is to help former offenders secure meaningful employment. He added there are economic benefits for some of the nation’s largest employers.

“It’s been hard for companies to hire good people,” Seacrest observed. “Actually, people who get employment after a conviction, through a clean slate, are no less likely to quit early.”

People out of prison continue to experience extreme rates of unemployment, around six of every 10 people being jobless from the time of release to four years after release, according to federal data.

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After President Donald Trump’s decision to dismiss lawsuits and drop federal accountability agreements with several police departments, Mississippi advocacy groups are joining the ACLU to expand accountability efforts through the “Seven States Campaign.”

Trump’s decision includes pausing a pattern and practice probe in the Rankin County “Goon Squad” case, in which six law enforcement officers were sentenced for torturing and sexually assaulting two Black men during a January 2023 home raid.

Joshua Tom, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, said such offenses make oversight necessary.

“The ‘Goon Squad’ case, I think, is a very egregious example of law enforcement engaging in illegal misconduct when performing its duties,” Tom asserted.

Investigations found the squad operated for years with impunity. The campaign has now filed requests for all use-of-force reports and taser deployment records from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department since 2020.

Tom argued a lack of federal oversight leaves gaps in accountability.

“You know there is only so many civil rights organizations that can step up on behalf of people who have been harmed by police officers,” Tom acknowledged. “That’s what the importance of the Department of Justice is, for ensuring that law enforcement agencies are respecting civil rights laws, because they act as a backstop.”

The Trump administration said it wants to prioritize violent crime prosecution over police reform.

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May is National Foster Care Month, and Kentucky advocacy groups across the political spectrum say the state hasn’t done enough to keep kids out of foster care, including addressing the high number of parents who are incarcerated.

A report from the conservative, free-market group Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics and Education, or KY FREE, finds the state would save $74 million in direct incarceration costs, and $740 million annually through indirect socioeconomic costs, if parents had alternatives to prison time.

Sarah Durand, KY FREE’s vice president for government affairs, said the consequences of going through childhood without a parent are lifelong.

“If we can keep families together by getting families the help that they need,” she said, “we know that that increases the likelihood of children being successful.”

One in 10 Kentucky children has experienced a parent’s incarceration, which is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience. Experts have said these children are at increased risk of poverty, behavioral problems and poor academic performance.

Earlier this year, Kentucky lawmakers proposed the Family Preservation and Accountability Act. It aimed to reduce the number of primary caregivers behind bars, but stalled in the Legislature. Durand said it offered pathways for people who were nonviolent primary caregivers to avoid incarceration.

“It would ask the courts to consider an alternative sentencing program instead of incarceration,” she said. “Maybe they need educational, vocational training in order to improve their situation in life. Maybe they need therapy. Maybe they need substance-abuse treatment.”

Durand added that policymakers concerned about strained state budgets should consider the wide-ranging impact on communities when parents are locked up.

“When you look at the long-term consequences and expenses of not trying to keep families together,” she said, “it’s pretty eye opening.”

KY FREE advocates for pretrial diversion programs, which focus on counseling or community service, mental health and veterans treatment courts, and drug court programs as alternatives to incarceration.

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