ICE resolution postponed ‘indefinitely’

A resolution pledging Clark County’s support for federal immigration enforcement was effectively buried by the county’s Law Enforcement Committee on Monday, but it could be revived at a future county board meeting.

Before the committee voted to postpone action on the resolution indefinitely, corporation counsel Ashley Schmitt made it clear to committee members that a resolution similar to the one introduced by supervisor Brandon Hasz last month could be reintroduced. However, she also said that board rules allow a two-thirds vote of the full board to “deny consideration of a resolution that is substantially similar in content if someone were to bring it directly back.”

Hasz’s original resolution, which called on county and local government agencies “to fully cooperate with any lawful requests from federal authorities,” including Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), was referred to the committee by a 20-8 vote of the full county board at its Aug. 21 meeting.

Members of the committee seemed to agree that Hasz’s resolution was unnecessary, as the sheriff’s department is already obligated to cooperate with ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies.

Sheriff Kerry Kirn, who attended Monday’s meeting, said his department has always cooperated with fellow law enforce- ment agencies and will continue to do so.

“Any federal agency – whether it be FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE – they call us, we assist,” he said. “We’ve always complied with their requests.”

Supervisor Butch Trunkel noted that the state legislature has yet to act on a bill mentioned by Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Thorp) at the Aug. 21 meeting that would require sheriffs to “request proof of legal residence status from anyone held in a county jail for an offense punishable as a felony.” The bill would also direct sheriffs to comply with any detainers or administrative warrants issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

“I don’t even know why we’re doing this resolution to begin with,” Trunkel said. “The state doesn’t even have one.”

Schmitt confirmed that a county resolution does not carry the same weight as a bill passed by the legislature, nor is it the same as a new ordinance or policy.

“Essentially, the resolution is an expression of the opinion of the board of supervisors and the position of the board of supervisors,” she said. “It does not have binding authority to dictate any particular action on anyone within the county.”

Supervisor Riley Ashbeck said he understands why the resolution was introduced, citing the case of a judge in Milwaukee County who was arrested in April and indicted for allegedly obstructing ICE agents by helping an undocumented immigrant escape from her courtroom.

“She is going to court over her actions already,” she said. “There are things in place for what happens to people who don’t cooperate. So, I don’t see why we need this extra paperwork when we already have stuff in place.”

Supervisor Tom Bobrofsky questioned whether the resolution would apply to all county agencies, including social services and the health department. Others on the committee said it would be based on the language of the resolution.

When it came time for a motion to be made, Trunkel said he would prefer to just let the resolution die at the committee level.

“I wouldn’t even want to table it; I would just want to get rid of it, because law enforcement takes care of it now,” he said. “Why would we want to have more regulation? I’d just drop it.”

Supervisor Scott Jalling, chairman of the committee, said Hasz reached out to him before Monday’s meeting and asked that the resolution be tabled so he could revise the wording himself before reintroducing it to the board.

Ashbeck, who made the motion to postpone the resolution indefinitely, said if Hasz wants to do that, he should give board members more time to read it over before they are asked to vote on it again.

“If he wants to bring that back on his own, I would suggest that he give it to the county board well before the meeting day, because that was a little abrupt I thought,” he said.

Hasz was emailed after Monday’s meeting and asked for a comment about whether he plans to revise and reintroduce his resolution at a future meeting. He did not respond by press time.

At the Aug. 21 meeting, multiple people from the Abbotsford-Colby area raised concerns about the impact of the resolution on the area’s Hispanic immigrant community, but Hasz also noted that he had received a letter of support from the Colby-Abbotsford police chief. Several supervisors also spoke in favor of the resolution as a way of reiterating the county’s commitment to uphold the law.