Livingston County Sheriff's Office to track interactions with undocumented immigrants
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Despite pushback from many who spoke during public comment, the Livingston County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution that allows the sheriff's office to monitor undocumented immigrants.
Resolution 2024-09-128 was passed unanimously Monday night.
Under this measure, the sheriff's office can track all interactions with what the resolution refers to as "illegal immigrants." This includes contact during traffic stops and other interactions, even if a crime is not committed.
The resolution cited a case where an undocumented immigrant sexually assaulted a teen girl in the county as one of the justifications for needing this tracking. It also compared crime ratings on crimegrades.org, claiming that Livingston County has a better rating than neighboring Washtenaw and Ingham counties because Washtenaw County and the city of Lansing in Ingham have been declared as sanctuary spots. These are where undocumented immigrants are not prosecuted for violating immigration laws.
"Can you say that they're all criminals? Of course not," Sheriff Michael Murphy said in a video addressing the resolution. "Can you say that it doesn't exist or we shouldn't keep track? I think is insane."
Many who shared their thoughts at Monday's commissioner meeting said they felt that the tracking is a form of racism.
Following the vote, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center said it was "deeply concerned" with the resolution.
"Tracking immigration status is not the business of local law enforcement and takes valuable time away from the type of community policing that can actually help keep local communities safe. Most immigration violations are civil infractions under the purview of the federal government," the organization wrote in a statement. "State and local law enforcement officers must have reasonable suspicion of a crime to make a stop, and lacking documents is not a crime. Therefore, local law enforcement officers cannot detain or arrest someone simply because they believe the person is in the United States unlawfully. Doing so would result in law enforcement violating the constitutional rights of the people arrested and detained, and would subject the community to costly litigation. The responsibility for making civil immigration arrests lies with federal agents."