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Stepped-up immigration enforcement in Minnesota has put local police departments in a bind as they figure out what legal authority they have — if any — to either intervene in or assist with immigration actions.

At a West St. Paul city council meeting last week, Police Chief Brian Sturgeon told residents to call the department if they're scared about an ICE interaction.

Sturgeon said his officers are able to de-escalate situations more effectively.

“When we arrive on scene, we're not wearing masks, we're not carrying M4s, we don’t look tactical” he told MPR News, describing the assault rifles often carried by immigration officers. 

Sturgeon said immigration enforcement officers have not communicated with his police department as they did in the past, and do not typically give the police department a heads up about an arrest or raid. 

The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association is participating in conversations about reducing the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, Sturgeon said. 

— Clay Masters and Gretchen Brown, MPR News

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At a West St. Paul city council meeting last week, Police Chief Brian Sturgeon told residents to call the department if they're scared about an ICE interaction.


Twin Cities-area police chief says department is working to de-escalate ICE interactions

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