Marquette County residents make public comments during the most recent Marquette Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. (Screenshot from the ISDEPT MQTCO Youtube Page)

MARQUETTE — Large numbers of Marquette county residents Tuesday attended the Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting. During the public comment periods, which were cumulatively over an hour long, many in attendance spoke of their interest in the board drafting a specific policy in regard to ICE and other federal law enforcement.

“I spoke last time regarding a policy and the county’s interactions with agencies,” said Debbie White during her public comment. “Since then, I’ve heard there’s been some backlash. We’ve seen it on social media, we’ve seen it on the news and certain commissioners, (such as) commissioner Numinen, have taken some heat.”

At the last board of commissioners meeting, a group of concerned citizens expressed support for a specific county policy addressing ICE and federal law enforcement. At Tuesday night’s meeting, so many people came that there were no available chairs and some people had to stand at the edges of the room.

“We respectfully ask the commission to explore a clear, transparent policy that at a minimum upholds constitutional protections and due process for all individuals regardless of citizenship status, reaffirms that county employees are not deputized as federal immigration agents, restricts use of county funds, staff and facilities for ICE enforcement beyond what is legally required and protects sensitive personal data including voter rolls from being shared with federal agencies,” said White.

Concern over the activities and jurisdiction of federal law enforcement has been on the rise since United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers killed several nonviolent protestors and community members over the past two months.

“I fully support detaining hardened criminals,” said Shirley Creel during her public comment. “But currently, with no judicial warrants, good people are being taken off the streets, ripped out of their cars, pulled out of their homes, and sent to detention centers with no due process. Children come home from school and find their parents are missing.”

Former state representative Jenn Hill was also in attendance and shared her support for the ideas posited by those in attendance.

After public comment concluded, the commissioners in attendance responded to those who spoke.

“It’s pretty clear from our last meeting that my comments and your comments hit a nerve,” said Commissioner Karl Numinen. Social media was immediately littered with a knee-jerk reaction. I got threats … including recall threats and things like that … but it just goes to show (that) if you don’t have a rational argument about something, you attack the other side.”

Numinen referenced what he felt were the main points expressed during public comment: that ICE agents not be allowed to wear masks while performing law enforcement activities within the county, that all federal law enforcement officers in the county be mandated to wear body cameras, as all city, township, county and state law enforcement officers do in the area, that ICE agents wear uniforms with identification and that there are clear force limitations put in place for federal law enforcement.

“All of these policies are all about accountability, not interference,” said Numinen. “Nobody wants to interfere with ICE performing their lawful function. Nobody wants to stop the federal government from doing what it is designed to do. But we want accountability in the way they’re doing it. And clearly that’s not happening now, and I think we can work together to form a policy that insists on these at least minimum standards.”

Numinen went on to explain that the county has already begun to discuss potential policies for ICE and federal law enforcement.

“In response to a question about a time frame, it’s begun already,” said Numinen. “People in this very room, we’ve had discussions that are moving forward and it’s begun.”

“I’m super happy to see so many people here and so many people reaching out in public comment, sending us letters, sending us note cards, because that’s how we can make decisions … we got elected to represent you,” said County Commissioner Karen Alholm. “And when we’re not hearing your voices, you know, we’re only listening to the people who are showing up. So this is how democracy works and it’s appreciated … We are going to work on something.”

“You can rest assured Marquette County is going to follow the letter of the law and the constitution,” said Commission Chair Joseph DeRocha. “We’re going to look at what’s reasonable to expect.”

“I think my colleagues that are in the law world would agree that this is primarily a judicial directive, but we’re working through the sheriff’s office, the prosecutors and our legal council to figure out what could be done and how do we best and elegantly do it,” continued DeRocha. “Thank you for all the public comments. It’s how we get things done, and how we make it better for all of us in this place we call home.”

A full recording of the Board of Commissioners meeting can be found on the ISDEPT MQTCO Youtube page.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.