Minneapolis police chief says department won’t assist ICE in Trump deportations

On Thursday, the department issued an updated immigration policing policy claiming that the changes were designed to “offer clear guidance to officers during a time when community concerns are particularly prominent.”

Trump has promised mass deportation of illegal immigrants living in the United States as soon as he takes office on Monday. An estimated 81,000 illegal immigrants live in the city.

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, for over 20 years the department has had an immigration policy stating that the department doesn’t get involved in federal immigration law enforcement. The updated policy explicitly emphasizes the department’s non-involvement, noting that enforcement of civil and criminal federal immigration laws falls exclusively within the authority of the federal government.

O’Hara said, “I recognize that the fear of deportation prevents some people from calling the police in times of need or to report crime. I want to be clear that enforcement of civil immigration laws falls exclusively with the federal government — it is not the job of the MPD. Any participation in immigration enforcement would have a chilling effect on our commitment to bias-free, community-oriented policing.”

Updated policies prohibit officers from questioning a person about their immigration status and adds a section on U Visa and T Visa certifications, which under federal law are available to trafficking victims and witnesses of certain crimes to obtain temporary legal status.

An exception to the policy of non-involvement could be made if the case involves human trafficking and smuggling where immigration status is a component of the crime.