Washtenaw and Livingston counties are taking sharply different approaches to federal immigration enforcement.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office joined a formal partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 20. The county is also seeking $7.5 million through a federal grant program for body-worn cameras, a mobile command center, a drone and a robotic dog.
In neighboring Washtenaw County, officials are asking a federal judge to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit accusing them of interfering with immigration enforcement. County officials have pushed back against ICE tactics that rely on local jails honoring civil detention requests or allowing immigration enforcement in county buildings without a judicial warrant.
The developments place the counties on opposite sides of a broader federal push for local assistance with immigration arrests and detention.
Livingston County joined ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows designated local officers to perform certain immigration-related duties under federal supervision. The agreement does not authorize deputies to make immigration arrests during traffic stops, patrols or other routine encounters.
Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy has said the agreement is not expected to significantly change the department’s practices because the county already cooperated when ICE or other agencies sought custody of someone in the jail.
Participation also makes Livingston eligible for a federal grant program that requires applicants to participate in 287(g) or commit to joining it.
Murphy said the county is seeking $7.5 million for body-worn cameras and other equipment. Publicly available information has not detailed how each proposed purchase would support the grant program’s goals.
Washtenaw County has taken a different position.
The Justice Department sued the county, Sheriff Alyshia Dyer, Prosecutor Eli Savit and the Board of Commissioners in April. The federal government alleges county policies improperly restrict cooperation with ICE, including by declining some detention requests and limiting civil immigration enforcement in county buildings without a judicial warrant.
The court has not ruled on whether those policies violate federal law.
County attorneys asked a federal judge to dismiss the case in June. They argue that most local participation in federal immigration enforcement is voluntary and that the federal government cannot require the county to use local employees, jail space and other resources to carry out federal policy.
The county’s policies do not prevent ICE agents from operating independently in Washtenaw County.
The distinction is not whether ICE can operate in either county. It is how much local staff, jail space and public resources each county is willing to use to assist federal enforcement.
Livingston has accepted a formal role and is pursuing federal funding. Washtenaw is defending its limits on local involvement in court.
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