County board voices opposition against North STAR Act

The Mille Lacs County Board held its regularly scheduled board meetings March 5 and 19 at the historic courthouse in Milaca.

Sheriff Kyle Burton was present at the March 5 meeting to introduce three new chaplains who will be volunteering to serve Mille Lacs County: Pastor Vaughn Blackburn, Pastor Trent Bergeron, and Pastor John Bechtle. The three volunteer chaplains will work to support police, fire, and emergency personnel who encounter death and accident scenes while on the job and provide spiritual and emotional support for the inherent stress and risks associated with the duties of law enforcement and other emergency personnel.

During the March 5 meeting, Personnel Director Karly Fetters presented the County Board with a resolution that expresses opposition to the North STAR Act as requested. The North STAR Act calls to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants, and effectively banning state and local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with the federal immigration authorities. The bill failed to pass in 2023 when it was first introduced, and currently lacks the support needed to pass in either chamber.

The website, northstaract.org, summarizes the North STAR Act:

“North STAR protects immigrants in the state of Minnesota by prohibiting state and local law enforcement from using state resources for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement. This includes sharing data or accepting federal funds that would require such cooperation. Multiple states, including Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, New York, Colorado, Washington, and California have passed similar laws, allowing non-citizen residents to remain and continue to positively contribute to local and state economies without fear of unnecessary harassment or detention.”

The resolution presented to the Mille Lacs County Board of Commissioners outlines the reasons for opposing the North STAR Act, citing it would impede the efforts of law enforcement to investigate and gather information needed to deter crime within the community.

The resolution presented at the 19 March meeting states:

“…The North Star Act would interfere with the County and its employees’ ability to perform current functions, imposes implementation hurdles and burdens upon the County, creates ambiguity and possible conflicts with federal law, may subject the County and its employees to statutory violations, employment consequences, and possible civil and criminal liability; and… Mille Lacs County citizens should not be negatively impacted from results caused by illegal immigration and the North STAR Act on the budgeting of taxpayer dollars and public resources.”

Additional reasons to oppose sanctuary policies include concerns over national security and that such policies may create vulnerabilities that might be exploited by individuals seeking to do harm to the country, such as drug trafficking and potential terrorist activities. Another concern is that a potential economic burden would be placed on American citizens whose tax dollars would fund services such as healthcare to undocumented immigrants who are not legally entitled.

Jail facility

Plans to renovate the jail facility for Mille Lacs County continued during the 19 March meeting. Three architectural firms with experience in designing penal institutions responded to Mille Lacs County’s proposal for an Architect and Engineering Group for the remodel to the jail facility: Klein McCarthy, Wold Architects, and BKV. Staff recommended the approval of Klein McCarthy Architects (KMA) of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and the Board approved the County Administrator to initiate negotiation of the contract.

KMA will provide services for Phase 1 of the remodel project which includes design and cost analysis for $48,900 plus reimbursables, basing their estimated fees on a Justice Facility Planners report. KMA included three letters of recommendation from local sheriff offices and counties who hired the architectural firm to complete similar projects, including Itasca County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County, and Carlton County Sheriff’s Office.

The April meeting for Mille Lacs County Board of Commissioners take place on Tuesday, April 2, and Tuesday, April 16, at 9 a.m. in the County Board Room at the Historic Courthouse in Milaca. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.