Community Policing Agreement Signed by Activists, Stearns County Sheriff

(KNSI) – Around a dozen groups signed a community policing agreement with Stearns County to help protect the area’s immigrant community.

Fe y Justicia organizer Patty Keeling helped spearhead the agreement, but there is still more work to do.

“I hope it creates more talk whenever there are issues. I think with other organizations, maybe not so much, but perhaps they will come forward now. I’m a little disappointed that our Somali community didn’t come. I know that they had planned on it. They needed to be a part of this along with our black community. And that we, we still need to pull them into this.”

She says the most significant change was spelling out what rights arrested immigrants have regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Everybody understands that there has to be a warrant for an arrest. And that an inmate does not have to talk to ICE in jail, where they were talking with them no matter what. They just said there’s a telephone call for you. And then they would answer it and not knowing. And ICE is very tricky.”

She says the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t work with ICE but has to report to them.

Some of the groups signing the community policing agreement with the Sheriff’s Office and Fe y Justicia was the St. Cloud American Civil Liberty Union, Consulado de Mexico en St. Paul, Take Action, Unite Cloud, St. Cloud Woman’s March, TAO Together as One, Benton-Stearns County Progressive, JPIC Justice Peace and Integratory of Creation, Catholic Charities, and the League of Woman Voters.