KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Local leaders in law enforcement are reacting to the president’s executive orders on immigration and how they could affect West Michigan.
“I don't think legally, it's going to have too much of an effect,” said Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker.
He says the executive orders will not affect how he runs his office. His concern with the immigration crackdown is that people in the country will not cooperate in criminal investigations.
“It's going to be more how the public, you know, and some of the, you know, people worry about getting deported. It's always been an issue in terms of: Are they going to be willing to come forward and report crimes?” said Becker.
His office does not report any witnesses or victims to federal immigration, saying that if people do not trust the legal system, prosecuting offenses will become more difficult and crime rates could rise.
“You know, we've had some significant crimes of some dangerous individuals who were here in the country illegally. But if we don't have other people who are in the country illegally reporting those crimes, they're still out there. So, it's kind of a very difficult situation, a delicate situation,” said Becker.
Kent County Sheriff Michelle Lajoye-Young offered this statement regarding the president's new policies:
“We are in the very early stages of the Trump Administrations Executive Orders related to immigration law enforcement and not much detail has been provided. Exactly what these new orders will mean for law enforcement at the local level is not entirely clear. We are carefully assessing the information we have been provided and will continue to do so as this very dynamic situation evolves.”
“Everyone in Grand Rapids can feel safe contacting the police,” said Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom.
He says his officers are not interested in anyone's immigration status in the city. The department’s current policy prohibits any detention based on a person’s immigration status.
“Individuals need to feel comfortable talking to police officers. They need to know that when they call 911, they're not going to be turned from a victim into a suspect,” said Winstrom.
He says it is not illegal to be an undocumented migrant in the state of Michigan and GRPD does not enforce federal laws.
“The federal government has an immense amount of power; there are very, very clear lines in place of who has authority over who, and just the police here in Grand Rapids, we're just simply not in the immigration business,” said Winstrom.
Both Chief Winstrom and Prosecutor Becker say their biggest concern with the immigration crackdown is that crime could rise in the area, and neither one is worried about the federal government arresting them.
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