Advocates urged Flathead County commissioners on Monday to cut ties with immigration enforcement agencies after federal agents shot dead a second Minneapolis resident over the weekend.  

Flathead Democracy, a local advocacy group, organized the turnout as part of its "ICE Out” campaign, which launched after the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good on Jan. 7. Over the last week, advocates have asked city councilors and local law enforcement agencies to refuse to cooperate with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. 

“Our overarching hope is that all of the city councils and the commission ... will make a statement saying that they will not give any of our resources, any of our tax dollars, any of our information to ICE and DHS,” said Danielle Tuhy, community organizer for Flathead Democracy.  

Nearly 50 people filled the chairs in the commissioners’ meeting room on Monday morning, with some people standing along the backwall and a few holding protest signs.  

“Somewhere in America a little girl is hiding in an attic writing about ICE,” read one sign. “Keep ICE out of Montana,” read another. 

“I'm asking each of you, regardless of your political affiliation, to stand up as a citizen, as a commissioner, against being governed by oppression and intimidation,” said Martin City resident Loretta Byrd. “This is a critical moment in history. It is not time for us to remain divided because of political ideologies.” 

GOOD’S DEATH sparked the campaign, but a second shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend galvanized the effort, advocates said. Immigration officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during a Saturday morning scrum in South Minneapolis caught on multiple cameras.  

Those attending the commissioners’ meeting in Kalispell on Monday said the incidents show that no one is safe from the escalation in immigration crackdowns seen in Minneapolis and in other cities across the country. Kalispell resident Christine Frisbee told commissioners she has eight adopted children, and five of them are not white.  

“They have to carry their passports to prove that they are American citizens, and even then, they are afraid going to school and going to work,” Frisbee said. “... Please. Please help me take care of my children by making sure that ICE doesn't walk in the door and see their faces and arrest them just because they're not white.” 

Several speakers demanded commissioners end the 287(g) agreement between the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, signed in 2020.  

The agreement allows the Sheriff’s Office to hold a person for an additional 48 hours in jail if they are in the country unlawfully. Federal immigration officers have that time to transfer the person to a detention center — otherwise they are released from custody.  

Commissioner Brad Abell told the Inter Lake the county had little influence over the Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement, adding that he didn’t know what the 287(g) agreement was.  

While he agreed that he doesn’t want to see a big federal presence in the county, Abell maintained that local officials are governed by state and federal laws.  

“We are not a sanctuary city or county or even a state,” Abell said. “We need to follow the laws that are in place.” 

Sheriff Brian Heino did not immediately respond to requests for comment by press time.  

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].