October: 'Public charge' rule blamed for 'chilling effect' among immigrants.By living in the county, she said, some feel they are complicit in the detentions. Raudabaugh said members of her congregation are bothered by the fact that they benefit financially from the incarceration of detainees. "This fund has helped relieve the burden to the county levy and county taxpayers," he wrote.īut members of the two Elk River churches say they don't think the county should be profiting from housing ICE detainees. It's also helped pay for county projects, he added, including a public safety building in Zimmerman and a new judicial services building. Revenue from the county's contracts with outside agencies, including ICE, goes into a special fund to cover jail expenses, Brott wrote. He declined an MPR News request for an interview and tour of the jail. Sherburne County receives about $11 million a year, minus expenses, for housing immigration detainees, according to a letter written by Sheriff Joel Brott in November and published in the Elk River Star News. In Pine Island: Weighing the morals and economics of immigrant detention.They delivered 1,500 candy canes to the jail - one for each inmate, staff member and county commissioner - as a sign of good will. Some carried signs: "Stop deportations now." And: "We stand with all immigrants." On Wednesday, about two dozen protesters, some from Elk River and some from the Twin Cities, formed a circle outside the government center to sing, light candles and pray.
So, over the past few months, members have been holding prayer vigils outside the jail. Robin Raudabaugh, pastor of Elk River Union Congregational Church, said after helping a detainee in the jail raise money for bail, members of her congregation decided they needed to do more. They're concerned about the county's expressed interest in expanding the jail to take in more detainees for U.S.
They've been a source of jobs and revenue for the local community.īut in recent months, leaders of two Elk River churches have started voicing concern through press releases and prayer vigils about the county's role in incarcerating immigration detainees - and benefiting financially. Previously: Nonprofits use grant to represent immigration defendantsįor most of that time, those contracts have attracted little controversy in Sherburne County.
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