Not in our backyard: County curbs ICE presence

The Camden County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on April 16 banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from entering any county-owned or leased buildings without a valid judicial warrant or order.

Thaat includes all county-owned parks, the Camden County Correctional Facility, Camden County College and Camden County Technical Schools.

“For months, we’ve seen the devastation wrought by (ICE) across the country, and right here in Camden County,” Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said in a statement. ” … ICE has torn families apart, hard-working members of our community have been wrongfully detained, and children have been left terrified to go to their school bus stop.

“In many of these instances, ICE agents have detained our residents without a warrant,” the statement added. “Our residents and visitors deserve to feel safe when they’re playing with their families in our parks, visiting one of our agencies or attending an event on county property.”

The commissioners determined that it was in the best interest to establish a policy, along with procedures and protocols consistent with the executive order issued by Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Feb. 11. That order says that “except as authorized by a judicial warrant or judicial order, executive branch departments and agencies shall not permit or consent to federal immigration officers entering, accessing or using non-public areas as a staging area, processing location or operations base of state property for the purpose of facilitating federal enforcement of civil immigration law.”

The policy applies to all county employees, contractors and agents of county departments, agencies, authorities, boards and commissions, including Camden County College. It covers all non-public areas in any building, structure, land, parking lot, garage, vehicle, park or other real or personal property owned, leased, operated, maintained or controlled by the county, according to the resolution.

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