Dubuque County Sheriff Joseph Kennedy has declined to join the federal 287(g) ICE Task Force program. The 287(g) ICE Task Force program authorizes local and state law enforcement to carry out immigration enforcement duties. Sheriff Kennedy says his office has and will enforce those laws and cooperate with federal immigration requests. KCRG reports that Kennedy says the Trump administration’s directive is “heavy-handed,” saying it demands the Sheriff’s Office pull deputies off the street to become trained ICE enforcement agents. The office currently uses overtime to meet minimum staffing levels. In 2024, the county spent around $120,000 on overtime pay. In a letter addressed to the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors, Kennedy says the program asks law enforcement agencies to “sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that essentially force(s) local agencies to have trained ‘ICE’ representatives on their staff to do the government’s immigration work.” In the letter, Kennedy warned that Dubuque will likely be placed on a list by the federal government, flagging Dubuque as a “sanctuary jurisdiction” due to the fact that Kennedy is not joining the program. Kennedy argues it inaccurately describes the county. Kennedy plans to discuss his decision to reject the federal 287(g) ICE Task Force program invitation with the Dubuque County Supervisors Today.
