Berrien County Community asks Sheriff to withdrawal from partnership with ICE

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Six sheriffs in Michigan have entered into agreements with federal immigration authorities under the 287g program, including Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit, prompting questions from residents about local cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At a town hall hosted by We The People Michigan on Wednesday night, residents pressed Heit on the extent of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office’s role under the agreement.

The 287(g) program, authorized under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, allows state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE in certain immigration enforcement functions. The program has three main models: the jail enforcement model, the warrant service officer model and the task force model.

Heit said Berrien County participates only in the warrant service officer model, which allows trained deputies to serve administrative immigration warrants to individuals already in local custody.

“Myself, my deputies assigned to me, local police…. we do not have the authority to arrest on immigration violations,” Berrien County Sheriff Chuck Heit said. “That is not our job, and this agreement does not give us that authority.”

Under the warrant service model, individuals who have already been identified by ICE while in custody may be held in the county jail until federal agents take custody of them. Heit said the arrangement keeps ICE operations out of neighborhoods and limits enforcement activity to the jail and says that the county has already being operating a similar process for 25 years — before the official agreement was signed in March of 2025.

Still, some attendees said they were dissatisfied with the sheriff’s responses.

“I think it was frustrating tonight,” said Celina Madden, a digital strategist with We The People Michigan. “But there was a lack of direct answers to many direct questions.”

Community members also raised concerns about potential racial profiling and due process, arguing that cooperation with ICE could accelerate detention and removal proceedings.

“Being in the minority here is probably not the best decision especially as the divide grows between law enforcement and regular people. We want to be able to trust the institutions that are here,” Madden said.

Advocates also said some immigrants in the community now fear leaving their homes because of the agreement, even though enforcement activity under the program is limited to the jail.

Heit did not indicate an interest in withdrawing from the agreement, though he acknowledged that doing so remains an option. Last November, Center Line Sherif’s Department in Michigan backed out of their 287g agreement.

Members of We The People Michigan delivered signatures from residents urging the sheriff to reconsider his participation in the program.