Residents urge Calhoun County to act on ICE activities and express safety concerns

Several residents used citizens time during the Feb. 19 meeting to press the board to take steps related to immigration-enforcement activity and public-safety concerns.

Chris Freeland of Fredonia Township told commissioners he has returned to ask what the county will do to "protect everyone in Calhoun County" from perceived risks tied to ICE operations and said people are expressing fear both for themselves and for students planning protests. "At this point, we've all seen multiple videos from around the country of ICE agents assaulting high school students...jump out of vehicles, curb stomp, and or shoot people peacefully exercising their constitutional rights with 0 accountability," Freeland said.

Barry Wynne Adams, a local resident, also addressed the board and compared current tactics by immigration-enforcement agents to historic examples, urging prudence and warning about polarization in public debate. Adams criticized public engagement methods like the MDOT open house on Michigan Avenue and described the outreach as presenting preselected options.

Rachel Warner, speaking on behalf of Representative Steve Frisbie, provided a brief legislative update on property-tax work, efforts to address health-care costs and a new requirement that hospitals show prices up front; she also noted recent legislation enabling school districts to set and post classroom cell-phone policies.

The board thanked the speakers and did not take formal action on the requests during the meeting. Several commenters asked for policy changes including county-level limits on ICE activities on county property and for the board to clarify local law-enforcement response protocols; commissioners did not adopt such policies at the session.