Letter from Jill Holbrook
Partnering with ICE Is Not Safe
As a native Cooperstownian, I write to share my concerns regarding the agreement between the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [a Warrant Service Agreement as part of the 287(g) program with ICE on October 17, 2025] where ICE will train, certify, and authorize officers to serve and execute warrants. Otsego County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “This will enhance community safety by enabling law enforcement to work with ICE to remove dangerous or potentially threatening individuals rather than releasing them into the community.”
But serving and executing warrants by ICE officers has been problematic in Oregon where I live. Under oath, an ICE supervisor admitted during a hearing of U.S. District Court in Portland in early December that he created and signed arrest warrants for individuals knowing they had already been arrested without a warrant. Another ICE officer testified that he was directed to include an inaccurate two-paragraph block in each report for people who were arrested and taken to the Portland ICE building.
It’s difficult to argue that partnering with ICE will remove dangerous individuals from Otsego County. Only about a third of the people arrested in Oregon from January 20 through mid-October had been convicted of a crime, and less than 10 percent of those arrested had been convicted of a violent crime. Nationwide, the trends are similar. Just under half of those arrested had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to the ICE count released by the Deportation Project. And of those arrested, only 5 percent had been convicted of a violent crime.
ICE activity enhances Oregonians’ fear, not their safety. Several Oregon counties and towns, including Salem, the capital, and Hood River, “the windsurfing capital of the world,” have declared a state of emergency because of ICE officers’ infringements on constitutional rights. ICE officers routinely wear masks and refuse to provide identification. Tactics like unmarked cars and aggressive actions cause confusion and alarm. Legal immigrants are scared to leave their homes.
ICE actions on the Oregon coast make people’s lives less safe. The Coast Guard helicopter crew stationed at Newport, Oregon has saved approximately 500 lives including 30 commercial fishermen in the last 10 years. But in late October, with no notice to the community or state and local officials, the helicopter disappeared. ICE does not manage the Coast Guard, but there is evidence that the removal happened because ICE intends to build a detention center where the helicopter crew is based. Thanks to the vourt, search and rescue operations have been restored at least temporarily.
Since 1791, Otsego County residents have entrusted their civic affairs and safety to their sheriffs, including my grandfather, Ziba Holbrook, who served from 1912-1914. Sheriff Devlin, I respectfully hope you will carefully weigh the risks and benefits of a partnership with ICE. Trust is the foundation of any effective law enforcement agency. Without it, collaboration deteriorates and public safety efforts weaken.
Jill Holbrook
Rockaway Beach, Oregon
This is such a crucial and well-researched letter. Jill Holbrook makes an incredibly powerful argument by connecting the proposed partnership in Otsego County directly to the documented failures and community harms caused by ICE in Oregon. The specific testimony from the Portland court hearing and the statistics about low rates of violent crime convictions among those arrested are devastating evidence against the “public safety” justification.
For residents of Otsego County reading this, what do you feel is the most effective next step to encourage Sheriff Devlin to reconsider this agreement? Is it packing the next public meeting, a coordinated letter-writing campaign to local papers, or direct conversations with county legislators?