Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

The Livingston County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to “monitor and document contacts between illegal immigrants and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office” Monday night.

Martin Smith, Commissioner of District 7, was absent from Monday’s meeting.

The resolution was proposed by Commissioner of District 4, Ken Nakagiri. Resolution Number 2024-09-128 said “citizens continue to express concerns about illegal immigration and its associated increase in crime.” It also mentioned the guilty plea of 26-year-old Alan Nievas-Garnica for the “third-degree criminal sexual assault” of a 15-year-old Livingston County girl in October of 2023.

Many residents of the county came to the meeting to voice their opinions on the resolution. At one point, attendees had to be moved to a separate room due to the meeting room being over capacity.

Residents that were both for and against the resolution cited statistics to back up their position.

“I find it very curious that keeping statistics on illegal immigrants is controversial,” one Hartland resident said. “As our Sheriff points out, we live in a data driven society. Statistics are a part of every organization, from schools to hospitals to law enforcement to census. Statistics are standards of measure we use to make changes and or improve outcomes. We keep statistics on legal immigrants, yet when a resolution comes forward to keep statistics on illegal immigrants, those who favored that are accused of fear-mongering or making stuff up.”

“Unfortunately, there is no data that supported the need for this particular resolution at this time,” one resident of Brighton said. “I think the data could easily be developed, but it hasn’t been developed at this point to adopt a resolution like this. So for that reason, this is a resolution in search of a problem, and the problem hasn’t been documented yet.”

Residents that opposed the resolution said immigrants, regardless of status, may be less likely to come forward if they are the victim of a crime, which could negatively impact the community as a whole.

Residents that were in favor of the resolution said it was no different than anyone identifying themselves to the police. When someone is pulled over, they have to show their identification as part of the process. The process helps identify criminals, regardless of their immigration status.

Another argument on both sides of the issue was in regards to allegations the resolution could result in racial profiling. Those who supported and opposed the proposal said the county has been working hard to shake off the negative views some people have regarding Livingston County.

“This resolution is to gather data,” one Genoa Township resident said. “It’s to gather data for statistics and insurance and other things like that. This is not racism.

Some of those opposed to the proposal said they didn’t think there was enough evidence to need the resolution.

“I’m against this resolution as the resolution cites only one instance in the past year of an illegal immigrant breaking the law,” another Genoa Township resident said. “This does not indicate a rampant problem in Livingston County.”

Public statements on the resolution lasted over an hour.

The final vote was 8-0-1, with the one taking into account the absent Smith.

The next Livingston County Board of Commissioners meeting will be held on Oct. 28.