#law-enforcement-oversight

#law-enforcement-oversight

The Department of Homeland Security has shut down after lawmakers failed to meet a midnight Friday deadline to fund the agency and its workforce of more than 260,000 people. The department saw its baseline funding expire after lawmakers left town for a week-long recess, but without a deal to rein in the conduct of federal immigration officers. Democrats say that after two U.S. citizens were shot dead by immigration officers in Minneapolis, they need reforms cemented into law before agreeing to fund the department.

Chicago's mayor Brandon Johnson has ordered Chicago police to investigate and document alleged illegal activity by federal immigration (ICE) agents in the city, a move that will escalate tensions over jurisdiction between local and federal authorities. The executive order, titled ICE on Notice, gives Chicago police clear procedure to follow if they witness or receive reports of ICE agents involved in illegal activity and refer evidence of potential violations to city prosecutors.

A sheriff wields enormous power and position on a local level, yet we elect them in the same political fashion as we do city councilmembers and school boards. But today's sheriffs oversee multimillion-dollar agencies, manage jails and set enforcement priorities that shape entire communities. In theory, this allows informed and nuanced voters to split their ballots, allowing them to vote in the sheriff they feel is best qualified regardless of political affiliation while otherwise voting down the party line.

Michael Dietrick, the former Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who shot and killed burglary suspect David Pelaez-Chavez in 2022, will receive $5,226 per month as part of lifetime retirement benefits approved earlier this year through the county's pension system, The Press Democrat has learned. The fatal shooting sparked recurring protests and calls by Pelaez-Chavez's family members and activists for greater accountability, and, years later, is now at the center of a heated debate over the authority and reach of Sonoma County's civilian law enforcement oversight office.