A local sheriff is pushing back after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison published a formal legal opinion which says Minnesota sheriffs do not have unilateral authority to enter into 287(g) agreements with the federal government.
Under federal law, state and local law enforcement agencies are allowed to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the purposes of immigration enforcement. These partnerships occur under something called a 287(g) agreement.
Among other things, the agreements can give local law enforcement the authority to assist with identifying aliens, sharing information with ICE, and executing administrative warrants on aliens in the custody of the local law enforcement agency.
Touting the program on its website, ICE says the 287(g) program “benefits state and local law enforcement agencies in several ways — but most notably, it helps you keep your community safe from potentially dangerous criminal aliens.”
However, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has declared that local sheriffs are limited when it comes to those agreements.
In a formal legal opinion issued late last week, Ellison said local sheriffs do not have the authority to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE on their own. Instead, the DFLer said, such agreements must be approved by the county’s board of commissioners.
Ellison’s opinion also said state law bans local law enforcement from detaining or holding someone based solely on a civil immigration detainer issued by ICE. The attorney general said that ban exists regardless of whether a valid 287(g) agreement is in place.
This opinion updates a previous opinion Ellison issued in February which also said local law enforcement cannot hold someone based solely on an immigration detainer.
Sheriff Kyle Burton: Ellison’s opinion ‘does not carry influence with me’
In Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Sheriff Kyle Burton maintains a 287(g) agreement with the federal government. However, this agreement was not approved by the county board and was entered into via a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between ICE and Burton.
Regarding Ellison’s opinion, Burton told Alpha News he disagrees with the DFL attorney general’s interpretation of the law and said “sheriffs have independent law enforcement authority separate from any action or authority possessed by the County Board.”
Burton said Ellison “points out in his letter that no specific statute authorizes sheriffs to enter into contracts with agencies of the federal government or to perform services on behalf of the federal government. Mr. Ellison is correct on this, but he must also accept the fact by taking this position it is also true that no statutes prohibit it either.”
Despite this, Burton mentioned that he spoke with his county commissioners about the possibility of a resolution of support for the 287(g) agreement. The Mille Lacs County sheriff said his commissioners “generally seemed supportive” of the idea.
“These 287(g) [agreements] are 100% voluntary, in other words, we don’t owe ICE anything and they don’t owe us,” said Burton. He continued, saying the agreement gives his office limited authority “to enforce certain immigration laws under certain circumstances under the supervision of ICE, if we choose to use it.”
Sheriff Burton: My office is prioritizing the worst first
Further, Burton said his office was already aware of the prohibition against law enforcement agencies holding people based solely on civil immigration detainers. Discussing how he is keeping his county safe, Burton said “my office is prioritizing the worst first.”
“If there are people in my county who are here illegally and committing crimes, I do not want them here and will absolutely partner with ICE to assist in removing them,” he said. “Since signing the MOA with ICE, we have had [two] incidents involving illegal aliens.”
Burton said the first incident involved an illegal alien who did not have a driver’s license, was driving a loaded trailer at more than 100 mph, and was booked on two misdemeanors.
“Through our partnership with ICE, we learned that individual had a final order of deportation signed by a federal judge and was supposed to have been deported in June of 2025,” said Burton. “ICE ERO came and promptly took custody of him before he was seen in local court on his State of Minnesota charges.”
Burton noted that two other illegal aliens were in the same vehicle, but those two aliens were released because they did not have warrants or final deportation orders. The sheriff said this position is consistent with the federal government’s position.
The second incident Burton mentioned was an assault that involved two people who each were removed twice to Mexico in the past.
“When you re-enter the United States after being deported, that is no longer a civil issue, it is a federal crime punishable by prison time,” said Burton. “Those individuals are at large at this point in time and ICE is working with the US Attorney’s Office to have federal warrants issued for their arrest.”
“If we determine those folks are still in Mille Lacs County, we will absolutely assist ICE in locating and arresting them on their warrants, again consistent with my stance on this issue and consistent with the law,” added the sheriff.
“Bottom line, when it comes to Keith Ellison’s opinion, it does not carry influence with me,” said Burton. “I am not intimidated by him whatsoever. He is nothing more than another partisan politician who cares more about pandering to politics than he does law and order and public safety.”
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Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
