Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis and Police Chief Mike Colyer shared their thoughts at the City Council meeting of Jan. 26 on the immigration unrest currently happening in our country in response to many questions they have received. 

 Mayor Davis 

• The City of Missoula values our constitutional rights, and we uphold due process for everyone.
• The MPD does not have a role in immigration enforcement; the City’s police authority is in the enforcement of City and state laws. Missoula police officers do not ask for proof of immigration status when interacting with the public, for instance during traffic stops. The PD upholds public safety for all of our residents and our visitors.
• Since President Trump issued his executive order concerning immigration in January of last year, I have held two significant roundtables with City and County attorneys, sheriff and police leadership, immigration attorneys, International Rescue Committee staff, and the immigration and refugee nonprofit Soft Landing. Other community leaders and I have heard that people who are here legally with various permissions are fearful of being targeted.
• There has been no large-scale immigration enforcement by federal agents in Missoula, but we know that enforcement and violence have been escalating in other cities in other states.

 Chief Colyer 

• I am concerned that when people see federal immigration enforcement officers acting in ways they don’t approve of, they will lump together all law enforcement as untrustworthy, and that will affect our officers.
• People see in national news Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers jumping out of unmarked vehicles, wearing uniforms and using equipment that does not identify them and covering their faces. All of those things are strictly prohibited by the Missoula Police Department’s policies. Missoula police officers wear masks in two circumstances: a health emergency like a pandemic and in severe weather where they are at risk of frostbite. They will remove a mask when anyone asks for the purposes of identification. They wear their nametags on their outermost garments. They use unmarked cars sparingly in non-enforcement situations, such as administrative purposes and detective work. It is not good for any of us if people do not know we are the police.
• When Missoula police are conducting a public-safety or law enforcement operation, they will commonly block the area with marked patrol cars, activate a siren and use a public-address system, again identifying themselves.
• Our officers receive at least 35 weeks of training and close supervision, at the least up through their probationary year. Then they receive service training monthly throughout their careers.
• There are different kinds of warrants, and our officers are familiar with them. We do not have a role in a civil administrative warrant signed by an ICE agent. An arrest warrant signed by a federal judge for a criminal charge is in our enforcement lane.
• There are certain federal statutes we have the authority to investigate, for instance Title 21, the federal drug statute. Title 8 is the U.S. code to enforce immigration status. We don’t have a role in that today, and I don’t expect we will have a role in the future.
• Our mission is to support, protect and defend the Montana Constitution and enforce our state and local laws.
• We have successfully protected public safety at numerous rallies and protests over the years and are committed to people’s First Amendment rights.
• If you are approached by someone you don’t reasonably believe to be a police officer doing a legitimate law enforcement function, please call 911.We are the local law enforcement you can trust.
• It is within your First Amendment rights to protest, object and record law enforcement interactions. 

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