Ingham County’s welcoming resolution for immigrants faces backlash from Livingston County officials, highlighting a growing divide on immigration issues.
Livingston County, on the other hand, isn’t too happy about it. They’ve got their own policy that tracks interactions with undocumented immigrants, which has stirred up quite a bit of controversy. Some folks in Livingston see Ingham’s resolution as a direct jab at them, and they decided to reject it during a meeting.
One commissioner, Wes Nakagiri, was pretty vocal about it. He said they’ve never done this before, but he felt it was important to show they don’t agree with Ingham’s stance. He thinks it’s valuable for people to see how wrong Ingham is on this issue.
Ryan Sebolt, the chair of Ingham County’s Board, pointed out that their resolution didn’t even mention Livingston County. He seemed surprised that they took it so personally.
The whole situation has sparked a lot of debate in Livingston, with some residents criticizing their county’s approach. Ingham’s resolution emphasizes values like acceptance and equality, stating that they won’t turn their backs on those in need.
Sebolt mentioned he had pushed for a similar resolution back in 2017, aimed at countering some of the immigration policies from the Trump administration. Now, with a new administration, they wanted to reaffirm their welcoming stance.
When counties pass resolutions, they can share them with others, but it’s up to those counties to accept or reject them. It’s more of a political statement than anything else.
At the recent Livingston County meeting, there was a bit of back and forth about whether to accept Ingham’s letter. Some commissioners agreed that while they support legal immigrants, they wanted to make a clear distinction regarding those who are undocumented.
In the end, they decided to reject the resolution, with some commissioners feeling strongly about maintaining a line between legal and illegal immigration. It’s clear this issue isn’t going away anytime soon, and the divide between these counties is only getting wider.
