County Fight Contested

Crow Wing MN — Sheriff Signed Dual 287(g) Without Board Approval

Crow Wing, MN FIPS 27035

Current status: Sheriff Klang signed both TFM and WSO 287(g) agreements in March 2025 without county board approval. AG Ellison's Dec 2025 opinion says this is illegal. Agreements remain in effect as of May 2026 — board has neither ratified nor rescinded; Chair Franzen publicly accepts status quo. CWC indicated no change in approach despite ACLU's Freeborn injunction (Jan 16, 2026). Klang held ~60 Twin Cities-arrested detainees in 287-bed jail; assisted HSI with arrests at Brainerd's El Potro restaurant. Residents at March 24, 2026 board meeting demanded county join Jackson/Cass/Itasca in nullifying the agreement. State legislature considering full 287(g) ban (March 2026).

The Fight

Sheriff Eric Klang signed two 287(g) agreements with ICE in March 2025:

Task Force Model (TFM) — March 25, 2025: Allows deputies to enforce civil immigration law in the field
Warrant Service Officer (WSO) — March 26, 2025: Allows jail staff to serve ICE warrants on inmates

Neither agreement was brought before the Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners for approval. The county also began housing ICE detainees under an IGSA in November 2025.

On December 12, 2025, AG Keith Ellison issued a formal legal opinion finding that Minnesota law does not permit sheriffs to enter 287(g) agreements unilaterally — the authority rests with county boards. Despite this, Crow Wing’s agreements remain in effect.

Residents have packed board meetings demanding transparency and discussion. The board has been divided in its response but has not voted to either ratify or rescind the agreements.

Timeline Update (May 2026 scan)

January 16, 2026 — Court granted ACLU-MN’s preliminary injunction against Freeborn County’s 287(g) agreement. Crow Wing publicly indicated no change in approach despite the precedent.
January 28, 2026 — KAXE: Northern MN counties (including Crow Wing) issued public clarifications of how they cooperate with ICE in response to AG Ellison’s December 12, 2025 opinion. Crow Wing did not rescind.
February 13, 2026 — KAXE: Sheriff Klang publicly defended ICE’s use of duplicate license plates during Brainerd-area enforcement operations.
Early 2026 — Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office assisted DHS Homeland Security Investigations with four arrests at El Potro Mexican Restaurant in downtown Brainerd (per Star Tribune). Klang reported holding approximately 60 detainees apprehended in the Twin Cities area in his 287-bed jail since December 1, 2025.
March 3, 2026 — MPR News: Minnesota state lawmakers introduced legislation to ban and terminate any 287(g)-style agreements between local agencies and the federal government — would resolve the unilateral-signing question by removing the authority altogether.
March 24, 2026 — Brainerd Dispatch: Residents packed the County Board open forum holding signs reading “Respectfully request Crow Wing County join Jackson, Cass & Itasca Counties to nullify the 287g” and “Crow Wing County Residents deserve Transparency regarding 287g IGSA.” Board Chair Rosemary Franzen said she is “fine with what’s going on until further clarification is received” — i.e., no board action.
Ongoing — Brainerd City Council passed a resolution supporting Sheriff Klang’s ICE agreement, deepening the city/county-vs-residents split.

Why This Fight Matters

Crow Wing is the most aggressive 287(g) county in Minnesota — the only one with both TFM and WSO models. The TFM is especially significant because it allows deputies to enforce immigration law outside the jail, in the community. This makes Crow Wing not just a detention site but an active enforcement partner.

The unilateral signing pattern — sheriff acts first, board deals with it later — is the same dynamic seen in Freeborn, Kandiyohi, Cass, and Itasca counties. The AG opinion creates a legal basis to challenge all of them, and the ACLU’s Freeborn injunction (January 2026) provides the judicial precedent.

The 3-minute engagement time from the site visitor suggests someone deeply interested in this specific dynamic — likely a local organizer, journalist, or attorney.

Cross-reference: Sibling-mechanism candidate — elected-officer unilateral action vs. county board

Crow Wing MN appears to be a third instance of a recurring structural pattern: an independently-elected county officer signs an immigration-enforcement agreement on their own authority, leaving the county board (the body the AG/state law identifies as the actual contracting authority) to either sue, ratify, or sit on its hands.

Pinal County, AZ — County Attorney Brad Miller signed 287(g) on his own authority; Board of Supervisors unanimously declared it illegal and void (and sued). See /fights/pinal-county-az-rogue-attorney/.
Hamilton County, TN — Sheriff signed 287(g); both county commission and Chattanooga city council concluded they have NO legal authority over the elected sheriff’s decision. Locked in by Tennessee HB2219 (governance-capture-via-elected-sheriff-independence).
Crow Wing County, MN — Sheriff Klang signed both TFM and WSO unilaterally; AG Ellison’s December 2025 opinion says only the board can do this; board has refused to act either way; residents and a sibling injunction (Freeborn) provide pressure but no formal board response as of May 2026.

The MN variant sits between the AZ and TN variants: unlike Pinal AZ, the Crow Wing board has not sued; unlike Hamilton TN, the AG opinion explicitly says the board does have legal authority — it is choosing not to use it. This is the 3+ instances criterion for spinning up a separate mechanism entry. Flag for the conductor.

Sources

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.

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