Federal immigration agents have now killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis this month — Alex Pretti, a 37‑year‑old ICU nurse shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on January 24, and Renee Good, 37, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7.  Their deaths have sparked protests across the country, including here in Sonoma County.

Last week, Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey publicly reversed his long‑held position on the county’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. He condemned ICE's actions and called for Sonoma County to end all collaboration with ICE, which continues at the level of the Sheriff’s Office.

KRCB’s Shandra Back spoke with Coursey about what his shift could mean for immigrant protections in Sonoma County.

KRCB NEWS: I'd love to start out by asking what was it that changed your mind on Sonoma County's collaboration with ICE?

COURSEY: This wasn't a change of heart that happened overnight. I've wrestled with this whole issue for a long time since last January when President Trump was inaugurated for a second time, and over that time ICE’s actions that we've seen in Los Angeles and Chicago and Minneapolis have become more and more aggressive on the streets, more and more militaristic and more and more antagonistic.

Last week with what was going on in Minneapolis, the shooting of Renee Goode, and then the president warning Minneapolis that they should be prepared for reckoning and retribution — I just thought that put the whole thing over the top with me.

We hadn't really discussed this as a board over the past year, the cooperation of the jail with ICE. We've known about it, we've talked about it individually and kind of referred to it in public, but we've never taken a vote on it. And I just felt like when it came time for me to feel like ICE was no longer deserving to be considered a legitimate law enforcement agency with the way their officers are behaving, that I needed to open my mouth and say that we should not legitimize what they are doing by cooperating with them in any official capacity.

KRCB NEWS: And how do you explain this shift to community members who were trusting in your earlier stance?

COURSEY: I've been doing that a lot this week. And you know, this is my moral conscience speaking. I can't defend the actions that ICE is taking, the way that they're treating people, citizens and non‑citizens in other cities in our country. I can no longer tell my constituents that I think that ICE is okay for us to be cooperating with. As I said, this isn't about the people in the jail. It's about an agency that I can't trust.

I feel like I have to speak up. I feel like our country is turning into something that I don't recognize, and I don't support for my grandchildren to grow up in. I am a leader in Sonoma County and I think that it's appropriate for leaders to express their views on issues like this.

KRCB NEWS: So is the hope that this statement and this moral conscience of speaking up would end in a policy change when we talk about actually ending collaboration with ICE in Sonoma County?

COURSEY: That's what I call for in this statement. I'm also a realist. And I can count to three. I don't believe there are three votes on the Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution or an ordinance to change this policy. And in the end, we don't have power as the Board of Supervisors to change policies of the sheriff. He's independently elected.

I've talked to him about this. Talked to him last week before I released the statement, and I've talked to him about it in the past, and he's made it clear that he's not gonna change this policy. You know, whether any of my fellow supervisors change their view as I have, that's gotta be their own decision. The Brown Act prevents me from talking to more than one other member of the board because that would be a majority and we can't talk in a majority way except in public, in public meetings. I spoke to one other supervisor, which I'm allowed to do under the Brown Act, Rebecca Hermosillo. She's made her position clear to me. I think that we understand each other, we respect each other, and as I said, we all have to make our own decisions on this.

KRCB NEWS: And from the argument of Supervisor Hermosillo, one of her arguments is that the non‑collaboration ordinance would only put a target on our backs in Sonoma County. What are your thoughts on that?

COURSEY: I disagree with that. I believe we already have a target on our backs in Sonoma County. This is not going to put any more spotlight on us than we already have.

KRCB NEWS: What would you want immigrant families, whether documented or undocumented in Sonoma County, to hear from you in this change?

COURSEY: That I believe the behavior, the actions of ICE are abhorrent, and I'm going to speak against them and I will stand with our immigrant communities as I always have.

KRCB NEWS: You mentioned a future that you are worried of your grandchildren living in. What is the future that you want to help build?

COURSEY: I want a future for all of America and Sonoma County in particular, where we aren't afraid to express our views, where we aren't afraid to gather in the streets if necessary and where people who are obeying the laws, who are living here peacefully, whether they're documented or undocumented… our economy, our communities depend on these folks. They're our neighbors. They are our coworkers. In many cases, they're part of our families. I want an America where those people are safe.