BILLINGS — United Way of Yellowstone County says it is reviewing security and access protocols for community events after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained two families following the nonprofit's annual backpack and school supply drive last week.
Watch United Way of Yellowstone County CEO Andrew Konkel talk about what happened:
CEO Andrew Konkel said a father and his 9-year-old daughter arrived at the event only to be detained by ICE across the street moments later.
"This is something, unfortunately, I never thought I'd be talking about, but we are," Konkel said Friday.
Konkel said the organization did not learn what had happened until the following day — and also discovered it was not the first incident.
"Initially, a very concerned citizen gave us a call and made us aware of it," Konkel said. "A second family was also detained for several days, before being found to be in the country legally and released."
In response, United Way is now re-evaluating security for future events. Planned changes include clearly marked private areas, locked doors, and updated policies for staff and volunteers.
"Making sure you have clearly identified private areas, that then they are not allowed into unless they're invited into. Of course, if they have the appropriate warrant, they would be allowed," Konkel said.
Konkel said the focus is not politics, but making families feel safe accessing community services.
The situation is playing out nationwide. Federal data shows immigration enforcement is up across the country, with ICE taking more than 46,000 people into custody in July — up sharply from one year ago.
"The size of ICE has expanded substantially," MSU Billings political science professor Paul Pope said.
Pope has been closely following the political conversation and said the rapid expansion of enforcement has sparked concerns about training and due process.
"We've seen people deported who have not actually violated any laws," Pope said. "Their law enforcement training has been substantially curtailed in order to get as many of them on the streets as possible."
MTN News reached out to the Billings ICE office, but the phone number listed on their website was out of service.
Konkel said that regardless of the political climate, United Way will continue serving anyone who needs help.
"This is purely and all about the safety of our events and the families that attend our events and basically all the community members that are connected to our community events," Konkel said.
