ST. CHARLES, MO. | St. Charles County officials have approved a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, formalizing a relationship local leaders say has existed for decades.
The County Council unanimously passed the agreement on March 30 under the federal 287(g) program, allowing up to 10 county police officers to train in immigration enforcement procedures.
St. Charles County entered the agreement under the task force model, which allows limited immigration enforcement authority under ICE oversight during routine police duties. Officers will complete self-paced online training to apprehend undocumented individuals already under arrest, reducing the need to wait for federal agents.
“There’s nothing in here that requires us to do anything against our policies,” said County Executive Steve Ehlmann at the March 30 meeting. “If they ever ask us to do something we think is morally wrong, or legally wrong, we have the ability to cancel the contract immediately.”
Ehlmann said local police have worked with federal immigration authorities for years, including assisting in a September 2025 raid at a St. Charles restaurant that led to more than a dozen arrests.
“Our police set up a perimeter at the end of the block while ICE went in to make the arrests,” Ehlmann said. “To make sure bystanders didn’t come in and somehow get involved in what was going on there.”
Residents voiced concern at the meeting, citing potential impacts on civil liberties.
International residents have also voiced unease. Lindenwood University student Julia Schoonbaert said she worries about how enforcement may be perceived in the community.
“I think that they will be racially profiling people who look like they’re not American,” Schoonbaert said. “It would be smart for the university to have meetings about being prepared for something happening on campus, or even in the public just to know how to react and what to do.”
The St. Charles County Police Department joins more than 60 agencies in Missouri with 287(g) agreements. Officials say the program applies only to individuals already in custody and can be terminated at any time.
