Discussions on the changing landscape of President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities are trickling down to the local level, as the Johnson County Board of Supervisors continues conversations on how they will represent the county’s residents and interests.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors’ primary focus has been on ICE protocols and funding as they pertain to county and state residents, with the board passing a resolution calling for congressional leaders to reduce funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, unless they implement much stricter “guardrails” for ICE.
Due to recent events, like the protests in on the streets of Minneapolis, the death of Renee Good, a 37-year old woman who was killed by ICE agents on Jan. 7, Alex Pretti, a former intensive care unit nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs, who was killed by ICE agents on Jan. 24, and rising concern over ICE protocols in the state and across the nation, ICE continues to be a source of contention in the U.S., with protests occurring across the Midwest and across the country, Johnson County and Iowa City have seen several ICE protests in the past few months, including the recent walkout done by local high school students, and after ICE detained Jorge González Ochoa while he was working at Bread Garden Market in September, an arrest that has since been declared unlawful in federal courts.
Several members of the board have spoken about ICE and the current administration, with Supervisor Jon Green calling the Trump administration’s policies threatening to individual liberties.
“The Trump administration’s assault on communities in the name of immigration enforcement is eroding our Constitutional rights and endangering residents,” Green said.
Green also said the U.S. Border Patrol has violently arrested civilians, even citizens of the U.S., and deployed chemical weapons without warning in residential areas, harming school children and local law enforcement.
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“From September 2025 through January 2026, immigration agents have shot at least nine individuals, three who died as a result,” he said, regarding Renee Goode, Alex Pretti, and Silverio Villegas González.
Supervisor Rod Sullivan said while resolutions usually do not have a massive effect, they are a way to voice opinions on issues. He added that it is the one little step that they can take with the federal government.
“They don’t really mean anything legally, but I think it’s important that we say how we feel about matters of great importance to our community, and so that’s what we chose to do here,” Sullivan said.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the foremost oversight authority for the U.S. Senate, released a report in December 2025 asserting that, between June and November 2025, ICE had unlawfully detained 22 U.S. citizens.
The board previously rejected a Fourth amendment Resolution, which would require law enforcement to have judicial warrants for nonpublic access to private spaces and periodically hold workplace protocol training for supervisors and staff, consistent with the resolution.
The Amendment was rejected 3-2, with Lisa Green-Douglass, Green, and Sullivan expressing concerns over the safety of county employees should they not comply with ICE.
After a weeks-long discussion and support from the public on the issue of ICE at their formal, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved a different resolution on the issue of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE at their formal meeting on Feb. 5.
Green specifically referenced tighter “guardrails” for DHS as a primary argument for the resolution. This would mean ensuring that immigration agents committing violence and lawlessness will be properly investigated and receive sufficient consequences.
At their reelection watch party, Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz said the resolution was “the kind of leadership I think we need throughout the rest of this Trump administration.”
Prior to the resolution being approved, several members of the community came to the supervisor’s work session on Jan. 28 to speak in support of the resolution.
Samantha Spurgeon, an Iowa City resident, voiced her support of the resolution at the beginning of the meeting, calling the resolution “the bare minimum.”
“I know that there’s been other things trying to go forward, but I think that this is a good first step, and I strongly encourage you to take that first step,” she said.
The supervisors concluded they would approve the resolution to restrict Congressional funding for DHS and further implement guardrails. The board will send a copy of said resolution to each member of the Iowa Congressional Delegation.
Green said tactics used by immigration authorities are becoming increasingly dangerous, including what he described as unprovoked violence, such as the pointing of weapons at civilians and deploying chemical weapons.
“The board calls for an end to Border Patrol deployments and an end to ICE and CBP’s lawless surges in cities across the country that are undermining public safety,” Green said, reading the resolution.