MARSHALL — Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes confirmed that there has been U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Marshall this week during a video message released Friday morning.

In the short video, Byrnes also called for local residents to respect differing views, and to show support for their neighbors and local law enforcement.

“Unlike the Metro area, we have seen more limited activity, but we have seen activity from ICE in our community earlier this week,” Byrnes said. “There was some targeted activity, where they were looking for a small number of people that really had warrants out, judicial warrants for serious crimes.”

Since then, Byrnes said, there were also concerns about additional ICE activity in Marshall.

Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall said Wednesday that ICE had been in the Marshall community over the past couple of weeks, but the agency had not interacted with Marshall Police. He said he also did not know if ICE was still in Marshall.

“They are not required to share information,” with local law enforcement, he said.

“It’s important to note that the federal immigration work is independent of our local law enforcement,” Byrnes said. “Our local police, their focus is enforcing city ordinance and state laws … The enforcement of federal laws is the responsibility of federal enforcement including ICE and the FBI. As always, we continue to support our local police department. They are highly trained, and they are dedicated to protecting and serving the community.”

Byrnes said there are different opinions within the Marshall community that are protected by the U.S. Constitution.

“Of course, all of us are concerned about what’s going on in the state, and while we may have varying views — there’s a lot of different views, a lot of different opinions — we can all agree that what we really want and value is safety in our community,” Byrnes said in the video.

“Marshall has always been a welcoming community. It has always been a community where people relocate to for employment, for education, to raise a family and to retire, so we certainly want to continue that quality and safety for our city. During these uncertain times, let us respect and value our neighbors, and support our local businesses, including our ethnic restaurants and grocery stores.”

In his video message, Byrnes said informational resources would be available on the Marshall city website. The page, https://ci.marshall.mn.us/immigration, includes links to information on immigrant rights, as well as to statewide resources and groups that provide legal assistance.