The Branson Board of Aldermen meet for over six hours Tuesday night, over half of the meeting spent on hearing comments and debate on a proposed contract with the Department of Homeland Security.
The proposed bill was a Memorandum of Understanding requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for Branson Police Officers to receive training to perform certain immigration enforcement operations. The recap of the bill on the City's Website said the agreement does not take any law enforcement authority away from Branson Police and that the department has final say in participation of operations.
The proposal led to several citizens appearing before the council to speak out against the agreement, feeling that the presence of ICE in any form would be a determent to the Branson Tourism Community and led to a trust issue between citizens and police. Alderman Glen Schulz was among board members and stating that this does not mean ICE is coming to Branson with Police Chief Eric Schmitt adding that this is not going to lead to officers stopping individuals asking for papers.
In the end, the Board approved the bill on a 6-0 vote then due to timing issues on the contract, approved it on a second and final reading.
A complete video of the meeting can be found on the City of Branson Website.
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