Rain clouds covered the Omaha sky as Arshpal Singh’s semi sped down Interstate 80.
Near the 84th Street exit, the California driver lost control. The truck, carrying 13,000 pounds of candy, jackknifed and smashed into the concrete median, taking out a light pole. Singh, who was traveling slightly above the speed limit in wet conditions, got ticketed on suspicion of careless driving.
The day after the crash, an Omaha police officer who responded to the scene sent the citation in an email to Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson and asked him to “look into this driver.” The sheriff promptly forwarded the message to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Is this guy on your radar screen? This could have been fatal,” Hanson wrote to ICE officers Jason Francke and Matthew Miller last September.
Douglas County has no formal contracts to work with ICE, but the Flatwater Free Press found that its sheriff has regularly shared information on local incidents and affairs with immigration officials. The behind-the-scenes collaboration puts the Republican Hanson at odds with Democratic county leaders who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Since January 2025, Hanson has sent dozens of emails to ICE employees, occasionally referring specific cases like Singh’s to the agency, according to heavily redacted emails obtained by Flatwater through a public records request.
Hanson said collaborating with ICE on criminal matters is part of keeping Douglas County safe from bad actors who are in the country illegally. Hanson said the north star guiding his cooperation with ICE is the high-profile case of Eswin Mejia, an undocumented immigrant who killed 21-year-old Sarah Root in a 2016 car crash while driving drunk.
“I refuse to allow an innocent citizen in my community to be victimized by a criminal if I could have instead cooperated earlier with our partners in the federal government and removed that criminal from our community,” Hanson said in an interview.
Immigrant advocates, though, say Hanson is undermining trust in local law enforcement by elevating low-level offenders to ICE’s attention.
Douglas County Board Chairman Roger Garcia said the sheriff is “pushing the limits” of his authority by informally working with ICE. If immigrants know that county law enforcement is referring cases to the agency, they might be fearful to report crimes or call 911, said Garcia, a Democrat.
“They will think that local law enforcement is just going to send their name on to ICE,” he said.
Law experts say Hanson’s frequent communication with ICE is completely legal since Nebraska doesn’t have a “sanctuary” law that would limit cooperation with immigration authorities.
But other local law enforcement agencies have less robust relationships with ICE than Hanson.
The sheriffs of Lancaster and Sarpy counties said they have little contact with ICE. The Omaha Police Department may have referred specific cases to immigration officials on rare occasions when relevant to a major criminal case, but officers aren’t allowed to make informal referrals, a spokesman said.
Michelle Root, Sarah’s mother, backs Hanson’s approach. Sharing information with ICE on dangerous criminals could save the next innocent victim or help a family like theirs get justice, she said.
“We don’t want to see another family have to go through what we had to,” Root said. “We need to have things in place to protect the American citizens and the legal immigrants that are here.”
Brainstorming with ICE
Two months after Trump’s inauguration last year, Hanson sent an email to two local Homeland Security officials.
The subject line: “287(g)” — the name of a federal program that taps state and local police to enforce immigration law as an extension of ICE.
Hanson floated joining the program so that deputies could take custody of undocumented immigrants who get released from the Douglas County Department of Corrections before ICE can detain them, according to the March 2025 email. The sheriff added that he was open to talking about giving one deputy 287(g) status to “assist ICE with high risk criminals.”
After meeting with Hanson later that month, ICE deportation officer Jason Francke wrote in an email to him that their collaborative brainstorming “could lead to real change in reducing crime in Omaha with potential to be a model to the entire state.”
More than 2,000 law enforcement and correctional agencies, mostly in red states, have signed onto the 287(g) program since Trump’s return to office. But the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office isn’t among them.
Hanson never joined the program, but he said the problem he saw with the Douglas County Corrections remains since suspected criminals can post bail without local judges, police or correctional officials checking on their immigration status.
It’s a gap that Mejia exposed in 2016 after the crash that killed Sarah Root, Hanson said.
Mejia bailed out of the Douglas County Jail, fled to Honduras and was on the run until federal officials arranged for his extradition last year. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison.
Michelle Root supports Hanson’s previous proposal. If someone had contacted ICE when Mejia posted bail, she said, her family wouldn’t have had to endure a decade of heartache before getting justice.
“The majority of reasonable people in this county, regardless of how they feel about ICE, do not support a revolving door of people committing serious crimes and being released back out into our community when they’re in the country illegally,” Hanson said.
Garcia said he didn’t know Hanson had explored a 287(g) before reviewing records obtained by Flatwater. The sheriff should be consulting the County Board on major contracts with the federal government since it approves the sheriff’s budget, he said.
The board, which oversees the jail, wouldn’t support an agreement with ICE to use deputies’ time or county resources for immigration enforcement, Garcia said.
“I disagree with (the Sheriff’s Office) ever getting involved with immigration enforcement,” Garcia said. “If ICE needs to do something, let it be on their dime and with their personnel.”
As an elected office holder, Hanson said he doesn’t “have to ask the County Board’s permission to have any conversation with my peers.”
Mark Martinez, Hanson’s Democratic opponent in the November election, said enforcing immigration law isn’t part of the sheriff’s job, noting that his administration would “not divert personnel, time (or) tax money to assisting, collaborating or working with ICE.”
“My professional opinion is that that’s not a local responsibility,” Martinez said.
The Nebraska State Patrol, which joined the 287(g) program a year ago at Gov. Jim Pillen’s direction, has since helped fill the public safety gap surrounding the Douglas County Jail, Hanson said.
Under the agreement, troopers have taken custody of 38 Douglas County inmates on ICE’s behalf before their release from the jail, State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas said. Troopers then transported the inmates to other jails, where they remained detained by ICE as their immigration cases played out, he said.
ICE did not respond to a detailed list of questions. During a recent visit to Omaha, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the State Patrol’s 287(g) agreement helps protect the public from criminals who would otherwise be loose in the community.
“Thank goodness we’re in a state that works with us, and it keeps your public safe,” Mullin said at a press conference.
Across the metros
Other sheriffs in Nebraska’s urban counties say they don’t have much communication with ICE.
Sarpy County Sheriff Greg London said his office has no regular contact with ICE, and the agency doesn’t reach out very often. Emails obtained by Flatwater through a public records request back that up.
The only immigration-related email London received from a Homeland Security Investigations agent this year was a letter of commendation for a deputy who helped on a few cases.
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said he has very little contact with ICE, though deputies would help any federal law enforcement agency if called upon. Asked if he has referred cases to ICE, Wagner said, “I don’t know. I can’t answer that.”
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office estimated it would cost $2,500 to search for records requested by Flatwater. Douglas and Sarpy counties provided the same records for free.
Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson said other counties are fortunate not to have the challenges with gangs, guns and violence that Douglas County has.
“I’m glad that they don’t have to have the relationship with their federal partners that we do,” Hanson said.
Last October, Hanson pitched the County Board on a different kind of deal with ICE than the 287(g) he had proposed months earlier.
If the county jail agreed to hold people detained by ICE, it would allow Omahans in ICE custody, like those arrested during the Glenn Valley Foods raid, to be near their families and lawyers as their cases played out, he said. Plus, ICE would pay the county millions of dollars to house the detainees, he noted.
The County Board’s Democratic majority shut down the proposal without holding a vote.
“The true humanitarian choice is not to detain mothers, fathers, and workers who have no criminal record,” four Democratic County Board members wrote in an open letter to Hanson.
Paper trail
The Douglas County Sheriff Office’s lack of a formal agreement with ICE hasn’t stopped the sheriff from working with the agency on cases that come across his desk.
Flatwater identified a half-dozen times where Hanson forwarded ICE-specific cases from law enforcement reports and community tips since January 2025, but the total number of referrals could be higher. Records obtained by Flatwater are heavily redacted and include only some of the emails between Hanson and ICE officials.
The alleged offenses prompting Hanson’s referrals range from careless driving to sexual assault and armed robbery. In one case, Hanson asked ICE officers about the legal status of a man referenced in a community tip as a “dangerous vagrant.”
Hanson said he forwards cases to ICE when suspects present certain “identifiers,” such as not having a driver’s license or previously using different names. But there’s a clear boundary in the sheriff’s collaboration with the agency, he said.
The Sheriff’s Office does not work with ICE on civil immigration cases where there is no evidence of a crime, Hanson said. It would never refer victims or witnesses to ICE, he added.
“What you will not find in here is any emails (to ICE) that say, ‘Hey, I’m concerned about this cleaning lady who we contacted during an accident,’” Hanson said in an interview.
Omaha immigration attorney Nathan Dallon said Hanson’s “shadowy” ICE referrals suggest he is seeking to punish low-level offenders that he believes got off too easy with the local courts.
“He’s going to be referring over people he can’t tag for real crimes, but he wants them off the streets because he might have a political motive or … a prejudice,” Dallon said.
Hanson said that’s not true, noting that every case the Sheriff’s Office has referred to ICE “represents a significant offense.” Cooperation between the agencies has yielded positive results, he said.
Deputies helped federal authorities find a Salvadoran MS-13 gang kingpin in Omaha last year.
ICE detained one of Hanson’s referrals, a woman convicted of armed robbery, after her prison sentence ended, the sheriff said. The Sheriff’s Office recently called on ICE to help locate several fraud suspects living in other states.
Some red states, such as Texas and Florida, require local officials to work with ICE, while some blue states, such as New York and Illinois, bar that kind of cooperation through “sanctuary” laws.
In states like Nebraska where no law governs collaboration with ICE, it’s fairly common for local law enforcement to informally collaborate with the agency, said César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at Ohio State University.
Difference in philosophy
On at least three occasions, Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson forwarded ICE information about suspects from an Omaha Police Department email list called “Overnight Reports” that details nighttime arrests and police encounters.
Police spokesman Neal Bonacci told Flatwater that OPD shares the reports solely for law enforcement purposes and not to circumvent department policies. OPD provides names to federal immigration officials only “to further a major investigation,” he said.
“In light of this disclosure, the Omaha Police Department is re-evaluating the sharing of Omaha PD Overnight Reports with outside entities,” Bonacci said in an email.
Bonacci added that OPD officers may be investigated internally if they “unofficially forwarded information to any agency for any purpose other than official law enforcement action.”
Republican County Board member Mike Friend said that the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t appear to be overstepping its bounds by collaborating with ICE when someone is accused of breaking the law.
Immigration enforcement is a “political football” right now, Friend said, but local law enforcement has worked with federal authorities for years to maintain public safety.
Garcia argued that even though the sheriff’s collaboration with ICE isn’t illegal, it goes against “the spirit of the local funding that’s been approved for just local law enforcement.” Hanson said the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t allocate any staff or funds to aiding ICE.
The OPD officer who asked Hanson to look into Singh, the California truck driver, told the sheriff in an email that the case felt similar to a Florida case “where the driver spoke little to no English, had a California license, and killed a family making an illegal U-Turn.”
Hanson said in an interview that “some states are issuing commercial driver’s licenses to individuals with questionable immigration status, many of (whom) cannot read or speak English, which is a real concern for highway safety.”
Francke, the deportation officer, told the sheriff by email that Singh initially arrived illegally in 2022 but had gotten legal authorization to work while his application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was pending.
Singh, who did not return phone calls, later pleaded guilty to an infraction: failure to maintain lane.
20 Comments
I’m glad to hear Sheriff Hanson is cooperating with federal law enforcement authorities to have illegal immigrants held accountable for their willful decision to flout the laws of our nation.
It’s important to remember that illegal immigration is not a victimless crime, and it’s a myth that most illegal immigrants are “otherwise law abiding” individuals. Obtaining employment without legal authorization to do so is also a crime and often requires the commission of other crimes such as fraud and identity theft. Many American citizens have lost their lives to illegal immigrants who were driving, such as Sarah Root who died for that reason when an illegal immigrant was driving drunk in Omaha. In some other even more gruesome situations, illegal immigrants actively murder Americans, such as the sad case of Sheridan Gorman in Chicago.
Enforcing our immigration laws is a legitimate public safety issue. Attempts to downplay this by suggesting that it’s mean or unfair to immigrants is highly disrespectful to the Americans who have literally died because of this issue. It’s very disappointing to see Flatwater once again spreading propaganda and misinformation on this matter, but I am at least glad to hear that Nebraska law enforcement agencies are doing the right thing by helping to deport threats to our safety.
Hello, Logic Haver! I can see from the other FFP stories that you’ve had quite an active early morning in the comment sections. If you are trying to convince us that you are a woman with a Spanish-sounding last name, you probably shouldn’t be active under your other monikers at the exact same time.
You missed the joke. Kinda sad only one person has gotten it so far.
This “argument” (such as it is) boils down to nothing more than a personal attack, based purely on the assumption that you know who posted a message in an anonymous comment section based on what time of day the comment was posted. Even if your uneducated guess we’re to be correct, it would still be both fallacious and against the (unenforced) rules of this site.
While I agree that illegal immigrants who pose a danger should be deported, it’s a simple fact that the current administration’s use of ICE isn’t doing that. A tiny fraction of the deportees they’ve deported since Jan 2025 have a violent criminal conviction. The vast majority either have no criminal record or convicted of some nonviolent misdemeanor.
Folks can’t have it both ways. The government only has so many resources and by spending all these resources on deporting folks who pose no danger to Americans, they’re not focusing on the real threats, like sex or drug trafficking. This administration has actually declined some 23,000 ongoing cases in 2025 that include things like corruption, drugs, violence, and so on to focus on deportations.
Yes, focus on and deport those who rape or kill. But unfortunately and contrary to the claims of this administration’s ICE, that’s not what they’re doing.
Diversion and obfuscation.
I didn’t ever say that “only” immigrants who are “violent” should be deported. In fact my post was a preemptive effort to block that sophistry by pointing out that all illegal immigrants commit crimes such as identity theft and fraud. Even when these crimes are not “violent” they create real victims and there is no rational reason why we would allow active criminals to remain in our community.
Furthermore, even if the “only crime” an illegal immigrant were to commit were immigration violations, that by itself is still more than enough reason for that individual to be deported. Illegal immigration is an ongoing crime. Every day that an illegal immigrant remains within our borders, the crime is still happening. The only way the crime can be stopped is for the offender to be deported.
Imagine this: You find an unwelcome individual is trespassing on your private property. Even after catching him and informing him he needs to leave, he simply ignores you and continues to linger on your property. So you call the police. When the police arrive, they tell the trespasser he is very naughty and he really aught to be nicer to you. But the police leave without doing anything else and the trespasser remains!
That is effectively what you are arguing for. A trespasser doesn’t need to be “violent” to commit the crime of trespass, and by the same standard an illegal immigrant does not need to commit other “violent” crimes to be deserving of deportation. Being here illegally was already a crime and the only way for the crime to end is for the individual to be removed.
““He’s going to be referring over people he can’t tag for real crimes, but he wants them off the streets because he might have a political motive or … a prejudice,” Dallon said.”
What a dirty, scummie allegation. Why would FFP print it?
Here’s a proper rewrite, following basic journalistic standards:
“He’s going to be referring over people he can’t tag for real crimes, but he wants them off the streets because he might have a political motive or … a prejudice,” Dallon said, without providing any evidence of such motives.
Keep up the good work, Sheriff Hanson.
These “immigrant advocates” do not like what you are doing because it hits them in their pocketbooks. Shame on them.
Keep on keeping us safe.
Sheriff Hanson is doing the job that he is elected to do. Keeping the community safe. There are certain folk who want to misinterpret the work he is doing and label it as “collaborating or working” with ICE. Guess what law enforcement at certain points need to do exactly that, if there are potential threats to our safety whether that individual is undocumented or not. In their desire to see a “Latino” candidate for sheriff, they are demonizing the man who is already doing a great job. The other candidate for Sheriff has not worked in law enforcement for almost two decades, allowed his credentials to expire, claims he “will not work with ICE”. How so, as a legal professional, I understand the complexities that can arise with this marketing rhetoric. He was hosted yesterday to the ad hoc Latino group, Las Voces, not more than 15 attendees, he skirted all the hard questions and came across as arrogant, smug and defensive. This group, a Latino group, cut Martinez no slack in their questioning. Mark’s desire to return to law enforcement is strictly a political move. He may have been qualified years ago to serve, but he is out of touch and not well equipped for the job now. Sheriff Hanson, has been working with various community members in a low key fashion. Most recently advocating and assisting a Latina mother whose child suffered sexual abuse by her own father. There are many other situations that I can name. I did reach out to Mark on the DV issue for help. No response from him. This is how it will be if he is elected. SMH.
Thanks Hanson! Let’s get this country cleaned up.
Do we suppose, at some point in this evolution of this country, we’ll get to a place where we stop persecuting immigrants? I and most of the other white people I know in this country are the descendants of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers somewhere in our family tree. I know pointing out all the facts related to undocumented immigrants will do nothing to change the minds of myopic, xenophobic, shallow thinkers. No internet comment has ever changed anyone’s mind or heart. Still, given the majority of the comments now visible on this article, I felt compelled to leave a note for those with a more comprehensive and fact-based understanding and more sophisticated critical thinking ability to assure them they are not alone. I don’t care where you were born; no one deserves a death sentence for a traffic ticket. I am deeply disturbed to see so many of my neighbors cheering for this.
Thank you for assuring those of us who are well educated, aware of the facts and using critical thinking skills of our certitude. I really appreciate that, since I qualify as all those things.
Unfortunately, you seem a bit misinformed on this one. The facts support immigration enforcement. Logic dictates that when an immigrant trespasses in a country where they lack legal authorization to be, asking them to leave is completely reasonable. And arguing that “most” of the “white people” you personally “know” had illegal immigrant ancestors is anecdotal. The grand sum of your comment is basically just an appeal to emotion, or what might be more colloquially known as a guilt trip.
Sorry, but I don’t feel any guilt that police are enforcing the law in this case. Immigration law is still law.
Don’t reply to the trolls. That’s what they want.
The question is not why Sheriff Hanson wants to work together with federal authorities to arrest criminals and solve crime.
The question is why the Flatwater Free Press and other Democrats are so insistent that these criminals run free in Omaha?
What is wrong with FWFP? These are not illegal immigrants. They are illegal aliens, an immigrant has the intention of becoming a citizen. Trump has been resident for months. For months, the entire nation has known the intent of this administration is to deport those who did not come here legally whether they are so called “good citizens” or not. If they were “good citizens” they would start by working to become citizens. It’s been months, how many of those who are picked up are in the process of becoming legal? If they are here without a visa, none of them because the process starts in their home country. They are breaking the law.
Why is it that law breaking is decried only when it is done by the Trump Administration? Or by any white man.
And I will add they are not “good citizens”. I am from a town in Western Kansas near 3 feedlots and a dairy. We used to have a remarkably clean little town, now there are dead cars on lawns, junk piled up, dog feces in yards that can be detected across the street by smell alone, large dogs chained up outside with no shelter from heat or cold or wet conditions. If they thought America was so great that they wanted to risk their lives to get here, why are they trashing it?
Bravo for this sheriff, I wish more were like him.
Criminals begin with small acts that result in bigger ones. Coming here illegally, obtaining false documents, are not small crimes. Not learning or obeying our misdemeanors is illegal and shows a disrespect for our laws. Sheriff Hanson is doing his job by striving to identify illegals who put themselves in the crosshairs of our laws. He isn’t out looking for them. This is precisely how illegals should be identified ; through crimes they commit, not in roundups. I am disappointed in this article. It began with a half truth. Come on Jeremy, what is “slightly” over the speed limit. Perhaps if you had written how fast he was going, there would be no story. I am a fan of FWP, but this article is definitely slanted.
My first reply apparently didn’t make it past the approvers.
I ask you, how is it you find it easy to write about all the alleged crimes of Republican administrations, federal and state but you cannot admit that persons who came to this country illegally are in fact criminals as soon as they set foot in the US?
The Sheriff is doing his job which is to enforce the law, including reporting illegal aliens. These are not immigrants. By definition, an immigrant intends to stay. They assimilate. These are illegal aliens. It’s all about $$$$$. Better wages? OK, well get a work visa, keep it current and do not hide in the shadows. This entitles them to better wages than those who sneak around and are subject to threats of deportation by those who would take advantage of a way to deprive a person of just wages, that is not even to mention the danger the travelers are in, especially children and women.
Come on Flatwater Press. Show the other side.
Wow, 2 comments of mine did not make it past the approvers with no reason given. I wasn’t unkind or untruthful, only pointed.
Some Free Press, huh?
This is a very insightful look into the complex intersection of local law enforcement, immigration policy, and community trust. Highlighting the balance between public safety initiatives and the potential chilling effect on immigrant communities who might fear reaching out to authorities underscores the deep delicate nature of these jurisdictional collaborations. Reporting that unpacks these behind-the-scenes inter-agency dynamics is so crucial for fostering public accountability and informed debate on local governance. Excellent share—thank you!
“Reporting that unpacks these behind-the-scenes inter-agency dynamics is so crucial for fostering public accountability and informed debate on local governance.”
“Behind the scenes”? The collaboration between DCSO and other agencies is no secret–it’s all public. Not sure what you’re referring to.
” potential chilling effect on immigrant communities ”
Investigating crime, and pursuing criminal prosecutions, should NEVER be contingent on some [imagined] chilling effect. Victims deserve better…we all deserve more.
“If immigrants know that county law enforcement is referring cases to the agency, they might be fearful to report crimes or call 911, said Garcia, a Democrat.”
Well … again, FFP provided no context or verification for this assertion.
Re-write:
“If immigrants know that county law enforcement is referring cases to the agency, they might be fearful to report crimes or call 911, said Garcia, a Democrat, who provided no evidence for his claim.”
Fixed..