SIKESTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents detained four individuals Saturday night at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo after questions about their immigration status arose during age-verification checks for 21-and-over wristbands, according to local law enforcement agencies.Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a news release issued Sunday, Aug. 9, rodeo attendees seeking the wristbands present identification at designated checkpoints, where technology is used to verify age, the identification’s validity and whether an ID has been scanned more than once. When an ID could not be verified through the checkpoint system, staff requested assistance from a uniformed officer, the sheriff said.“The Sikeston rodeo attracts people from throughout the United States and other countries,” Wheetley said. “It is not unusual for identification from Mexico, South Africa, Australia and other countries to be presented. When an international identification is presented and additional verification is needed, a uniformed law enforcement officer is requested to assist in verifying the identification and the person’s age.”On Saturday night, this occurred on several occasions, Wheetley said. During those contacts, information obtained during the verification process raised issues regarding the individuals’ immigration status. ICE agents who were already present at the rodeo responded, and the individuals were detained by those federal agents.Wheetley said ICE agents had attended the rodeo since its first night on Wednesday, Aug. 5, and were not randomly approaching people to ask about immigration status.The Scott County Sheriff’s Office, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies throughout our region, has officers assigned to work with ICE through federal partnerships, Wheetley said. Scott County Sheriff’s Office's decision was based primarily on two reasons.“First, our priority is public safety,” Wheetley said. “We want the ability to identify and address individuals who are unlawfully in this country and are committing violent crimes or otherwise creating serious problems in Scott County, regardless of what country they came from.”Second, the sheriff’s office participates in the federal 287(g) program, through which trained local officers can help verify immigration-related information and work with federal authorities. Participation in the 287(g) program helps make encounters with immigration-related matters more efficient, Wheetley said. “Local law enforcement has dealt with these situations for many years,” Wheetley said. In the past, when an officer encountered someone believed to have entered the country unlawfully or remained after the expiration of a visa or authorized period of stay, resolving that person's status could tie up an officer for an extended period while waiting for federal immigration authorities to respond.”The sheriff said the detentions were made by ICE agents, not Scott County Sheriff’s Office task force officers. Sikeston Department of Public Safety also addressed the issue in a news release Sunday, Aug. 9. ICE personnel attended all four nights of the rodeo, which was Aug. 5-8, as part of efforts to increase cooperation and working relationships between federal and local law enforcement agencies, DPS said. The department echoed the sheriff's office, saying ICE was not conducting an immigration raid or general immigration enforcement operation involving rodeo attendees.According to Sikeston DPS, checks after the identification-verification contacts showed all four people had existing immigration-related matters in federal systems. ICE personnel handled those matters under federal authority. The agencies said ICE did not randomly select or approach attendees regarding their immigration status.The Standard Democrat has also reached out to ICE and the Sikeston Jaycees for comment.Story Tags