I'm Paris Jackson in the Cascade PBS newsroom.

The immigration enforcement surge here in portions of Washington, and more prominently in states like Minnesota, is creating a climate of fear, but also protests across the country.

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders has been vocal about the actions of ICE agents and we reached out to him to get his perspective.

Sanders says so far, there hasn't been a lot of ICE activity in Thurston County, but that could change.

-So, I think there's some conflicting messages out there about exactly who is being targeted and for what reasons.

You know, sometimes we're told we're only going after the hardened criminals.

Other times, you know, I just watched my friend who is a veteran get hauled off in his wheelchair, because he showed up to his naturalization meeting and, you know, didn't have his correct paperwork in hand.

It's one of those issues that's highly political.

And ultimately, it's going to probably dictate the course of the next presidential election.

-Given the volatile and violent situations resulting in people being killed, we asked Sheriff Sanders if ICE agents actions have put a negative stain on law enforcement.

-What you're going to find with me and kind of my perspective on the world, and especially in law enforcement, is that two things can be true at the same time.

You know, for instance, you can support police and then also recognize that some police officers need to be held accountable when they commit misconduct.

And so I feel the same way about about the situation with ICE.

I've seen some tactics that are pretty concerning and aren't really in the industry standard.

I've also seen some, some pretty tough scenarios that they're in where they're outnumbered, people are swarming them and those types of things.

-Sanders says he's calling for there to be a balance, and says the state and federal government need to work together.

I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for watching The Newsfeed, your destination for nonprofit Northwest news.

Find us at CascadePBS.org.