In the course of my 32-year law enforcement career, I came to understand community safety as the reason law enforcement work truly matters.

That may seem obvious, but at this moment, it’s worth looking at why it’s so important — and what community safety really means.

I became a police officer thinking I knew what the job was. I learned quickly that it was much different from what I expected.

Early in my career, I had the opportunity to work as an investigator. I had two years on the job. I thought I was going to be investigating the kind of cases you see immortalized in movies. Instead, I was given the sexual assault and domestic violence caseload.

I was 25, and I lacked the prerequisite empathy, training, and life experience to understand the complexities of such crimes. I really did not want to do that work. I asked my boss, “Why me?” The response from my boss was simple: “If not you, who?”

Most sex abuse cases involve children and women. My first case involved a little girl around 8 years old. I still remember how I walked into a cold and sterile interview room and introduced myself to the child and the adult accompanying her.

After my introduction, the child walked toward me and embraced me. She would not let go. I can still feel the fear and anxiety in her embrace. She was sobbing. I knew at that moment that I needed to grow up fast.

Working with victims of abuse and violence opened my eyes to the many inequities that exist in society and within our system of justice. I met so many people who lacked support and voice. Victims are vulnerable and police officers should protect them.

Protecting victims, and the community, is the essence of community safety. Later in my career, I came to realize that fulfilling that obligation requires protecting everyone — regardless of their legal status.

This is why I am concerned to see reports that some victims of crime are being deported despite having a pending U Visa, which offers legal protection to crime victims here without authorization.

Building trust while acknowledging vulnerability within the community has never been easy. The last 13 years of my career, I proudly served as Marshalltown’s chief of police. This city is the only place in my adult life that has felt like home, and it has everything to do with the other people who also call it home. Marshalltown is a wonderfully diverse community.

Serving as a law enforcement officer in a racially and culturally diverse community opens your heart and your mind to the inequity and the challenges your neighbors face while navigating deepening political division. Lately, even against a backdrop of misleading rhetoric about minority and immigrant communities, I have seen Marshalltown show what kindness and community look like.

But that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built over the years, and an officer in the field needs the tools to earn that trust.

Early in my tenure as police chief in Marshalltown, I had a community meeting with a delegation from the local Latino community. Going into this meeting, I was concerned about what might happen. At the time, the police department did not have a good relationship with the community, in general.

We lacked trust. I was certain this meeting would be negative.

I learned quickly how wrong I was. What did people want? They wanted to be heard. They wanted a partner. They wanted to help build a safer community with law enforcement.

With foreign neighbors, there are basic things an officer can offer. One is the possibility of collaborating with us without fear of being deported. U visas have been a tool to guarantee that collaboration.

Official data shows that nearly half a million immigrants are still awaiting decisions on U visa applications. Legislative proposals such as the Immigrant Witness and Victim Protection Act –recently reintroduced by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-California, — aim to reduce these backlogs and protect immigrant victims and witnesses.

When our immigrant neighbors feel confident in their local police, officers can fulfill their mission to protect everyone — and together, we create a safer community for all. On the other hand, having local police collaborating with federal immigration authorities and deporting foreign victims who had the courage to speak up only hurts us all.

Talking about this topic is easier for me as a retired chief of police. I recognize that immigration reform and advocacy have never been more challenging than they are today.

The current political climate is harsh and confrontational, placing police officers in a difficult position. Yet, with the support of their communities, they must persevere in protecting all residents.

Keeping everyone safe means not having anyone stay silent when they are a victim who needs us to stand with them.

I ask all of us — but especially my fellow law enforcement officers, especially in Iowa, to remember that our work matters. You are making a difference. And I ask what my first boss asked me: “If not us, who?”

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Michael Tupper, a native of Iowa and former chief of police in Marshalltown, retired in early 2025 following a 32-year career in law enforcement. He also has served as one of the leaders of the Law Enforcement Immigration

Task Force (LEITF).