Steve Neavling
Activists are calling on Mayor Mike Duggan to prevent the police department from helping federal immigration agents.
A coalition demanding police transparency and accountability is calling on Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to stop the city’s police department from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a controversial immigration raid that led to three arrests, including two protesters.
In a letter sent to Duggan last week, the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability urged Duggan to direct the Detroit Police Department to adopt a “non-cooperation” policy with ICE and take steps to protect Detroiters from federal immigration enforcement. The call comes after a June 30 raid on the city’s west side, where federal agents and local police surrounded a home with rifles drawn and arrested a man from Honduras.
“These are urgent times with Federal Agents and actions threatening the basic rights of all of us,” the coalition wrote. “We urge you to take immediate and public action on this life-altering matter.”
The group outlined 10 demands, including stopping any DPD assistance with ICE raids, ceasing all data-sharing with immigration agents, requiring officers to document and publicly report all ICE-related requests, and training officers to monitor and intervene when federal agents violate constitutional rights.
In public statements, Detroit police have insisted they do not enforce immigration laws and do not inquire about immigration status when interacting with residents. But DPD policy does allow for regular cooperation with ICE under certain conditions.
In a policy statement obtained by Metro Times, the department emphasizes that Detroit is a “Welcoming City,” not a sanctuary city, and outlines its procedures for dealing with immigration-related matters. Among them:
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DPD does not conduct immigration enforcement or question individuals about their immigration status.
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DPD enters all arrestee information, including place of birth and fingerprints, into Michigan’s Livescan system, which ICE regularly monitors.
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If ICE submits a “properly executed detainer,” DPD honors the request and allows federal agents to take custody of the individual.
Steve Neavling
Activists gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit in June to protest immigrants getting detained after their hearings.
“DPD does not engage in immigration enforcement but … regularly cooperates with federal officials in their law enforcement efforts,” the policy states.
In a statement to Metro Times, Duggan’s spokesman John Roach said the policy is clear that immigration enforcement belongs to federal authorities.
“For the past 12 years, the Detroit Police Department has had a clear policy that recognizes immigration enforcement is entirely the job of federal authorities, not local law enforcement,” Roach said. “It also recognizes that when ICE issues a detainer for an individual already in the custody of local law enforcement on a criminal case, the local agency must honor that detainer.”
That cooperation was evident June 30 when Detroit officers were present during the ICE raid and helped manage the crowd of demonstrators who gathered to protest the arrest. Videos of the incident show DPD officers detaining protesters, deploying pepper spray, and pursuing a man who tried to block a law enforcement vehicle.
Police Chief James White said officers were there solely to maintain peace and ensure public safety, but protesters claim DPD’s actions amount to assisting ICE.
The debate over DPD’s role in immigration enforcement comes at a politically sensitive moment for Duggan, who is running for Michigan governor as an independent. Earlier this year, Duggan used tougher rhetoric on immigration, drawing criticism from immigrant advocates.
“If you are in this country illegally, we should not be shielding you from ICE and federal enforcement, and the city of Detroit does not,” Duggan said at a Detroit Regional Chamber event in January. “We’re not a sanctuary city.”
The Board of Police Commissioners, which is tasked with civilian oversight of DPD, passed a resolution last month opposing a federal executive order that expands ICE authority and calling for greater local control. But critics say the board has been co-opted by Duggan appointees and lacks the independence to hold police accountable.
As Metro Times has previously reported, Duggan’s administration has steadily increased its influence over the board, which is supposed to function as a civilian watchdog. His appointees now hold the chair and vice chair positions, and critics say they routinely side with the police department.
“As an almost 12-year Mayor of Detroit, you have exercised the tremendous power of the Mayor’s office over the BOPC and DPD, despite the theoretical independence and civilian oversight the City Charter outlines,” the coalition’s letter states.
Roach defended the police department’s current policy.
“DPD’s policy has worked well across the last four US presidencies,” Roach said. “There is nothing in [Trump’s executive order] or the BOPC resolution that warrants a change to DPD’s longstanding immigration enforcement policy.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
