Detroit officials are raising alarms about an impending ICE storm, and it’s not related to the Siberian Express that brought subzero wind chills to the Motor City this week.
“I’ve been getting reports and videos of ICE going into people’s homes,” Detroit City Councilwoman Gabby Santiago-Romero posted with a video to Instagram on Tuesday, referring to agents with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
“For the sake of abundant caution, every Detroiter needs to know their rights and the rights of our undocumented immigrants,” she wrote. “Essentially, ICE cannot enter your property unless they have a signed warrant from a judge. We’re working on another Know Your Rights training. We’re asking everyone to be on the lookout for your neighbor.
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“We’re also working on a communication platform where we can share reports of ICE activity in real time,” the post read.
Santiago-Romero said in the included video that reports prompted her to patrol southwest Detroit in an attempt to witness the ICE activity in person.
“I came out to try to find ICE in real time, and quite frankly I was too late,” she said.
The post follows a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th POTUS and immediately signed executive orders to launch the largest deportation of illegal immigrants in the history of the United States.
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“All illegal entry will be halted,” Trump said in his inauguration address on Monday. “And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
Trump also vowed to “use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.”
Neither Santiago-Romero nor Detroit ICE officials returned messages from the Detroit Free Press seeking comment about the councilwoman’s claims.
Detroit Police previously told the news site that while the city is not a designated sanctuary for illegal immigrants, it is a “welcoming city” that doesn’t enforce federal immigration law.
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“Whenever DPD makes a criminal arrest, DPD does not shelter any suspect from federal immigration enforcement,” according to the DPD statement, which noted the agency works with ICE in criminal cases.
Santiago-Romero is one of many Democratic politicians in Michigan taking issue with Trump’s efforts to address what he describes as “a national emergency at our southern border,” which also includes an executive order ending birthright citizenship.
“The 14th Amendment was ratified 157 years ago. Trump cannot just override our Constitution with an executive order,” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, posted to X on Tuesday. “The president does not have the authority to end birthright citizenship.”
“No matter what Donald Trump says or does, birthright citizenship has and will be the law of the land,” Congressman Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, agreed in his own X post. “I will fight to protect it at all costs.”
It was the same message from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who announced Tuesday she joined her counterparts in other states on Tuesday in a legal challenge to Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship.
“Birthright citizenship is a basic right granted to all Americans born on United States soil with historic roots and long-lasting implications for the states and their residents,” Nessel said in a statement. “It is disappointing that in the first hours of this incoming administration, the first perceived enemy President Trump has struck against is the U.S. Constitution.”
Illegal immigrants and supporters in Michigan, meanwhile, are demanding sanctuary protections from deportation, or vowing to shield information from federal authorities.
“In extremely cold weather, at least 100 protesters are marching through downtown Grand Rapids calling for no deportations under the Trump administration,” WOOD TV reporter Byron Tollefson posted to X on Monday, along with a video of the protest. “An organizer with Movimento Cosecha tells me they also want Grand Rapids to be declared a sanctuary city.”
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In nearby Wyoming, officials with Wyoming Public Schools sent a letter to parents on Tuesday to address “concerns … about the potential for immigration enforcement in or near schools, and whether such actions might disrupt students’ access to education.
“Current guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identifies schools as ‘protected areas,’ emphasizing that immigration enforcement actions should not occur in or near schools except under extraordinary circumstances,” the letter read.
“Wyoming Public Schools has policies in place to safeguard student information and privacy. We consult legal counsel to guarantee compliance with laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the confidentiality of student records,” it continued. “These measures, along with our vigilance in maintaining a secure environment, help ensure that every student feels safe and supported.”