Unannounced Immigration Arrests Prompt Safety Questions
With immigration raids popping up without warning across the country, law enforcement and elected officials have raised safety concerns as community members don’t know if they are witnessing a deportation effort or if they should report a crime.
As masked plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents arrest individuals in homes, businesses and courthouses, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said back in July that federal action is needed to ensure public safety. In a video statement last summer, Nessel said ICE practices where agents do not identify themselves place local law enforcement, good actors and ICE agents themselves at risk when there is confusion over why an unidentified person is trying to place another person into custody.
“These tactics present not just a shocking escalation of unscrupulous police tactics. It also presents a significant danger for residents and officers alike,” Nessel said in a video statement in July. “We’ve already seen cases where bad actors are simulating this behavior to apprehend whomever they want and it’s only a matter of time before an officer is seriously hurt by a good guy attempting to stop what appears to be a kidnapping right before their own eyes.”
Current information at the time of this article’s publication on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website reads:
“ICE law enforcement officers wear masks to prevent doxing, which can (and has) placed them and their families at risk. All ICE law enforcement officers carry badges and credentials and will identify themselves when required for public safety or legal necessity.”
In order to address more than 5,000 emails the department has received sharing concerns and believed accounts of misconduct by ICE agents in the state, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office launched an online reporting form in February for individuals to submit evidence of illegal activity by federal immigration officials.
East Lansing Info in recent days sent information requests to local law enforcement agencies in the Greater Lansing Area inquiring about what residents should do if they witness suspicious behavior by individuals they suspect may be federal immigration officials. East Lansing Police Department Capt. Adrian Ojerio advised that the department has a published policy of “equal enforcement under the law and service to all individuals regardless of their immigration status” and the department advises concerned parties to “comply with law enforcement / call 911” if they have concerns with immigration agents’ actions.
And that’s what residents did in Meridian Township in October, according to Meridian Township Assistant Chief of Police Bart Crane.
Federal agents were spotted by residents in Meridian Township back on Oct. 9 causing confusion and concern in the area. Township Supervisor Scott Hendrickson said at the time that the township was alerted that federal agents would be present in the township the morning they arrived and the township was given no insight into why the agents were present.
“Meridian Township officials, including law enforcement officers, were not at any time involved in these operations, and they do not assist federal agents solely acting on the purpose of enforcing immigration laws,” Hendrickson said at the time of the incident. “Our residents deserve to feel secure in their own homes, their places of work, and in their community, and the Meridian Township Board urges our residents to be safe and understand their rights if they are confronted by these agents.”
Hendrickson identified the agents as members of ICE, which was a misunderstanding, Crane told ELi, identifying the agents as Customs and Border Protection agents, which also deal with immigration enforcement.
But the public did the right thing calling law enforcement to alert the township to something that didn’t look right, Crane said.
“They saw some people and they weren’t sure, so they called us and we verified who the folks were,” Crane told ELi in October. “So the public recognized something that looked out of place to them and they made a phone call.”
Regardless, municipalities should have a verification protocol to address 911 calls concerning unconfirmed law-enforcement presence and activity, East Lansing resident and Michigan State University Anthropology Professor Adan L. Quan said, notably when individuals claim to be federal agents.
Federal enforcement operations have been happening in cities with, at times, no notice to local law enforcement agencies, Quan said, adding that it compounds danger for public safety officers to have to navigate confirming federal agents’ identities.
In a January email to East Lansing City Council members, Quan presented a verification protocol that was adopted by Evanston, Illinois in the wake of increased ICE presence in the area in October where local law enforcement will respond to 911 calls about immigration agents and work to identify the agents.
“This is verification, not obstruction,” Quan wrote to East Lansing City Council members back in January. “The protocol does not interfere with legitimate federal operations. It simply establishes who is present and confirms they are lawful actors. This protects residents from impersonators while also protecting any legitimate agents from false accusations.”
Quan told ELi that incident in Meridian Township back in October was an eye opener for seeing the need for clear consistent policy in East Lansing for identifying immigration agents for the interest of public safety, noting in his email to City Council that Meridian Township police handled residents’ concerns with good judgement, but a formal protocol could help ensure inquiries are each handled in such a manner.
And just because immigration enforcement efforts in Michigan have been more visible in larger cities in the state like Detroit and Grand Rapids, doesn’t mean that East Lansing may not find itself in need of a policy like what Evanston has, Quan said.
A plan for identifying immigration officials and alerting local law enforcement of suspected misconduct by federal agents would be helpful for residents, Michigan United Executive Director Ken Whittaker said.
Michigan United, a statewide nonprofit organization focused on environmental, immigration and mass incarceration reform, has been performing ‘know your rights’ training in the Detroit area, Whittaker said. The goal is to provide information to residents to help them keep themselves and their neighbors safe amid federal agents’ presence.
“That’s why residents feel almost alone and depend on NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to help guide them through this process. We can speak to ‘know your rights’, but ICE is violating people’s rights. So even that only goes so far,” Whittaker said.
In lieu of clarity from local governments and public safety agencies when it comes to identifying ICE’s presence in Detroit and Metro Detroit, Whittaker said advocates have handed out thousands of whistles so that when individuals see federal agents in their area, they can alert nearby neighbors to their presence.
It’s imperative that local residents know their rights, Whittaker said, adding that advocates are tirelessly informing residents that ICE agents need a warrant with the person’s name listed that has been signed by a judge to enter private homes.
Residents should record suspicious activity and keep each other informed of federal agents’ movements, Whittaker said, lest Michigan become the backdrop to the next Renée Good, Alex Pretti or Keith Porter Jr., who have all been killed in recent months by ICE agents.