Local police reported hundreds of migrants to immigration enforcement in the past few years. Forty-three agencies in Michigan made at least one referral to federal agents, including six Michigan State Police units and local departments across metro Detroit and elsewhere in the state.
Use our searchable database to see where law enforcement reported people to immigration authorities, or see a full list below.
Here are some more key points from our investigation.
Michigan police made at least 388 immigration referrals
Law enforcement agencies across the state recorded at least 388 encounters involving federal immigration agencies between 2021-26.
Read the full investigation co-published with Outlier Media.
Lee la versión en español.
This is the most comprehensive available count of police calls to immigration authorities in Michigan in recent years, but it almost certainly undercounts the full scale of the practice. We don’t know whether every person in the dataset was ultimately detained or deported.
Local police collaboration intensified after Trump returned to office
Cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities isn’t new. But the number of recorded arrests and referrals surged after Donald Trump’s second inauguration in 2025.
Some agencies made dozens of referrals in 2025 and 2026, compared with few or none from 2021 through 2024.
Your community’s response
Local police collaboration with federal immigration authorities is widespread but often goes unnoticed. Residents in cities like Livonia have questioned the practice, prompting policy changes.
Many encounters began with minor violations or no violation
People were reported to immigration authorities after encounters involving issues like a cracked windshield, jaywalking, a broken-down car or simply an officer's “suspicion.”
In some cases, officers appeared to use a minor violation as a pretext to investigate a person’s immigration status, according to experts who reviewed records for this story.
Police advocates offered a different interpretation, saying officers were generally responding to violations they observed and were not necessarily acting with an ulterior motive.
Some chiefs warn immigration arrests damage trust
Experts and some police chiefs say these interactions can discourage migrants and others from reporting crimes or cooperating with investigations.
Melvindale Police Chief Chris Egan said he wants residents to “know that law enforcement isn’t going to automatically lead to immigration or deportation,” because that trust is necessary to “encourage crime reporting and cooperation for investigations.”
These Michigan police agencies reported people to immigration authorities
Officers from these departments made at least one referral to immigration authorities like U.S. Customs and Border Protection between 2021-26:
- Auburn Hills Police Department
- Brighton Police Department
- Brownstown Police Department
- Center Line Department of Public Safety
- Center Line Police Department
- Dearborn Police Department
- Detroit Police Department
- Fraser Department of Public Safety
- Grand Blanc Township Police Department
- Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety
- Hamburg Township Police
- Hastings Police Department
- Highland Park Police Department
- Huntington Woods Department of Public Safety
- Huron Township Police Department
- Livonia Police Department
- Macomb County Sheriff’s Office
- Madison Heights Police Department
- Marysville Police Department
- Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office
- Melvindale Police Department
- Michigan State Police (MSP) Houghton Lake Post
- MSP Investigative Support Section
- MSP Lapeer Post
- MSP Metro North Post
- MSP Metro South Post
- MSP Monroe Post
- Oakland County Sheriff’s Office
- Otsego County Sheriff’s Office
- Romulus Police Department
- Roseville Police Department
- Royal Oak Police
- St. Clair Shores Police Department
- Shelby Township Police Department
- Southgate Police Department
- Sterling Heights Police Department
- Taylor Police Department
- Trenton Police Department
- Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office
- Van Buren Township Department of Public Safety
- Warren Police Department
- Westland Police Department
- Wyandotte Police Department
Agencies not represented here may still have had immigration arrests or referrals.
Don’t see your police department on this list? Use this template to find out if it’s helping immigration enforcement. Make a copy of the form, fill out the highlighted portions, and email it to your municipality’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator.
