Two days after angry local residents packed a Center Line city council meeting, city leaders rescinded its police department's contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
The agreement, under ICE's "287(g)" program, authorized the police department for the small Macomb County community to act on ICE's behalf and arrest people suspected of being undocumented.
Resident Amanda Ressler said she was one of those who urged the mayor and city council to get out of the contract.
"This agreement has been known for promoting racial profiling," she said. "And it costs the city money, and leaves taxpayers in the dark when we call for emergencies if the officers are busy with these ICE tasks."
Ressler said she was also concerned about the city aligning itself with ICE, after watching videos of violent arrests by federal agents in Chicago and other cities.
Christine Sauvé is with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She said letting local police do the work of ICE puts everyone in a community at risk.
"How do they know if someone may have committed an immigration violation? They tend to rely on skin color, if someone speaks English with an accent, so it really amounts to racial profiling," Sauvé said.
Sauvé said there's also a risk of costly lawsuits for cities that enter into the contracts, should local law enforcement officers wrongfully apprehend or hurt residents who are U.S. citizens, or who otherwise have the legal right to be in the U.S.
In a press release, the City of Center Line said its objective was "to provide officers with an understanding of immigration laws, multicultural communication, and racial profiling avoidance training."
"Furthermore, Center Line (police officers) would be able to address any perceived immigration violations identified at the point of contact with an individual who has violated Center Line ordinances or state laws. Nothing more… After listening to the public comments and discussing the 287(g) MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with City Council members and the Mayor of Center Line, the City Manager has determined that it is in the City’s best interest to withdraw its MOA with ICE."
Three other local law enforcement agencies in Michigan have entered into the same kind of ICE arrest authority agreements: Taylor Police Department, Crawford County Sheriff's Office, and Roscommon County Sheriff's Office.
The City of West Branch has applied for that program as well. Its participation is pending.
Under the 287(g) program, ICE has a separate contract that trains local police how to check the immigration status of people they arrest for other reasons, such as driving under the influence. They are not authorized to arrest someone solely on suspicion of being undocumented. The contracts allow the agencies to hold an arrested person who may be undocumented in their jails for two days, to allow ICE agents enough time to take them into custody.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Berrien County Sheriff's Office, and Calhoun County Sheriff's Office participate in that part of the program.
According to ICE, "the 287(g) program allows ICE — through the delegation of specified immigration officer duties — to enhance collaboration with state and local law enforcement partners to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of aliens who undermine the safety of our nation’s communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws."
ICE does not currently reimburse local law enforcement for the costs involved in assisting ICE.
