A bill proposed by a group of Democratic state Senators would bar most immigration enforcement from what it considered “sensitive locations” which include schools, hospitals, social service centers, and places of worship.
Some faith leaders testified to the importance of such protections for their communities in Senate hearings, and said their religious values cohere with the bill.
The measure feels especially poignant at this time of year, said Bishop David Bard of the United Methodist Church.
"After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary and Jesus had to flee to Egypt, fleeing persecution,” Bard told Michigan Public, adding that the “family lived as refugees.”
Bard was hesitant to suggest that there should be no immigration enforcement. Instead, he said, "We can do a better job of having meaningful borders while also recognizing the values of welcoming the stranger."
The bill is a state effort to restore federal guidelines established by former President Joe Biden that designated a similar list of places as “protected areas” that should rarely see activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers.
That policy was revoked by the Trump administration earlier this year. In a memorandum issued in January, the heads of offices within the Department of Homeland Security said their officers need to be able to use their own discretion, “including the degree to which any law enforcement action occurs in a sensitive location.”
“Going forward,” the guidance continued, “law enforcement officers should continue to use that discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense. It is not necessary, however, for the head of the agency to create bright line rules regarding where our immigration laws are permitted to be enforced.”
Immigration advocates in Michigan say they haven’t heard of instances when ICE has entered schools, hospitals, or other “sensitive locations” but that such actions have taken place in other states.
During testimony from faith leaders regarding the “sensitive locations” bill in November, Senator Jim Runestad, a Republican representing White Lake, summarized ICE policy on such actions.
“They have to believe they are targeting a specific person who is present at that specific location and that any entering of that location must be done to ensure discretion.”
Then, he asked Bishop Bonnie Perry of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan if she had seen action that ran counter to that policy.
“Not yet here in Michigan,” Perry said.
He followed up to ask if she had seen that kind of action in other places: “So what you’re saying is that you’ve seen them busting in and they’re just terrorizing the whole church?”
“I’ve seen it at daycare centers,” Perry replied, referring to a video in which two officers pulled a teacher from a childcare facility on November 5, “Yes sir, in Chicago, yesterday morning, where I lived for 27 years.”
Perry also states her concern about people coming into religious sites given the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc which killed five and injured eight in late September.
“What we’re really aware of right now is who’s coming,” she said, “And how we welcome people as Jesus Christ would, but how we are also wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
