Michiganders in more than 100 communities held rallies Saturday opposing the Trump administration.
The third round of “No Kings” protests drew thousands of people to the state Capitol, and tens of thousands turned out to rallies around Metro Detroit.
The Detroit-area demonstrations included a protest in Romulus, where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has purchased a warehouse in order to turn it into a detention facility for immigrants.
That’s upset many area residents, like Joshua Stronski. The former law enforcement agent said Democrats could be doing more to push back against the policies of President Donald Trump.
“Some of the laws that he's done just completely negates our constitution. And where are we at if we don't have our constitution, because it's not America,” he said.
Romulus city officials and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have sued to stop the detention facility. They argue it is in a residential neighborhood and on a flood plain, making it unsafe.
The Trump administration has said the facility would bring close to 1,500 jobs and more than $30 million in tax revenue, in addition to making the community safer.
Protesters at other rallies in the state said the issues at stake go to the core of American government.
At the Lansing rally, city resident Darlene Matthews, who is 80 years old, said the country has faced challenges in the past, but she’s more concerned about its future now than she’s ever been.
“I’m afraid we’re going to lose our democracy. [President Trump is] chipping away at it. Things that should go through Congress, aren’t. And Congress is not doing anything about it. No one is stopping him.”
Matthews says she hopes Democrats will impeach Trump if they gain control of Congress in the midterms.
A large crowd of protesters marching after the rally stretched from the Capitol to the Michigan Hall of Justice about three quarters of a mile away.
An estimated 3,000 people lined Woodward Avenue in Ferndale to express their dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.
Holly Haran of Royal Oak, a retired schoolteacher, said she was protesting in part due to the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents working around schools.
“It's a really bad position to put educators in, because our job is to help kids.”
The Michigan rallies were part of more than 3,000 events that No Kings organizers said took place around the country on Saturday.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration was unbothered by the demonstrations. “The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” she said in a statement.
