GRAND RAPIDS, MICH — On Tuesday, January 28 the activist group GR Rapid Response to ICE will attend the Grand Rapid City Commission meeting to urge the city to declare itself a Sanctuary City.
Many of President Trump's executive orders target Sanctuary Cities across the U.S., which provide a few extra protections to undocumented residents.
In Michigan, East Lansing is currently the only city with designated sanctuary status.
The city passed the resolution in 2023.
Sanctuary policies are not universal, meaning each state or local government chooses which policies they'll pass to support undocumented residents. That could mean policies preventing new immigration detention centers, restrictions for which agencies can ask questions about immigration status, and limitations on where ICE can travel without a warrant.
In 2017 the city of Lansing passed an executive order directing city police and employees not to assist immigration agents unless they have a criminal warrant, but they are not considered as Sanctuary City.
On Monday, the Grand Rapids Public Schools held a meeting to hear from students and parents about potentially declaring sanctuary status. You can learn more about that meeting here.
Tuesday's Grand Rapids City Commission meeting will start at 7:00 p.m.
Another group working toward the same end, Movimiento Cosecha GR, will hold a rally in front of the city building on Monroe Center at 6:30 p.m.
Adopting Sanctuary City status will mean that Grand Rapids:—Movimiento Cosecha GR
- Declares itself a sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, and;
- Commits to preventing the Grand Rapids Police Department from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and any law enforcement agency that seek to arrest, detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
"People in our city depend on and interact with immigrant neighbors every day," the group declared in a release sent to FOX 17 Tuesday morning. "We must make clear that immigrants are valued members of our community and that their safety is a priority."
The group says they've generated 20,000 letters to the City of Grand Rapids and are working with GR Rapid Response to ICE and supporters to pressure the Grand Rapids City Commission to issue the declaration.
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