ICE activity spotted from Ann Arbor to Detroit amid immigration crackdown

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Reports of increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in cities like Ann Arbor and Detroit are being confirmed by officials as President Donald Trump continues his nationwide immigration blitz.

Some residents and civil rights advocates are concerned that the process is being expedited to the point of ignoring civil rights and due process.

At an Arab-American Civil Rights League press conference in Dearborn Monday, legal experts and officials gathered for an informational session regarding immigration.

You can watch the full press conference with the ACRL in the video player below:

“I’m a proud daughter of immigrants and I'm also really proud to represent a district that is very diverse and we have folks coming to this country and to this state seeking better opportunity," Michigan Sen. Stephanie Chang said through tears at the press conference.

Advocates claim that because the deportation process has been expedited by the new administration, critical civil rights are being ignored and not everyone that is being deported is necessarily in the country illegally and that the process needs to slow down for proper due process.

“So the fact that individuals are being picked up, put through these expedited procedures without lawfully determining whether they can stay for other reasons, I think that that’s extremely frightening," Arab-American Civil Rights League Board Member Rula Aoun said.

Detroit Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who represents Southwest Detroit, has also been posting “Know Your Rights” tips to residents on her social media. She says she's been receiving calls from concerned constituents.

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"Detroit is not on the list of priorities for the president for deportation. But we do have ICE in our communities," she said.

The Michigan and Ohio Homeland Security Investigations units posted photos on their X accounts Monday of immigrants being detained, with one of the photos showing a Michigan license plate.

A Southwest Detroit resident also sent us video of immigration agents in the area of Campbell and Rogers streets last week.

You can watch the video shared from Southwest Detroit below:

Ann Arbor police posted to their Facebook Monday saying ICE was in their community over the weekend but that no arrests were made.

Meanwhile, ICE said on Monday alone, over 1,000 arrests were made nationwide, with 853 people being detained.

“Remain silent. You have the right to refuse to answer questions and ask for an attorney. Record the encounter, document everything with your phone — it’s your right to do so," Arab-American Civil Rights League Executive Director Mariam Charara said.

Scripps News Detroit reached out to the ICE Detroit Filed Office for specific numbers of arrests in the area but have not heard back.