“In any case, the hidden hand of of foundations can control the course of social change and deflect anger to targets other than elite power.”
– Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy
Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation
GRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family. Last week I posted an article on the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, and today I am focusing on the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, which has been one of the largest in West Michigan. Doug DeVos is currently one of the CEOs of Amway, along with operating Continuum Ventures LLC, which is their investment management company. According to the Candid website, in 2024, the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation contributed $10,462,588,00 leaving them with $66,723,450.00 of funds left in their foundation account.
The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2024, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few. Below is a listing of each from these categories, with a dollar amount and a brief analysis.
I also include groups that are DeVos owned or created, along with liberal non-profits. With the liberal non-profits, we believe that funding from foundations like the DeVos family foundations is a form of hush money. When we say hush money, we mean that these entities will not publicly challenge the system of Capitalism, the wealth gap, structural racism and other systems of oppression, which the DeVos family benefits from and perpetuates through their own political funding.
However, before I get to how they distributed their foundation funds for 2024, I think it is important that the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation paid three DeVos-owned entities and two independent businesses to manage how their foundation money was used in 2024. Highlighted groups are DeVos groups.
- RDV Corporation – $483,259
- RDV Staffing Inc. – $209,780
- Highland Group of Grand Rapids – $131,262
- Ottawa Avenue Private Capital – $125,322
- Datawise Consulting LLC – $100,000
Religious Groups
- Bethany Christian Services – $117,000
- Christian Leaders Ministries – $50,000
- Crossroads Bible Church – $100,000
- Degage Ministries – $25,000
- Guiding Light Mission Inc. – $10,000
- Keystone Community Church – $125,000
- Life International Inc. – $30,000
- Luis Palau Association – $150,000
- National Christian Foundation West Michigan – $213,800
- Pregnancy Resource Center – $30,000
- Young Life Central Grand Rapids – $25,000
These religious groups practice varying degrees of conservative politics, which fit into the ideological framework that the DeVos family is committed to. For instance the Pregnancy Resource Center is an anti-abortion group, while Bethany Christian Services is anti-LGBTQ.
Far Right Think Tanks and Pro-Capitalist groups
- Grand Action Foundation – $325,000
- Mackinac Center – $125,000
- National Constitution Center – $1,325,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable – $25,000
- The Seminar Network/Stand Together – $1,000,000
These Think Tanks influence public policy in individual states, like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy does here in Michigan. The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation also funds Grand Action 2.0, which promote policies that use millions in public dollars for private projects that the DeVos family benefits from in Grand Rapids. The Seminar Network Inc. is part of the Koch family ultra-conservative network.
Business entities
- Arts Marketplace at Studio Park – $244,080
- Construction Allies in Action – $100,000
- Strategic Workforce Solutions – $150,000
These groups all benefit business interests.
Political Organizations
- Ada Township – $1,000,000
- Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. – $25,000
- Gerald R Ford Presidential Foundation – $500,000
Education-centered groups
- Calvin University – $320,000
- First Steps Kent – $75,000
- Grand Rapids Christian Schools. – $30,000
- Grand Rapids Public Schools Foundation – $125,000
- Living Stones Academy – $87,250
- Potters House – $50,000
- Purdue Research Foundation – $5,175,000
- Rehoboth Christian School Association – $100,000
- Wake Forest University – $250,000
- Vela Education Fund – $100,000
Half of the Education groups that the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation contribute to are conservative Christian Schools. Some of the other groups are a mechanism to insert influence in the Grand Rapids Public Schools, such as the Grand Rapids Public Schools Foundation and First Steps Kent bring a religious component into the GRPS.
DeVos-owned, created or connected groups
- Corewell Heath Foundation – $270,000
- Grand Action Foundation – $325,000
- Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders – $30,000
Groups receiving Hush $
- Access of West Michigan – $20,000
- Baxter Community Center – $40,000
- Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids – $50,000
- Children’s Healing Center – $105,000
- Heart of West Michigan United Way – $325,000
- KCONNECT – $162,500
- Literacy Center of West MI – $25,000
- Oakdale Neighbors – $22,000
- Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services – $250,000
- Public Museum of Grand Rapids – $250,000
- Safe Haven Ministries – $70,000
- Urban League of West MI – $142,000
- YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids – $500,000
These groups all provide some sort of social service – people fleeing domestic violence, those who are housing insecure, people with disabilities, adoption and immigration. There are root causes to all of these issues, but these groups are not likely to address root causes and larger systems of oppression. When the DeVos family foundations make contributions, this will increase the likelihood that systems of oppression will not be addressed by these groups.
Foundations rarely make contributions without strings attached. The Doug and Maria DeVos has a long history of funding far right and religious right groups, which GRIID documented 10 years ago when we started this project. Lastly, it is worth noting that the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, like all of the DeVos family foundations, compliments the campaign contributions they make to further impact public policy and promote their religious and capitalist ideologies.
Twenty Five years ago this week people from Grand Rapids participated in the anti-Free Trade Area of the Americas protest in Canada
Just days after the anti-IMF/World Bank protest in downtown Grand Rapids, some 15 local activists traveled to Quebec City, Canada, to participate in the hemispheric resistance to further economic austerity measures being made into policy at the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Summit.
The FTAA summit was an attempt to create a trade policy, similar to NAFTA for the entire Western hemisphere. Labor groups, indigenous communities, environmentalists, anarchists and other members of civil society converged on Quebec in April of 2001 to say no to the heads of state that were meeting in the old part of Quebec City, in an area that was completed walled off to the public.
During those few days in Quebec City, those in power did everything they could to prevent a shutdown of their meetings. They put up a 10-foot fence around the summit venue; several thousand cops beat back protestors; and the cops used tear gas and water cannons on the unarmed crowd. In fact there was so much tear gas used that the heads of state that were meeting had to evacuate the building they were in, since tear gas was coming in through the ventilation system.
We later found out that the tear gas guns they were using were a new prototype, which allowed them to launch tear gas canisters further than expected, which caught those protesting off guard. I remember filming hear the fencing and witness the Medieval Black Block that had constructed it’s own catapult to launch stuff animals at the cops. I distinctly remember this since while I was filming I got knocked on my ass by a water cannon.
The thousands of FTAA protestors who traveled to Canada hosted their own summit, with workshops and sessions to craft their own economic plan for the Americas. Erica Freshour, one of the activists from Grand Rapids, said, “The corporate media hasn’t been reporting on the real issues of the anti-globalization protests. They are too focused on violence that may or may not have occurred, instead of talk about labor, environmental and human rights issues that people are fighting for. This is why we need an independent media.” Here is a video created by some of those from Grand Rapids who participated in the anti-FTAA protests in Canada in 2001.
It took another 4 years of resistance against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), but it was eventually defeated in 2005. This defeat came at the hands of the organized resistance, not because of politicians.
Unfortunately, the anti-globalization movement came to an abrupt halt on September 11, 2001, when planes were flown into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Many of the same people who had built connections and strategies in this movement redirected their energies to resisting the US military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Grand Rapids City Commission meeting dominated by demands to adopt 6 sanctuary policies as activists shut down the commission chambers
One a night that was filled with irony and poor facilitation, during the last public comment period the primary topics were GRPD collaboration with ICE and Flock cameras.
I counted at least 21 people who spoke about the 6 sanctuary policies that Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have been demanding over the past 15 months. People talked about ICE terrorism in Grand Rapids, how the GRPD has been not only cooperating with ICE, but stoping people from attempting to interfere with ICE attempts to arrest and detain immigrants.
Other people spoke about public safety, about harm reduction, about supporting immigrant families and addressing the use of Flock cameras and how that type of surveillance systems puts everyone at risk.
The last person to speak read a statement on behalf of GR Rapid Response to ICE (see below) and when they finished the statement about 40 people stood up hold an enlarged photo of a GRPD officer collaborating with ICE to detain an immigrant, along with alternating chants “ICE and Cops go hand in hand” and “get the Flock off my block.”
After the activist refused to leave and continued to disrupt the City commission meeting, Mayor LaGrand decided to adjourn the meeting.
Statement by GR Rapid Response to ICE
As a volunteer organizer with GR Rapid Response to ICE, I, along with thousands of other people have been asking the City Commission to adopt the six sanctuary policies since January of 2025.
Since that time ICE has caused tremendous harm and separated hundreds of immigrant families living in Grand Rapids. We know this because we work directly with these families to provide Mutual Aid. We also know that ICE has attempted to arrest and detain many more immigrant families, but because of the work GR Rapid Response to ICE does, which is to disrupt the violence that ICE perpetrates, there have been fewer family separations and less family trauma.
By adopting the 6 sanctuary policies this commission would essentially be adopting harm reduction policies.
Unfortunately, since January of 2025 we have heard that adopting these sanctuary policies it would make Grand Rapids a target, we have also heard that there are likely pro-ICE people who haven’t communicated with this commission. We have also heard from the Mayor that he didn’t want to give immigrants a sense of false hope, and at other times we have heard that the city is already meeting some of these demands. Then at a recent commission meeting the Mayor said that even if they wanted to sign a 287g agreement city lawyers have told him that they couldn’t legally sign a 287g agreement. GR Rapid Response to ICE even sent an Email to the Mayor to provide some concrete evidence that signing a 287g agreement was not possible, but to date the Mayor has failed to respond to this simple request.
We have also heard from this commission that the GRPD is not collaborating with ICE, but we have witnessed on numerous occasions that they have, such as when a GRPD officer showed up at the same time as ICE to arrest and detain Byron Martinez, which we have on video that shows the GRPD officer directly assisting ICE. Mayor LaGrand has said repeatedly to let him know if GRPD is violating policy and directly cooperating with ICE. Countless community members have and he’s done nothing. But moreover, current policy has giant loopholes in that there are exceptions for “emergencies and supporting public safety”.
Now, we are fully aware of the fact that adopting the 6 sanctuary policies will not eliminate ICE violence in Grand Rapids, but we do believe that if the City of Grand Rapids doesn’t cooperate with ICE in any way and the GRPD doesn’t interfere with our efforts to prevent ICE from arresting and detaining immigrants that there will be less harm done by ICE in Grand Rapids.
Therefore, we are asking you once again to adopt these 6 sanctuary policies, to adopt these harm reduction policies, to practice immigrant solidarity and to be on the right side of history!
Rick DeVos and his family have been coming for you and your children for a very long time
Rick DeVos, the son of Dick & Betsy DeVos, recently shared on X some video of the Cosecha action at Long Road Distillers. However, DeVos shared it from the Grand Rapids Businessman Facebook page – the Grand Rapids Businessman was formerly known as Commies of Grand Rapids and is a MAGA-like page that hates on people.
Here is the language from the Grand Rapids Businessman post:
Grand Rapids anti-ICE activist group, Movimento Cosecha, protests inside Long Road Distillery owned by Mayor David LaGrand and former commissioner John O’Connor.
The group was led by paid activist Jeff Smith and demands Mayor LaGrand adopt sanctuary city status.
One clarification on the GR Businessman language is that Movimiento Cosecha is not demanding that Mayor LaGrand adopt sanctuary city status, rather to adopt 6 sanctuary policies which will prevent the City of Grand Rapids from sharing information or allow the GRPD to cooperate with ICE.
More importantly, Rick DeVos adds his own commentary in his sharing of the action at Long Road Distillers, saying:
“You only have to read a tiny bit of revolutionary history to realize that even when you’re nominally on the side of these lunatics they will eventually come for you.”
My initial response to this is, so Rick how much revolutionary history have you read? Do you think that Rick DeVos is referring to the history of the French Revolution, the Algerian Revolution, the Cuban Revolution or perhaps the Bolivarian Revolution. It’s impressive that Rick found time to read up on revolutionary history while he has been busy doing projects like ArtPrize or figuring out ways to expand his wealth through Wakestream Ventures.
The more important aspect of Rick’s comment is the part that says, “even when you’re nominally on the side of these lunatics they will eventually come for you.”
People with the kind of power and privilege that Rick DeVos has will always refer to those who oppose injustice as “lunatics” since you always have to demonize people you don’t agree with. Second, Long Road Distiller co-owner Jon O’Connor can yell fuck ICE, but he doesn’t give a shit about the fact that in Grand Rapids ICE has been arresting and detaining immigrants since 2003 and he as a former GRPS School Board member and former Grand Rapids City Commissioner did nothing to prevent ICE from terrorizing immigrants. In fact, O’Connor was a City Commissioner when a GRPD Captain called ICE to tell them to arrest Jilmar Ramos Gomez, a former US Marine and US citizen. So Rick, Jon O’Connor is not now and has never been nominally on our side.
Then there is the matter of Rick DeVos saying “they will come for you.” What exactly does he mean here? If he means that people will confront injustice and challenge systems of power and oppression, then that will absolutely happen. However, those of us who are fighting oppression aren’t coming for those with power and privilege, at least not the way that Rick DeVos and his family has been coming for people.
The DeVos family has contributed to the election campaigns for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024. During President Trump’s first administration and 16 months into his second administration the federal government has been coming for people and their children, which includes:
- Arresting, detaining and deporting immigrants causing lots of family trauma and economic hardship.
- Adopting economic policies that have made it hard for working class families to survive in the system of Capitalism that Rick DeVos and his family has made billions off of.
- Adopting anti-trans policies that has lead to physical violence against those identifying as trans, along with emotional harm, discrimination and other horrendous consequences from adopting anti-trans policies.
- Increasing the US military budget with continued support of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians, an assault against Iran, kidnapping the President of Venezuela and his family, etc.
The DeVos family has also been the largest contributor to the Republican Party in Michigan since 1990. This has resulted in attacking labor unions in Michigan, undermining public education in Michigan, providing further tax breaks for the Capitalist Class, reducing Government funded safety nets, and providing billions in public money for developers to expand their wealth.
Rick DeVos and his family also hides hundreds of millions of dollars from being taxed in their foundations and then re-directs that money to far right think tanks, the religious right and to other entities that support their ideological stance on numerous issues. You can read about all of this in 830 pages of the DeVos Family Reader.
Rick DeVos wants people to think that he and his family have high moral standards, but the truth is that the DeVos family has been coming for you and your children for decades and that they are exponentially more threatening to your well being than immigrants dancing and demanding and end the ICE terrorism in Grand Rapids.
Cosecha’s direct action on Friday confronts business as usual politics and West Michigan Nice
“We do not need allies more devoted to order than to justice. I hear a lot of talk these days about our direct action talk alienating former friends. I would rather feel they are bringing to the surface latent prejudices that are already there. If our direct action programs alienate our friends … they never were really our friends.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It has been rather instructive to see all of the responses on social media after the Cosecha action at Long Road Distillers last Friday.
There have been reactions from conservatives, MAGA fanatics, and those who embrace a white supremacist and pro-ICE ideology. These reactions have all been predictable and expected.
The reactions I find most instructive are those that are coming from liberals and so-called progressives. These responses have been littered with phrases like “this is not the way to protest”, “going into the business to disrupt was disrespectable” or “if you want to protest, do it outside.”
Engaging in disruptive tactics has long been part of social movements. Here are just a few examples:
- Black people who were enslaved didn’t protest, they would burn the plantation owner’s home, sometimes kill the white people in charge of those who were enslaved or simply fled the plantation in an act of self-liberation. Those who freed themselves didn’t go to the local city council to plead their case, nor did they seek help from the sheriff. In fact, the local laws and the local sheriff supported slavery and even sent men to catch those who had freed themselves.
- Workers have used the tactic of occupying the business they worked at to demand better wages, working conditions or the right to form a union affecting the ability of the business to make money. The 1936-37 Flint Wildcat Strike is a great example, which taught other workers to use the same tactic, even here in Grand Rapids.
- During the Civil Rights Movement people would disrupt businesses through boycotts (like the Montgomery Bus boycott) or by disrupting businesses by engaging in lunch counter sit-ins to protest segregation.
- Anti-War movements have also engaged in boycotts or occupied businesses that were profiting from war.
- The South African Anti-Apartheid movement also disrupted businesses that were profiting off of the apartheid system in South African. Those involved also boycotting business and disrupting businesses as I have documented locally.
- Environmental Justice movements have also occupied businesses and disrupted their ability to make a profit, like in the case of groups like GreenPeace, the Sunrise Movement, Extinction Rebellion and Rainforest Action Network.
Therefore, the Cosecha action Friday at Long Road Distillers is using a tactic that movements all around the world have used for the past 2 centuries.
However, there are plenty of people who would not be convinced by the fact that disruption is a standard tactic for social change. Some people might argue that the Cosecha action disrupted the patrons who were at Long Road Distillers. However, what we know is that not one customer left during the action, and many of the patrons took flyers from people taking part in the action. People didn’t leave until the own showed up and started yelling at people and tell them to get the fuck out.
Other people might say that the Cosecha action only alienated people from their cause. Again, there was no evidence that this was the case for the people who were present during the action. The white supremacists and pro-ICE people on social media were never going to be an ally to this movement, plus there were plenty of people who either wrote favorable comments or hit the like button in support.
What Movimiento Cosecha actions often do are to polarize people, which is to get them to think about an issue and then choose a side. With polarization you can get people to think about something that they have not really thought much about before. In addition, you often can get people to not only agree with you, but get them to decide to be involved in the movement. If they are already involved in the movement, a polarizing action might get then to decide to become more involved and even be willing to take risks for the movement.
This is exactly what happened with the Cosecha action at Long Road Distillers. The action used a disruptive tactic at a business that is part owned by Mayor LaGrand to potentially impact his ability to make money, especially since he has not agreed to adopt the demands from Cosecha. People were also potentially polarized during the action, along with the polarization that has happen during in person conversations and because of the information shared on social media.
Now, not everyone has to agree with Cosecha’s use of Direct Action tactics. However, just because you don’t agree with them, people shouldn’t be undermining the important work that Cosecha does. I don’t find hold signs as a terrible effective form of resistance, but I will never tell people to not do it. The same should apply with Direct Action tactics. Cosecha’s goal is to fight for immigrant justice and to abolish ICE. If you support these goals, even if you don’t agree with all of the tactics, please stop discrediting those doing this work.
I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “If our direct action programs alienate our friends … they never were really our friends.” Hasta La Huelga!
Nine years of demanding immigrant justice: Movimiento Cosecha May Day march in Grand Rapids in this Friday
Just after the last No Kings protest in Grand Rapids I wrote an article entitled, An invitation to allies and accomplices to show up for the May 1st march in Grand Rapids organized by Movimiento Cosecha. In that article I stated:
We just saw thousands of people show up for the No Kings rally in Grand Rapids, so it would be fabulous if people showed up to the May Day march. It is vitally important that those of us who call ourselves allies show up now and not wait for Grand Rapids to become another Minneapolis. Immigrants in this community are being arrested, detained and deported and have been since 2003, when ICE was created.
Since 2017 Movimiento Cosecha has been organizing May 1st marches in Grand Rapids. What follows is a summary of those May Day marches.
May 1st 2017 Action – Movimiento Cosecha started their circle in 2017 and one of the first action they did was to organize a May 1st march from Garfield Park to downtown Grand Rapids. We wrote the following:
Those marching were mostly Latinos, Latinx, and indigenous people from Mexico, Central America and numerous Caribbean nations. Some proudly displayed flags from their country of origin, while other carried signs with demands to stop Separating Families because of the decades-long policy of deporting those without documentation.
The march organizers did not obtain a permit, since they felt that it was their right to march for what they were demanding. The GRPD was frantic before the march, calling organizers and others connected to the movement, but no one was giving up any information. The GRPD decided to close down roads on their own to clear a path for the march, but the march organizers were clear in that they were providing enough protection for marchers on their own.
May 1st 2018 Action – The 2nd annual May Day march by Movimiento Cosecha, began in the southwest part of the city, at Roosevelt Park, marching down Grandville Avenue and ending up in downtown Grand Rapids. We wrote:
There were other beautiful moments during the march. First, when people didn’t comply with the GRPD route, it clearly showed people that police do not need to be obeyed, based on how animated people got when they changed their route.
Second, when the march was going under the 131 s-curve on Market Street, the echo provided a great opportunity for those marching to get even louder. The marchers stop for a few minutes to revel in their excitement.
Third, the march organizers who were talking through a sound system during the whole march, not only led chants, but provided important information about the realities that immigrant families face on a daily basis. They talked about the constant fear that the community lives in and how people are being detained and deported by ICE agents. Those leading the march also addressed the oppressive role that the GRPD plays in their struggle and made numerous comments at the exact same time that Police Chief Rahinsky was present on Grandville Avenue.
May 1st 2019 Action – The 3rd annual May Day march organized by Movimiento Cosecha GR, began again at Garfield Park. This time the GRPD was threatening to arrest people if they marched in the street. We wrote:
Despite the weather and despite the levels of state violence that the immigrant community has endured, there was no indication that those who were slowly gathering at Garfield Park would be anything but intimidated by the threats of arrest. Movimiento Cosecha GR organizers and volunteers did an amazing job preparing for this march, making connections with people and following the lead of those in the community who have told them over and over again that the ability to obtain a drivers license would be a huge win.
The insurgent hope that grew as we got closer to noon could be felt in the crowd that was gathering, it could be heard in the excitement in people’s voices as they began to chant and urge each other on in this struggle and it could felt in the deep affection and solidarity being exchanged in the embraces people gave each other.
2019 Addendum – Because the GRPD was so bent on arresting people if they marched in the streets, we decide to submit a FOIA request to see what the GRPD was doing prior to the 2019 march.
It should be stated that since Movimiento Cosecha GR and it’s ally group, GR Rapid Response to ICE, began organizing in early 2017, the GRPD has consistently engaged in surveillance, monitoring, harassment and intimidation tactics of this movement. On many occasions, when organizers engaged in specific actions, there were as many, and at times, more police officers present than there were those protesting.
In what follows, you will see that the GRPD spent a great deal of energy, resources and taxpayer money to monitor, harass and threaten a consistently non-violent movement for immigration justice.
The FOIA documents we obtained can be viewed at this link, with 271 pages of e-mail communication, text messages, photos, and other documents related to the 2019 May Day action that Cosecha GR had planned.
On pages 269 – 271, you can see the final cost of the FOIA request, which was $551.01. However, if one goes through the pages, it is clear that 90-95% of the documents were redacted by the GRPD. Here is the explanation they provide on the redaction:
Your request for these records is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Please be advised that information has been redacted from the documents under MCL 15.243(1)(a)(information of a personal nature release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy) and MCL 15.243(1)(b)(iii) (law enforcement records release of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy). It is the City’s position that the public interest in the disclosure of this information is outweighed by the public interest in keeping this information private. The core purpose of the FOIA is to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government. Requests for information that involve private citizens in government files that reveal little to nothing about the inner working of government do not serve the core purpose of the FOIA.
Apparently, the GRPD does not want the public to know what they did, and more importantly, how they operate. So much for transparency.
May 1st 2020 Action – Because we were in the midst of a pandemic, Cosecha organizers decided to do a car caravan and keep people safe. Here is what we wrote about that day:
Movimiento Cosecha GR was once again demanding driver’s licenses for all, but they also emphasized the fact that immigrant workers are essential workers, particularly migrant workers. Migrant workers do the back breaking work in the fields that puts food on all of our tables, work that is so essential, that without them the food system would collapse. Another important point that Movimiento Cosecha GR made yesterday was that the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US are not eligible for any of the COVID-19 relief funds coming from the federal government, thus causing even extra hardship for the immigrant families that are already terrorized by law enforcement.
May 1st 2021 Action – Since there was a Democratic Party controlled Congress and White House, Movimiento Cosecha decided to do their May Day action in Washington, DC. They wanted to make the point that Democrats also Deport us! We interviewed two of the volunteer organizers just after they got back from their time in Washington, DC. We wrote:
We sat down with two of the Cosecha GR organizers, Gema and Idalia, both of who went to DC last weekend. We asked them four questions: 1) What was the main focus of going to Washington DC, since during the past 4 May Days, the actions have been local; 2) What kind of actions did you organize and take part in during the two days in Washington, DC; 3) There has been a clear drop in attention and support by the ally community since the November Election, what message do you have for allies about why it is important to continue supporting the immigrant justice movement; and 4) Those who went to DC were very energized, so how do you maintain that kind of energy and how do you get more people involved for the fight ahead?
May 1st 2022 – I ended up not writing a post about this march, since I was part of a separate action to shut down US 131, while the standard march acted as a decoy. Here is a picture of the highway shutdown!
May 1st 2023 – The participation of the immigrant community, as always, was amazing. The energy and commitment they bring is always an inspiration for anyone who pays attention to movement work. Granted, movements like the Immigrant Justice movement need allies to create enough political pressure to make the necessary changes in policy. However, this movement must be lead by those most affected and those of us who carry a whole lot more privilege need to take our cues from movement organizers if we truly want to be in solidarity with them. Hasta La Huelga!
May 1st 2024 – The Democrats controlled the Governor’s office, the Michigan State House and the Michigan State Senate, so Cosecha decided to do their annual march action at the Lansing State Capitol, specifically to pressure the Democrats to pass a Driver’s Licenses for All bill. I wrote:
First, the roughly 100 participants marched down Michigan Street, passed the Lansing Police Station and around the roundabout. However, instead of just walking around the big traffic circle, those holding banners were strategically placed at all four exits of the roundabout, which prevented vehicles from entering. This allowed the rest of the marchers to take the streets for the next half hour, which included chants and caused traffic to back up, or in some cases, motorists just turned around and went in the opposite direction. Interestingly enough, the police didn’t even bother to show up and force the marchers off the street.
May 1st 2025 – The Cosecha march arrived at the corner of Wealthy and Division, where people gathered in front of the Catholic Diocese building. There were a few speakers at this point, with the main speaker being from Cosecha. The immigrant-led organization chose to stop in front of the Catholic Diocese building to challenge them to take action in favor of immigrants and to publicly oppose the threat of mass deportation coming from the Trump Administration. After reading a statement, Cosecha organizers then took a copy of the statement, in both Spanish and English, and taped them to the front door of the Catholic Diocese building, Martin Luther-like.
Let’s practice some real solidarity this year by showing up on May Day and march with Movimiento Cosecha. Let’s also remember this is a three day strike, so besides marching we are not going to work, not sending our kids to school and no spending money. It is imperative that allies, especially white allies, show up on May 1st this year in large numbers to support the demands of the immigrant communities, Movimiento Cosecha and those being targeted by ICE.
GRIID – We recently saw each other at a solidarity action outside of the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, MI to support detainees who went on a hunger strike on Monday. What prompted the Michigan Multi-Faith Clergy Rapid Response to call for the solidarity fast?
Greta Jo – When we heard about the Hunger Strike, we wanted to act quickly to amplify detainees’ demands and encourage people to advocate for their well-being. The Michigan Multifaith Clergy Rapid Response is a network of faith leaders mobilizing quickly for coordinated action to protect vulnerable communities and uphold human dignity.
We meet regularly to discuss current concerns and potential responses. At the moment we were gathered outside of North Lake, a group of clergy were participating in an already scheduled meeting to discuss an action in solidarity with the people detained at North Lake. So with the news of the hunger strike, the group shifted gears from other ideas to addressing this moment.
GRIID – Can you say something about the practice of fasting as a mechanism for solidarity, specifically in religious traditions?
Greta Jo – Across religious traditions, there are a lot of ways people fast. It can mean going entirely without food for a period of time or eliminating certain foods. Fasting can indicate mourning and repentance, it can be a practice of self-discipline and obedience, and it is also a way to act in solidarity with the poor and hungry. For example, in Christian tradition, meat, wine, eggs, dairy, fish, and olive oil are items that are traditionally fasted from. In part, this is because they were luxuries. In the Islamic tradition, there is the yearly fast of Ramadan of abstaining from food from sunrise to sunset. And in the Jewish tradition, Passover is a time of abstaining from certain foods and deeper attention to how food is prepared and consumed.
At the same time, fasting is usually coupled with the encouragement to increase our giving and to increase reflection and prayer. In this case, as there is a Hunger Strike at North Lake, and detainees are standing against their oppression by abstaining from food, we felt that the religious tradition of fasting was an appropriate act of solidarity. Even so, we don’t encourage fasting on its own—but also a commitment to learn, reflect, and act during the time of fasting.
It’s also important to note, that how much, or what you give up (or don’t give up), is personal. The meaning is to intentionally align with and support these detainee’s demands. How we do that through fasting will be personal, but it must also include action.
GRIID – Can you also say something about the women who have a class action lawsuit that was filed last fall?
Greta Jo – I was personally not aware of that lawsuit until last Tuesday at North Lake. But hearing their stories read aloud as we stood in witness was heart wrenching. As we’re crafting out communication around the fast, we’re intentionally drawing from those written stories to not only lift up the hunger strikers but the brave women sharing their truths too.
GRIID – What outcomes are the clergy group that is calling for the fast hoping for and besides fasting what other ways can people support the detainees at the North Lake Processing Center?
Greta Jo – We hope to see the demands and needs of the detainees met – specifically around medical care and legal due process. We hope to see an end to inhuman treatment. Ultimately we want to see immigrants safely returned to their families and a clear, timely path to citizenship.In addition to the fast itself as an act of solidarity, witness, and amplification, those who have committed to the fast are going to receive daily action invitations such as donating to mutual aid/bond funds and writing letters of support to detainees. The hope being that the fast is a catalyst for continued acts of solidarity.
GRIID – There has been less attention to the repressive tactics that ICE engages in now that Minneapolis is “old news”. How can the solidarity fast be a tool to rekindle the urgency around how undocumented immigrants are being targeted/treated and why it is critical that we center their lived experiences?
Greta Jo – It’s frustrating that the public’s compassion feels dependent on the news cycle. Actions like the fast are personal for the people participating but they are also inherently about raising awareness and gaining public attention to the root issue. I find that when someone hears the word ‘hunger strike’ or ‘solidarity fast’ there is an emotional reaction rooted in an embodied understanding of the severity of the situation that would cause people to take such an action. What is happening to our neighbors deserves that level of recognition. I think that solidarity fast can be a tool to help the general public remember that those impacted by ICE violence are real people – people with bellies that grumble, eyes that cry, and hearts that break. If our solidarity fast can help elicit an emotional response from a larger portion of the public and help re-humanize the people detained for those with privilege, then our witness will have had an impact.
On Friday night Movimiento Cosecha organized a salsa shutdown at the Leonard Street Long Road distillers location, which was a tactical action as part of the larger boycott campaign that began last October.
The boycott campaign against Long Road Distillers was initiated as a way to pressure Mayor LaGrand to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE began demanding in January of 2025, since Mayor LaGrand is co-owner of Long Road Distillers.
About 25 people entered the Long Road Distillers on Friday and began dancing to salsa music as a tactic to disrupt business as usual at the restaurant/bar. In addition, one of the Cosecha organizers was talking about why there was a boycott, about the sanctuary policies and the realities for immigrants living in constant fear of ICE.
The salsa shutdown lasted for about 20 minutes, but earlier one of the staff members called the co-owner, Jon O’Connor, who drove to the restaurant, turning into a driveway and coming to a screeching halt. When he exited his truck he yell at the person who was acting as the police liaison stating, “Don’t fucking go in there. Stay the fuck out of my bar!”
When O’Connor enter his business he started yelling at people to leave, even stood on one of the tables, but not before he took the microphone out of the hand of a Cosecha organizer.
By this time three GRPD cruisers showed up with at least 6 cops. O’Connor had left the bar and was talking with the cops. It is worth noting that O’Connor was a former Grand Rapids City Commissioner who received a good chunk of campaign money from the GRPD union and opposed any efforts to reduce funding for the GRPD after the 2020 uprising in Grand Rapids. In fact, when people kept coming to City Commission meetings after the GRPD killed Patrick Lyoya, then Commissioner O’Connor got up during a commission meeting and said he was “sick of this shit” and stormed out of the meeting. Several days later he made a fake apology.
All of the people who were part of the salsa shutdown then left the building, but continued to dance and chant outside on the sidewalk. Jon O’Connor, who was flanked by the GRPD cops stated that if be ever came back they would be arrested for trespassing. Those protesting ignored O’Connor and continued to dance and chant for another 5 – 7 minutes.
Afterwards people talked about impactful the action was and how irate the owner of Long Road Distillers became simply because they dared to disrupt and boycott his business.
For those who want to watch the entire action you can go to this link.
In early March Drew Robbins resigned from his seat as a 1st Ward City Commissioner in Grand Rapids so that he could run for the 84th State House seat as a Republican candidate.
There are numerous consequences to Robbin’s stepping down to run for a higher office, one being the recent City Commission conversation to appoint someone to fill the seat vacated by Robbins, which was a bit of a shit show.
However, the larger issue is the role that major contributors to the 2022 campaign of Drew Robbins, specifically the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association, as I documented at that time. Equally important is the fact that a likely GR Chamber led effort to discredit then 1st Ward Commissioner Reppart – Robbins was running against him in 2022 – specially through the so-called SafeGR campaign, which used billboards and mailers using pro-cop messages.
The recent Grand Rapids City Commission meeting to appoint someone to fill the seat that Robbins vacated also got the attention of other pro-cop groups, such as the Gerald R. Ford Metro Lodge #97, Fraternal Order of Police. They posted the following message, where they were referring to former City Commission Reppart on their Facebook page.
“We DODGED a huge bullet today. The cop hating former commissioner did not get enough votes to get appointed and continue his “woke” agenda. Leave it vacant until the election, please.”
The continued pro-police support for Drew Robbins is now reflected in the fact that he is being endorsed by the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association. Robbins posted this announcement on his Facebook page on April 11, plus he included the following narrative:
As a 26 year old with zero political experience, I jumped two feet into politics because violent crime was on the rise, and Grand Rapids Police Department was at record low staffing.
For some types of incidents when calling 911, residents couldn’t dependably know if an officer would show up in a reasonable time. Even still, there was a persistent movement among some individuals to further reduce their department’s budget. I couldn’t sit by idly.
Several years later as my time on the Commission came to a close, GRPD is now back to fully authorized staffing levels!
Some loud, niche voices in our community will say police only exist to “protect power structures”, “are a form of tyranny”, etc., etc. However ask the everyday, hard-working resident, and you’ll see. Bar none, they’re the best department in our region — highly-skilled, exceptionally trained, relationship focused, and equipped to respond to the vexing needs of a modern day city.
I’m proud to have been in the police union’s corner these past few years, and I’m honored to have the union in my corner on this new endeavor.
None of what Robbins says here is a surprise, but like all police apologists he creates a false narrative. One can’t claim that if you ask everyday, hard working residents that they will whole heartedly support the GRPD without providing some concrete evidence. More importantly Robbin’s use of the condescending term niche voices is reflective of his white privilege.
Consider that some of the largest campaigns and protests in recent years in Grand Rapids has been to challenge the GRPD assault on Black and Brown residents. Thousands of people turned out to protest the police killing of George Floyd in late May of 2020, which was followed by efforts that nearly got the City of Grand Rapids to reduce funding for the GRPD, with thousands of letters being sent to reduce the police budget, along with significant efforts after the GRPD killed Patrick Lyoya, and more recently Da’Quain Johnson. None of this was niche, rather they were and are significant organized campaigns to challenge the violence of the carceral state.
“In any case, the hidden hand of of foundations can control the course of social change and deflect anger to targets other than elite power.”
– Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy
Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation
GRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family. The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has been one of the largest in West Michigan, which was founded in 1989, the same time that Dick DeVos was the CEO of Amway. According to the Candid website, in 2024, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation contributed $7,066,885,00 leaving them with $52,982,153.00 of funds left in their foundation account.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2024, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few. Below is a listing of each from these categories, with a dollar amount and a brief analysis.
I also include groups that are DeVos owned or created, along with liberal non-profits. With the liberal non-profits, we believe that funding from foundations like the DeVos family foundations is a form of hush money. When we say hush money, we mean that these entities will not publicly challenge the system of Capitalism, the wealth gap, structural racism and other systems of oppression, which the DeVos family benefits from and perpetuates through their own political funding.
However, before I get to how they distributed their foundation funds for 2024, I think it is important that the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation paid two DeVos-owned entities to manage their foundation, which means they used foundation money to pay other DeVos family assets. The two DeVos entities that received funds were RDV Corporation $387,495.00 and Ottawa Avenue Private Capital $81,292.00.
Religious Groups
- Alpha USA – $150,000
- Degage Ministries – $5,000
- Global Leadership Network – $300,000
- Help Pregnancy Crisis AID Inc. – $25,000
- JCUC Blessing Incorporated – $60,500
- Mars Hill Bible Church – $162,000
- Partners Worldwide – $15,000
- Right to Life Michigan – $10,000
These religious groups practice varying degrees of conservative politics, which fit into the ideological framework that the DeVos family is committed to. For instance, Global Leadership Network merges Christianity and Capitalism, plus the partner with far right groups like Prison Fellowship. In addition, the foundation gives money to anti-abortion groups, but the DeVos Family gives a lot more money to anti-abortion candidates.
Far Right Think Tanks
- Acton Institute – $100,000
- American Enterprise Institute – $375,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression – $25,000
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy – $250,000
- Palmetto Promise Institute – $250,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable – $50,000
- The Claremont Institute – $50,000
These Think Tanks influence public policy in individual states, like the Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy does in Michigan. The American Enterprise Institute and the Philanthropy Roundtable do the same thing, but at the federal level, which is why they are based in DC. They also fund regional think tanks like the Palmetto Promise Institute and the Claremont Institute, both of which work with the State Policy Network and the Heritage Foundation.
Political Organizations
- Ada Township – $1,100,000
- City of Kentwood Parks and Recreation – $100,000
- Kent County Parks Foundation – $1,000,000
- Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation – $250,000
DeVos family foundations giving money to government entities is nothing new. Giving $1 million to Ada Township was most likely motivated by getting approval to build a hotel in downtown Ada in 2024.
Education-centered groups
- Grand Rapids Christian Schools – $10,000
- Holland Christian Schools – $50,000
- Potters House – $250,000
- University of Maryland – $90,000
Far Right Ideology Groups
- Do No Harm – $100,000
- Liberty Justice Center – $50,000
The Do No Harm group is a medical entity that is anti-DEI and also will not support gender affirming care for youth. The Liberty Justice Center is a rightwing “litigation center that fights to protect economic liberty, private property rights and free speech.
DeVos-owned, created or connected groups
- Chicago Cubs Charities – $10,000
- Fiscal Sponsorship Allies – $1,550,000
- Grand Action Foundation – $1,000,000
- Grand Rapids Downtown Market – $10,000
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Pam DeVos sits on the Board) – $25,000
- Van Andel Institute – $10,000
- West Michigan Aviation Academy Foundation – $247,281
Of course all these entities that were created by DeVos family members, also promote their ideological religious and capitalist values. On top of that, it also means that DeVos family members are funding their own entities and using their foundation to fund their own pet projects, like Grand Action Foundation 2,0 – which promotes development projects in Grand Rapids that use public funds and expands their wealth – or the West Michigan Aviation Academy – because it promotes the privatization of education.
Groups receiving Hush $
- Guiding Light Mission – $5000
- ICCF Community Homes – $25,000
- ODC Network – $75,000
- Public Museum of Grand Rapids – $250,000
- Safe Haven Ministries – $10,000
These groups all provide some sort of social service – nature preserve, those who are housing insecure, people with disabilities, and those fleeing domestic violence. There are root causes to all of these issues, but these groups are not likely to address root causes and larger systems of oppression. When the DeVos family foundations make contributions, this will increase the likelihood that systems of oppression will not be addressed by these groups.
Foundations rarely make contributions without strings attached. The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has a long history of funding far right and religious right groups, which GRIID began documenting over a decade ago when we started this project. Lastly, it is worth noting that the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, like all of the DeVos family foundations, compliments the campaign contributions they make to further impact public policy and promote their religious and capitalist ideologies.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 