Cosecha Michigan attends the Livingston County Commission meeting to demand they rescind their anti-Immigrant resolution

Last night, a handful of Movimiento Cosecha Michigan members attended the Livingston County Commission meeting, which adopted a xenophobic anti-immigrant resolution in September.

The Cosecha members decision, while seemingly a simple and risk-free action, was not easy, since the Livingston County Commission meeting was not a space for BIPOC people. All nine of the Livingston County Commissioners were men, 8 of them were white, with one member of Asia descent. The commission chambers were also very small, with maybe another 20 people in attendance, also all white people.

Ironically, one of the county commissioners started the meeting with a prayer by St. Francis of Assisi, specifically the peace prayer. Everything that followed, when it came to the Livingston County Commissioners was anything but peaceful. Before public comments, the commissioners unanimously rejected a letter sent to them by the Washtenaw County Commission, which was critical of their anti-immigrant resolution. One commissioner then suggested that they send their anti-immigrant resolution to county administrators across the state, so they could provide “their side of the story.” 

In full disclosure, I not only attended the Cosecha action, I acted as their translator. Unfortunately, the Livingston County Commission Chair would not provide additional time for translation and said that the statute was clear on limiting public comment to 3 minutes. 

Nerida Avilés, a member of Movimiento Cosecha Michigan, stated that: “The Sheriff’s office should not inquire about anyone’s immigration status, as enforcing immigration laws is solely the responsibility of federal immigration agents. Civil rights are guaranteed to every person by virtue of being human; they accompany us wherever we go, regardless of immigration status. They are not confined to our countries of origin; they are inherent to each of us from birth until death.” 

Gema Lowe, another member of Cosecha Michigan, said: The language used in this partisan resolution is offensive and dehumanizing, labeling undocumented immigrants as “illegals.” When a person violates any law, whether criminal or civil, they are not labeled “illegal.” Immigration law, in fact, is civil law, and being undocumented is not a crime. For instance, if someone here has parked illegally in a non-designated area, they have committed an illegal act but would not be called an “illegal.” Labeling people in this way is derogatory and discriminatory. 

Brenda, from Washtenaw County, pointed out that she is a small business owner in the cleaning industry and provided statistics on immigrants and their annual contributions to the state of Michigan gathered in 2022:

• Number of Immigrants in Michigan: 687,734 
• Taxes paid to the state annually: $8.1 billion
• Number of immigrant entrepreneurs: 46,221 
• Annual purchasing power of immigrants in Michigan: $23.1 billion 

Raven asked the attendees if they identified as Christians and quoted Matthew 5: “I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me,” and Matthew 7: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them” She then mentioned the name of each commissioner, pointing out that the fruits of their actions are foul and rancid.

There was a second opportunity for public comment, but the commissioners again denied additional time for translation, plus the second public comment opportunity was reduced from 3 minute to 2 minutes. Many of the commissioners also defended their anti-immigrant resolution, attempting to push the “they need to come into this country legally” mantra. This ignores the fact that the US has a longstanding practice of allowing anyone, regardless of status, to apply for asylum. In addition, the commissioner’s comments made it clear that they have no clue about the harsh realities of those who end up coming to the US through the southern border, fleeing economic hardship, political repression and forced displacement due to the growing number of climate disasters.

None of the comments from the Livingston County Commissioners were surprising, especially after I had some time to look at their Facebook pages, which clearly demonstrate their far right allegiances, which led them to adopting a racist, anti-immigrant resolution. 

In the collection of images below, there is Commissioner Nakagiri in the upper left image, holding a sign during a Trump rally that says, Mass Deportation Now! Commissioner Nakagiri also posted on his Facebook page for August 21st, that his wife was “the new Political Coordinator for the Trump Campaign in Livingston County Michigan.” The upper right image that says, I stand with President Trump, was taken from Commissioner Sample’s Facebook page. The image on the bottom is from Commissioner Deaton, where he is sporting a Make America Great Again baseball cap.