Local news stories center cops and the law on immigration matters, omit the affected community and those who are actively defying unjust immigration laws

Over the past few days there have been several news stories regarding the possibility of mass deportations and how local institutions are planning to respond to it. I want to deconstruct each news story and then offer up several responses.

WXMI 17 recent aired a story that centered on the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese and the issue the threat of mass deportation.

The Fox 17 reporter framed the story around the Trump Administration’s decision to lift the policy of restricted areas where ICE can arrest and detain people, such as churches, hospitals, schools and libraries.

The only source used in the channel 17 story was someone with the Director of Immigration Legal Services for the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. The spokesperson stated that people were afraid and that they were encouraging people to know their rights by not speaking to ICE officials. However, they also said that if ICE has a warrant they will comply. For me and for other abolitionists, just because ICE has a court sanctioned warrant, doesn’t mean it is just or fair. 

A second WXMI 17 story sourced three people, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, the Kent County Sheriff and GRPD Chief Winstrom. All three of these people who are part of law enforcement in Kent County had different, but similar responses to the threat of mass deportation and ICE coming after immigrants.

Becker was quoted as saying, “I don’t think legally, it’s going to have too much of an effect…….It’s going to be more how the public, you know, and some of the, you know, people worry about getting deported. It’s always been an issue in terms of: Are they going to be willing to come forward and report crimes?…….You know, we’ve had some significant crimes of some dangerous individuals who were here in the country illegally. But if we don’t have other people who are in the country illegally reporting those crimes, they’re still out there. So, it’s kind of a very difficult situation, a delicate situation.”

Becker’s comment reflect his tremendous privilege, plus his own bias, since he emphasizes the immigrant behavior, not the function and role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The channel 17 reporter also used a statement from the Kent County Sheriff, which read: 

“We are in the very early stages of the Trump Administrations Executive Orders related to immigration law enforcement and not much detail has been provided. Exactly what these new orders will mean for law enforcement at the local level is not entirely clear. We are carefully assessing the information we have been provided and will continue to do so as this very dynamic situation evolves.”

Needless to say, the Kent County Sheriff’s statement is vague and non-committal. 

Lastly, here is what GRPD Chief Winstrom was quoted as saying: “Everyone in Grand Rapids can feel safe contacting the police………….Individuals need to feel comfortable talking to police officers. They need to know that when they call 911, they’re not going to be turned from a victim into a suspect…….The federal government has an immense amount of power; there are very, very clear lines in place of who has authority over who, and just the police here in Grand Rapids, we’re just simply not in the immigration business.”

The 3rd local news story related to ICE and Trump Administration policies was posted by MLive on Friday morning, with the headline, “Grand Rapids police ‘not in the business of immigration enforcement,’ chief says.”

Winstrom was quoted in the MLive story with pretty much the same comments from the WXMI 17 story. The only fundamental difference was the fact that MLive cited the GRPD and immigration policy that was enacted in 2019. The GRPD policy reference in the article is actually called the Foreign National’s Policy, which has lots of lofty rhetoric, but it also states, “The policy allows officers to provide assistance to federal immigration authorities when there is an emergency that poses an immediate danger to public safety or federal agents.” Ultimately, what the GRPD determines to be an “immediate danger to public safety” is often something as simple as marching in the streets, something I have witnessed first hand. In addition, it must be made clear that the whole reason why this policy was adopted in August of 2019, was because in 2018 the GRPD contacted ICE to racial profile a former US Marine who was a US citizen and have him sent to a detention facility. This action on behalf of the GRPD got national attention and was such an embarrassment to the City that they crafted this policy.

What I find so deeply problematic about these stories and the comments from people in positions of power are that:

• The Kent County Prosecutor, the Kent County Sheriff and the GRPD have demonstrated over and over again that they will fully cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• GR Rapid Response and Movimiento Cosecha  confronted Kent County around the ICE contract they had since 2012. County officials ignored these push to end the contract but because of the constant pressure and media attention around the contract, ICE ended it in September of 2019.
• More importantly, the local news media not center and elevated the voices of those from the affected community, those who are at risk of arrest, detention and deportation from ICE. 

I don’t believe that we can put any faith in local or national law enforcement officers to respect the dignity of undocumented immigrants. They follow the law and the laws favor those with privilege and power. If people really want to engage in solidarity with undocumented immigrants then they should join the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapid Response to ICE. State agencies cannot and will not center those most vulnerable, so we have to look out for each other, take risks and take action at this moment in history.