MLive thinks that funding for US border security and immigration enforcement in Michigan is only relevant to cops: immigrants and immigrant justice voices are absent

On Saturday, MLive posted an article entitled, 23 Michigan counties lean on a little-known immigration fund. It’s getting more money.

The irony is that one of the reasons the funding for this “little-known immigration fund” is because the commercial news media has not reported on it. While this MLive article is welcomed, they don’t explore the significance of what is known as Operation Stonegarden. 

According to Homeland Security’s Grants Office, “Operation Stonegarden (OPSG) supports enhanced cooperation and coordination among Customs and Border Protection (CBP)/United States Border Patrol (USBP), and federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to strengthen border security.”

The MLive article provides some information on how Operation Stonegarden funds are being used by counties in Michigan that either border or are near the US/Canadian border. However, the MLive reporter limits their article to only talking to local law enforcement entities, particularly in the Upper Peninsula. In other words, MLive doesn’t bother to speak with immigrants about this so-called border security funding program, nor do they talk to groups like Movimiento Cosecha. GR Rapid Response to ICE, No Detention Centers Michigan, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and any number of organizations that are doing immigrant justice work in Michigan. The only perspective in the article is from law enforcement and their perspective is that they are delighted with the extra funding on immigration related matters.

The MLive article does provide a link to the Operation Stonegarden program of the Department of Homeland Security, but they don’t spend much time on looking at what one might find at this link https://www.homelandsecuritygrants.info/Grant-Details/gid/21875. 

At this link you will find a report from FY 2024 regarding the funding for Operation Stonegarden (OPSG). “OPSG provides $81 million to enhance cooperation and coordination among state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement agencies in a joint mission to secure the United States’ borders along routes of ingress from international borders, to include travel corridors in states bordering Mexico and Canada, as well as states and territories with international water borders.” (See Table 3 here on the right.) Based on the table, Michigan received the 7th largest amount of funding through the Operation Stonegarden program, a total of $1,686,000.

In 2023, the amount that Michigan received was $1,886,500.

In 2022, the amount that Michigan received was $1,902,500.

Keep in mind that the funding for these three years was during the Biden Administration. We cannot forget that the Biden Administration deported some 4 million people and that funding for Immigration and Border Security was at an all-time high. However, with the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill, the Trump Administration will expand border security, funding for ICE and private detention facilities with an additional $170 billion.