Wanting to be seen but not commit to resisting ICE: Immigrant solidarity and political candidates in Grand Rapids

Last Sunday several hundred people came out to participate in the event Beats Not Bombs at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.

The event was co-sponsored by Kent County Indivisible, the Kent County Queer Coalition, SECOM, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. This event was a fundraiser and the groups benefiting from any donations would be SECOM, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. In fact, it was billed as an event to support immigrant families who have been impacted by ICE.

There were several informational tables, bands, a DJ, dancing and lots of opportunities to support the important work of SECOM, Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE, all of which supports families affected by ICE.

We are in an election year, which means that people running for office will use any opportunity to shake hands and be seen, especially if being seen means they are viewed as being more progressive.

I saw at least 4 candidates during the Beats Not Bombs event, one was a first time candidate running for a Grand Rapids City Commission seat, one who is an incumbent Grand Rapids City Commissioner, and two that are current Kent County Commissioners running for a state seat.

Let’s take a look at the 4 candidates, but before that I just want to make the observation that there were very few politicians and/or candidates that even bothered to show up and offer support to immigrant families impacted by ICE.

Second Ward City Commissioner Lisa Knight was at the event and she is running for another four year term as a 2nd Ward City Commissioner. Commissioner Knight has opposed the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get the City of Grand Rapids to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that have been put before the city commission since January of 2025. Commissioner Knight did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has she ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since she was elected as a city commissioner in 2022.

Kent County Commissioner Kris Pachla was at the event and he is running for Michigan’s 80th House District seat. Commissioner Pachla has opposed the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get Kent County to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that were first presented to the County Commission in February of 2025. Commissioner Pachla did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since he was elected as a county commissioner in 2022.

Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack was at the event and he was the DJ for the Beats Not Bombs event. In fact, he said give it up for Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. Womack is running for Michigan’s 82nd House District seat. Commissioner Womack has at times verbally said he is supportive of the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get Kent County to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that were first presented to the County Commission in February of 2025. However, Commissioner Womack has done nothing to push his fellow commissioners on the issue, not called for a public hearing or used his position as a County Commissioner to further the Cosecha campaign.  Commissioner Womack did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since he was elected as a county commissioner.

Lindsey Perez-Plescher was the only candidate present that has never held political office. Lindsey Perez-Plescher is running as a candidate for the Grand Rapids City Commission Ward #1. Over the past 18 months Lindsey did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha. When asked by several different sources about whether or not she would support the 6 Cosecha sanctuary demands she stated that she would not because she felt that it would cause her to lose the election in August, since there are three candidates for the vacant 1st Ward seat. This response is puzzling for a variety of reasons. First, there is a large immigrant population living in the 1st Ward, which includes the Grandville Avenue corridor, the Burton/Buchanan area and the near westside. More importantly, she knows the pain of family separation as a member of her family was deported by ICE several years ago.

Now, I personally don’t put much stock in the efficacy of electoral politics, but my own read on history and my own experience over the past 45 years of doing movement work is that electoral politics is often the death of social movements.

How is it that political candidates come to an event like Beats Not Bombs, an event that was primarily about supporting immigrant families impacted by the state terrorist organization known as ICE and still not commitment to supporting the work of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE?

How can these candidates claims to fight for social justice and collective liberation and not take an active role to resist and abolish ICE? Candidates should never use events like Beats Not Bombs to platform their reformist, neoliberal and business as usual agendas.