Lies and deception: We now have confirmation that the Kent County Sheriff’s Office is engaged in ICE detainers

Local jails and police departments are key to the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda because they facilitate ICE arrests of people who are already in police custody. In the first year of Trump’s second term, the administration has intensified the criminalization of asylum seekers and immigrants, pushed immigrant detention to all-time highs, and indiscriminately raided city after city.

The above statement is from a report produced by the Prison Policy Initiative, which underscores the crucial role that local jails and police departments play in the arrest, detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

For the past 18 months Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have been engaged in a campaign to get Kent County and the City of Grand Rapids to adopt 6 sanctuary policies, all of which were prevent both of these governmental bodies from cooperating or collaborating with ICE in their efforts to target immigrants.

Someone from another local organization recently shared with GRIID a 2-page document that was obtained through a FOIA request that clearly demonstrates that the Kent County Sheriff’s Office has been cooperating with ICE, particularly around the issue of ICE detainers or what are more commonly referred to as ICE holds.

This 2-page document shows that the Kent County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) has formally been engaged in ICE detainers since March 5 of 2025. Under the heading of Purpose it states:

KCSO has established guidelines for complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers while ensuring adherence to Local, State, and Federal laws. KCSO is committed to balancing public safety, legal obligations, and the rights of individuals in custody.

Under the heading of Policy the document states:

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office is committed to upholding all applicable Local, State, and Federal laws regarding immigration enforcement. KCSO works closely with Immigration Enforcement and Removal officials to ensure compliance with these guidelines while maintaining the safety, security, and rights of all individuals in our custody. All interactions with immigration authorities will be conducted in accordance with legal requirements, department policies, and established procedures to ensure transparency, accountability, and due process.

The document is signed by the Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young. The document itself is not terribly revealing, since it merely confirms what members of the affected community have been telling us over the past few years.

However, the FOIA document on ICE detainers at the Kent County Jail is instructive, especially since Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have been attempting to get the Kent County Sheriff’s Office to admit that their office is doing ICE holds at the Kent County Jail.

Last November, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE had been trying to get the Kent County Sheriff to admit they were engaged in ICE detainers at the Kent County Jail. On November 3rd of 2025, people went to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office to ask the simple question, “Is Kent County doing ICE holds at the jail?” People were told that the Sheriff was not in, but one of her Captains came out and said that people should submit a FOIA request to obtain that information. Someone responded by say, “You want us to submit a FOIA, which means you want us to pay money to submit a FOIA request, which will likely take months to get information about whether or not your office requires a judicial warrant to hold people for ICE?”

Not satisfied, Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE returned two weeks later to attempt to talk with the Kent County Sheriff. After a brief disruption, the Sheriff came out and was asked, “Is the Kent County Sheriff’s office cooperating with ICE, by engaging in ICE holds with immigrants who have already been bonded out of the jail.” The Sheriff said that if we wanted answers that we should set up an appointment with her to meet. Cosecha uses the tactic of public meetings/conversations to make sure that politicians do not say one thing in private and another thing in public.

The Sheriff went on to say, “this is a place of business and I have other obligations right now.” Someone asked if they could just respond to the questions about ICE holds. Again, the Sheriff said that if we want to have a conversation that we needed to make an appointment. The Sheriff then said she did not have time to talk with us right now and that she was not going to speak with us because we would just take excerpts of what she said and spin it.

Eight months later we now have confirmation that the Kent County Sheriff’s Office does engage in ICE detainers and has been doing it since March of 2025.

It should never be this hard to get basic information, information that is rooted basic human rights, where people wanted to know if the Kent County Sheriff’s Office was actively collaborating with ICE. The lack of transparency and honesty from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office and the Kent County Commission is despicable and should not be tolerated. If you want to then get involved in resisting ICE in Kent County you should definitely be part of the important work of Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapid Response to ICE.