Local News bias on ICE and violence in Grand Rapids

Last week several local news organizations reported that a Guatemalan man who has entered the US without documentation on numerous occasions has been sentenced to two years in prison for “assaulting and resisting” an ICE agent, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Michigan.

The Guatemalan immigrant was being pursued by ICE agents and when he pulled over fled his vehicle. When the ICE agents finally caught up with this man the immigrant, “pushed an officer and wrestled with him on the ground before being arrested.” One of the ICE agents injured his knee while wrestling with the man on the ground, which is why he was charged with assault.

According to the story on WOODTV8, after “his sentence is completed, he will be deported again to Guatemala.” Even though the article had already reported on the specifics of the case, they quote at length a US Attorney with the same information, but they also include a direct quote from the US Attorney:

“My office fully supports the important and dangerous work our immigration officers are asked to do and will always vigorously prosecute attacks like this one.” 

This story is deeply problematic and it reflects the inherent bias in how local news has reported on the issue of ICE, immigration and violence. First, the story was generated from a Press Release sent out by the US Attorney’s Office on August 6th.  If you look at the story on WOODTV8 you can see there is not much difference to what they reported and what the Press Release says, which means they probably didn’t talk to anyone or verify the information.

Second, there are no sources provided in this story from the perspective of an immigration lawyer, an organization like the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center or an immigrant-led group like Movimiento Cosecha. I say this to point out that when immigration organizations hold an event or a press conference the local news almost always seeks out a statement from local law enforcement agencies or a government spokesperson.

Third, the channel 8 story did not include the following comment from the US Attorney’s Press Release:

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

No where in the news coverage of this story is there any link between the Guatemalan man with, “cartels and transnational criminal organizations.” Linking undocumented immigrants with criminal behavior is what the Trump Administration has been attempting to do. However, the majority of immigrants abducted by ICE have no criminal history. CBS News reported Feb. 9 that “less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump’s first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses.”

Fourth, besides the WOODTV8 story, MLive and WZZM 13 also reported on this case, relying exclusively on the US Attorney’s Office Press Release. However, the local news will rarely, if ever, report on the violence perpetrated by ICE in Grand Rapids/Kent County. Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have documented incidents of violence and harm perpetrated by ICE against undocumented immigrants since 2017, with an increase in ICE activity in 2026. Here are ways in which ICE perpetuates violence against undocumented immigrants that are not being reported on:

• ICE abducts immigrants on a daily basis in Kent County just because they are undocumented. These abductions often include force used by ICE agents.
• When undocumented immigrants are abducted by ICE it traumatizes the person abducted, along with their family members, especially children.
• Immigrants who have been abducted by ICE end up going to the GEO Group-owned North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. Once an immigrant is at the detention center in Baldwin they are subjected to physical abuse at the hands of of guards, poor nutrition and inadequate health care, which are all forms of violence and violate the rights of immigrants.
• Most undocumented immigrants abducted by ICE are the primary income earners, which means that families have little or no income to meet their basic needs. Subjecting immigrant families to economic insecurity is also a form of violence, which is never reported by local news.
• When immigrants are released from detention they are either subjected to state surveillance through ankle and wrist bracelets or they must download a phone app which allows ICE to monitor them continuously. Mass surveillance is violence. The other outcome of being released from detention is when immigrants are deported, thus causing further family separation and financial hardship, plus it can often means deporting them to a country they fled because of the political violence, thus subjecting them to persecution and possible death.

A major reason why news agencies do not report on the types of violence that immigrants are subjected to is because it is lawful for ICE to abducted, detain and deport immigrants, thus normalizing violence that is inherently part of the legal system. News reporters see federal agencies as inherent good and necessary, thus completely ignoring systemic violence.