Kent County I-Bond Fund goes public with their efforts to raised bond money for immigrants who are being detained by ICE
Yesterday there was a kickoff event for the Kent County I-Bond Fund, a community bond fund that provides financial support to immigrants who are being detained by ICE.
The event was held at Tacqueria El Rincon Mexicano in Grand Rapids. Geoff Gillis and Richard Kessler facilitated the event, as well as introducing the history and purpose of the Kent County I-Bond Fund.
In addition to those directly involved with the creation of the I-Bond Fund, there were other people who spoke, those involved in doing immigrant justice work in West Michigan and members of the immigrant community who have already benefited from the fundraising efforts of the Kent County I-Bond Fund.
Both of the immigrants spoke about the importance of having a bond fund for those detained by ICE, shared their personal stories about enduring the trauma of being arrested and then being detained without knowing how long they would be in detention. In fact, they both said that had there not been efforts to raise funds for them, they both could very well still be in detention or even possibly deported. Both of these courageous women implored those in attendance to support the Kent County I-Bond Fund and how this is a concrete way for people in West Michigan to support immigrants who have been the targets of state violence.
In addition to members of the immigrant community who shared their stories, Gema Lowe, with Movimiento Cosecha GR, talked about the importance of the bond fund. Lowe named the ICE targeting members of the immigrant community as a form of kidnapping. She then said that the bond amount that the judge would set for people who were eligible for being bonded out, this bond money was in actuality a ransom that these families would have to pay in order to see the loved ones in detention. Gema also referred to the bond fund as, “community helping community.”
Sr. Mary Brigid Klingman also spoke briefly, by providing a religious and theological basis for people in the community to come to the aid of those who are being held in detention. Sr. Mary Brigid is a member of the Grand Rapids Dominicans.
One additional speaker was Amy Carpenter, who is a volunteer organizer with GR Rapid Response to ICE. Carpenter talked about how, as a person who carries a great deal of privilege, that they needed “to weaponize” their privilege. They also stated that it was really an honor to be involved in this work and that they have been fortunate to have learned to do this type of solidarity work from those in the immigrant community.
For those who want to keep up to date with the Kent County I-Bond Fund, you can follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Kent-County-IBOND-Fund-374417653364919/.
To donate to the Kent County I-Bond Fund, there are two options. You can go to a GoFundMe page and make a contribution online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/kent-county-ibond-fund or mail checks to Joy Like a River and send them to this address Kent County I-Bond Fund PO Box 150350, Grand Rapids, MI 49515.
The Grand Rapids Police Department has a fairly new program, where they are asking businesses and residents to register their security cameras, so the GRPD can expand their reach.
The new program, called citywatch gr, was recently being promoted on the Facebook page of the John Ball Area Neighbors. Someone from the neighborhood association must have received something in the mail, since they took pictures of the material and posted it on the Facebook page.
WXMI 17 also ran a story about the program earlier this summer. In their story they interviewed the owner of Mayan Buzz Cafe, who now has cameras registered with the GRPD, allowing the police department the opportunity to utilize footage from the various cameras located inside the cafe.
Here is a link to how you can register your security camera with the GRPD. The language used in this program is rather disturbing and is essentially a forum of state monitoring and surveillance that is increasing all across the country.
So what is the big deal? Why should we be concerned with the public sharing footage with the GRPD?
The editors of the book, Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency, would argue the following:
“A shift in police philosophy, beginning in the 1970s, places domestic policing into a frame of counterinsurgency. Rather than seeking out the perpetrators when crimes have been committed, counterinsurgency emphasizes widespread surveillance and infiltration to identify and neutralize threats before they materialize. Based as it is on a war paradigm, counterinsurgency justifies police action on the basis of intent, suspicion, and association rather then the higher standards of evidence associated with a crime-fighting model. Within the logic of COIN (short for counterinsurgency), civil society is a breeding ground for subversion, crime and terror and must be closely monitored to guard against outbreaks.”
The authors of the book go on to say that, “Counterinsurgency policing exactly complements this conservative agenda by disrupting opponents of corporate power and suppressing the responses of the hardest hit communities.”
The GRPD would argue it wants access to your security camera footage, not just because they might want to find people who are responsible for crimes, but the real reason is so that the cops can potentially undermine the efforts of dissidents, radical groups or groups that they consider to be a threat to the local power structure. Just consider how many examples we have seen recently, where someone from the public caught on camera officers with the GRPD using violence against black and brown people. One could argue that this new program by the GRPD, to get people to register their security cameras, is a direct response to all the footage that people have taken of the GRPD, footage that demonstrates that the cops are a threat to public safety.
Also, as the private security sector expands, they will stop at nothing to make money by partnering with law enforcement, in what could be considered the surveillance industry complex. A recent example of this is where Amazon is providing free use of their security company Ring, if local police departments will advertise the company’s services.
To counteract this effort by the GRPD to recruit the public to help them monitor our communities, we encourage people to be involved in a CopWatch program, where the public monitors the activities and behavior of the GRPD.
A Momentary Celebration: ICE contracts, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department and how systems of oppression make tactical adjustments
As we reported on Saturday, there was another direct action done at the Kent County Jail, calling for an end to the contract with ICE.
Since the action on Saturday, the Kent County Sheriff’s office has released a statement that was reported on WOOD TV 8, which said:
“The current contract with ICE will expire on September 30, 2019 as ICE is not seeking to renew the agreement,” Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young said in a statement Sunday. “In January of this year, we adjusted our protocols within the correctional facility to manage the way we handled ICE requests for detainees. We have thoroughly evaluated this policy and determined it to be effective in protecting the community and in the safe and fair handling of persons of interest to ICE. Therefore, we intend to keep it as part of our standard operating procedure. As a result of the addition of our January protocol, ICE informed my office they would not be seeking a renewal of the contract. The Kent County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work collaboratively with ICE, as we do with all law enforcement agencies, to ensure public safety, due process, and the rule of law for all people in Kent County.”
There are several important responses to this statement.
The Power of Social Movements
First, GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha GR, the groups that have been fighting to end the contract between ICE and the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, are both acknowledging that since ICE does not want to renew their contract with the county, that this is a victory for the immigrant justice movement in West Michigan. Furthermore, it must be said that everything that has happened around the ICE contract in the past 14 months has been due to the important work that GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha GR has done.
When the Kent County Sheriff said that ICE needed to obtain a judicial warrant in order to put holds on immigrants at the jail, this was due to the pressure of this movement. The fact that ICE has decided to not renew their contract with the county, this is also due directly to the work done over the past 14 months. And it should be stated that this work has included disrupting County Commission meetings, speaking at County Commission meetings, doing incredible education work in the community, holding rallies at the Kent County Jail, pressuring the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, circulating petitions, organizing marches and generating a great deal of news coverage, both local and national.
When Systems of Oppression Push Back
Second, it is also important to note that ICE is the one that has made the decision to not renew the contract with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. Back in March, both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security both condemned the county for their decision to require judicial warrants. ICE referred to Kent County’s decision to require judicial warrants as a “Sanctuary Policy.”
It is extremely important that we understand that the decision by ICE to not renew its contract with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department is a tactical shift on the part of ICE. Whenever movements for social justice make gains, systems of power and oppression will push back and make adjustments to further their power. For example, when chattel slavery was abolished in the US, white supremacist institutions adjusted by passing Jim Crow laws as a way of punishing and criminalizing the black community. Another example would be how corporations who have been under attack for their awful environmental practices have decided to practice green capitalism, which attempts to present companies as environmentally friendly, when in fact their very existence does harm to the environment.
And this is exactly what ICE is doing in Kent County. Yes, it is a victory for the immigrant justice movement that ICE does not want to renew their contract with the Sheriff’s Department. However, as we also pointed out in the article about the rally at the jail on Saturday, ICE has shifted their tactic to coming into the jail and apprehending undocumented immigrants who were in the process of getting out of the Kent County Jail, thus circumventing the need for a contract. The decision by ICE to come into the jail and then apprehend undocumented immigrants who were there for some minor offense, like an expired drivers license, makes complete sense. ICE is hoping that those who have been resisting the harm they have been doing in Kent County will feel like without a formal contract those resisting will just give up.
This brings us to the third point we want to make, a point which is reflected at the end of the statement made by the Kent County Sheriff’s office, when they stated:
“The Kent County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work collaboratively with ICE, as we do with all law enforcement agencies, to ensure public safety, due process, and the rule of law for all people in Kent County.”
Such a statement demonstrates how morally bankrupt the Kent County Sheriff’s Department really is. In other words, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department will do nothing to prevent ICE from apprehending undocumented immigrants who are in the process of getting out of the jail, AND in fact, they will cooperate fully with ICE to make sure that undocumented immigrants will be treated as criminals. Of course, the complicity that the Kent County Sheriff’s Department is guilty of with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has nothing to do with “public safety” or the “rule of law,” as suggested in the Sheriff’s statement.
Therefore, it is important that we understand that the Kent County Sheriff’s Department is enabling ICE to continue to terrorize the immigrant community in West Michigan. And once we understand this, we must continue to fight against ICE violence, we must continue to expose the complicity of the Kent County Sheriff’s office and we must continue to engage in organized resistance against this matrix of violence by adopting the only rational approach, which is to ABOLISH ICE.
If you are not already involved in the work of GR Rapid Response to ICE or Movimiento Cosecha GR, then by all means, join this movement for immigrant justice. If you are already involved in the work, then we thank you for the victory of ending the contract between ICE and Kent County, but we implore you to continue in the work to resist and Abolish ICE in this community.
Immigrant Justice groups rally at the Kent County Jail and Demand an end to the ICE Contract
Earlier today, about 50 people marched to the Kent County Jail to demand that the Kent County Sheriff’s Department end their contract with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Kent County Sheriff’s Department has had a contract with ICE since 2012.
The rally was organized by members of GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha GR, both of which have been working to end the contract since June of 2018.
Those who participated in the march were encouraged to go inside the jail. The crowd did come into the jail and began to chant for an End to the ICE Contract, fully expecting that the Sheriff’s Department or the GRPD would ask them to leave. Neither law enforcement agency showed up, so the organizers decided to hold their brief program in the lobby of the jail. This writer asked someone how it felt to be in that space, which is usually space that is frequented by families 
coming to see those who are being held in the jail or for those who are attempting to bond people out. “It felt liberating to be in here, making noise and disrupting the jail staff,” said one person who had never done anything like this before. It is important for social movements to take over or reclaim spaces that are the sites of oppression. Being in spaces like the jail can signal to people that they do have power, that they don’t need to sheepishly obey the dictates of those in authority and that these kinds of actions can help foster the kind of radical imagination we need to overthrown systems of oppression.
The program that took place inside the jail consisted of three different speakers. The first person to speak was Rosa, who shared her story about how her mom had been in the Kent County Jail because her license was expired. When Rosa’s mom was being processed out, ICE had already come into the jail and essentially took her into custody and then transported her to the 
Battle Creek detention facility. Ever since the Kent County Sheriff announced that they would be requiring a judicial warrant for ICE to put holds on people, ICE has shifted their tactics.
The next speaker, Nerida, was speaking on behalf of Movimiento Cosecha GR. Nerida also talked about how the ICE contract was impacting members of the immigrant community and why it needed to end. She spoke about the constant fear that her community experiences because of ICE. Nerida told those who had gathered for the rally to join the immigrant community in ending the ICE contract.
The last speaker was Karen, with GR Rapid Response to ICE. Karen read the following statement, which was an excerpt from a letter written by the legal counsel that represents the Sheriff’s Department:
Despite the declaration in January that the Sheriff’s Department would no longer hold immigrants in the Kent County Jail without a judicial warrant, the jail continues to cooperate with ICE. Here is an excerpt from a statement made by lawyers who represent Kent County. The statement was written in February, and regards a person who was seized by ICE on her release from the Kent County Jail.
The name of the person who was taken by ICE has been redacted to protect her identity.
“Since the Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young instituted a policy that she will not detain anyone for ICE without a judicial warrant, ICE has opted to be present and take physical custody instead of seeking a judicial warrant . . . In the situation of Ms. X, she was being processed out of the KCCF [Kent County Correctional Facility] custody in the normal course following the resolution through bond of the local charges. Since there was an I-247-detainer request, it is part of the normal process that ICE is made aware an individual is being processed for release . . . Prior to the completion of the normal processing-out procedure, an ICE officer appeared at the KCCF and took Ms. X into ICE custody and transported her to Calhoun County. Had the ICE officer not appeared prior to the completion of the release processing procedure, Ms. X would have left the KCCF without any restraint by the Kent County Sheriff Office. The Kent County Sheriff Office completed its processing out of Ms. X after she was taken into ICE custody.”
No matter what Kent County says about not holding immigrants without a judicial warrant, the fact is they continue to cooperate with ICE’s violent kidnapping of our immigrant neighbors and the separation of them from their community and families. The jail tells ICE when they are holding an undocumented immigrant. They alert ICE when that immigrant is being released from the jail. And they allow ICE inside the jail to seize that person–even before they have been processed out from the jail.
But this doesn’t have to be the case. Kalamazoo, after a week or so of protests, signed a resolution to defund all collaboration with ICE. The Dearborn City Council just four days ago decided not to renew its prisoner housing contract with Calhoun County after anti-ICE activists protested and showed up to the city council meeting.
It is time for Kent County to do the same, and show the immigrant community that it is welcome and safe here by not renewing this harmful and destructive contract.
After the brief program in the jail, the rally then marched to the administrative offices of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. Upon arriving at the administrative building, someone read a statement written by GR Rapid Response to ICE. The statement was pointing out the reasons why having a contract with ICE was unjust, plus it demanded that the Kent County Sheriff end the contract with ICE, a contract that is scheduled to expire on September 30 of 2019. People then attached the document to the front door of the administrative office, as well as placing yard signs in the lawn in front of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department administrative building.
Before end the rally, organizers made some announcements of other upcoming actions, which included a phone zap starting on Monday, where people were encouraged to call the Sheriff’s office and demand an end to the contract with ICE. People then marched back to where the action had started, just a few blocks from the Kent County Jail.
I just finished teaching this class for the 3rd time in the past eight months, so I thought it would be useful to share with those who read the GRIID blog, what the class on the history of US immigration policy consisted of.
I also wanted to share this information by way of letting organizations, community groups, churches, etc, know that I am willing to offer the class again, especially since immigration is one of the urgent issues we face right now in the US. Immigration is an issue that involves White Supremacy, Capitalism, US Imperialism, Settler Colonialism, Climate Change and American exceptionalism. What follows is the material that we cover, the readings, images and other resources used in this popular education class. Contact me at jsmith@griid.org, if you are interested in hosting a class.
Betsy DeVos used a poll conducted by a pro-education privatization group to justify Department of Education policies
On Tuesday, US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, released a statement, which said in part:
American families want more control and more options when it comes to education, which is why every poll conducted shows the growing, bipartisan support for education freedom. This research is just the latest indication that voices of America’s parents are growing louder in demanding something other than a government-assigned, union-controlled school for their children.
The “research” that DeVos was referring to was a new poll taken by the group, Education Next. The poll, conducted in May 2019, asked 3046 adults a variety of questions. The data from the poll can be seen at this link.
While Betsy DeVos emphasized that this poll showed that people support federal funds for education being turned over to state governments, so that states can decide how to use the funding, DeVos failed to mention that the poll also supported other positions.
The poll showed that a majority of people supported things like increased teacher pay, local schools, increased education spending and free college for those who want to attend a public college or university. All of these opinions, reflected in the poll, were casually omitted in Secretary of Education DeVos’ comments.
However, the poll also showed that there was significant support for school vouchers & tax credits, charter schools and Common Core State Standards.
Another glaring omission from Betsy DeVos was that she never identified what the group Education Next was affiliated with. Education Next, according to SourceWatch:
is a propaganda outlet for corporate education reform policies such as charter schools, school vouchers, and merit pay. Its editorial board consists of the members of the Koret Task Force, the education task force of the conservative think-tank the Hoover Institute.
None of this is surprising, considering that Betsy DeVos has been spending the past 25 years promoting and defending her own ideological positions on education, positions which seek to undermine public education, attack teacher unions and to re-direct public funds to pay for privatized forms of education, like Charter Schools.
Perpetuating Misinformation: MLive article is nothing more than a version of a US Customs and Border Patrol Media Release
It is not a new thing for news agencies to act as stenographers for systems of power. However, with the consolidation of news agencies under greater corporate control, journalism increasingly becomes a mouthpiece of state or private power.
A recent example of how journalism fulfills this the function as stenographer and thus fails the public to provide an independent or critical perspective on the issue of immigration.
Below there are two versions of what happened when US Customs and Border Patrol agents arrested 10 undocumented immigrants in the town of Munising in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The version on the left, is a Media Release from US Customs and Border Patrol dated August 15. On the right, we have what MLive printed on August 15, later updated on August 16.
The similarities are striking. It is as if MLive just re-worded the US Customs and Border Patrol Media Release, without doing any actual journalism.
This practice of acting as a stenographer is dangerous on two levels. First, it normalizes the idea that whatever information the government provides is unquestioning. It is extremely dangerous if we are not encouraged to question official positions, whether those positions are from private or state sources.
The second reason why it is dangerous for MLive to act as a stenographer for the US Customs and Border Patrol is that it promotes misinformation. Since MLive simply ran a re-worded version of the US Customs and Border Patrol Media Release, they are perpetuating inaccurate information when they focus on the one person arrested who had previous drug charges. The majority of undocumented immigrants in the US do not have a criminal conviction.
However, the damage was already done, since the US Customs and Border agent is quoted as saying:
“Today the men and woman of the United States Border Patrol made Munising safer by removing a convicted illegal alien drug dealer and nine others from the streets.”
This statement by the US Customs and Border Patrol agent is misinformation. We don’t really know what the narcotics charges were for the one man named in the story and more importantly, the other 9 people were not charged or convicted of anything other than being in the US without “proper” documentation. Being in the US without documentation is not a criminal offense, it is a civil infraction. The matter is compounded when the US Customs and Border Patrol agent says that the arrests made Munising safer. The US Customs and Border Patrol agent provides no evidence as to how these arrests would make Munising safer. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of undocumented immigrants in the US are not engaged in criminal activity, even though the MLive article, which relies on the US Customs and Border Patrol Media Release, would have readers believe just the opposite.
It is no surprise then that this kind of journalism not only misinforms the public, it affirms the anti-immigrant sentiment that permeates so much of the political climate.
Borrowing money from the Teacher Pension gains ground in Michigan, but what would the MEA be willing to do to stop it?
Over a month ago, we first reported about a proposal from the West Michigan Policy Forum (WMPF) an economic scheme to pay for road repair in Michigan.
Under the WMPF proposal, the state would issue a 30-year pension obligation bond to borrow $10 billion that would be pumped into the Michigan Public Schools Employees Retirement System. This proposal fits within the larger agenda of the WMPF, which is to promote and pass neoliberal economic policies in Michigan.
Even though this plan seems rather outlandish, it is finally getting some traction. Late last week, the West Michigan Policy Forum posted on their Facebook page back to back articles, suggesting that the their Teacher Pension plan is gaining ground and even Gov. Whitmer is warming up to the idea.
Crain’s Detroit Business reported that Gov. Whitmer was “warming up” to the idea put forth by the West Michigan Policy Forum, in a late July article. However, an article in Bridge Michigan states that the Governor has not committed to anything in terms of how to fund the roads, but that the clock is ticking since the legislature has yet to approve the state budget.
On August 7, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) stated that the:
“MEA will oppose any efforts to bond, borrow, delay payments, re-amortize or otherwise underfund our pension system to pay for road repairs. All these amount to the same thing – schemes that put the health of our pension system at risk for current and future school retirees.”
While this stated provides clear opposition, what is the MEA prepared to do to protect the teacher pensions? The MEA has for years banked on the strategy of funding Democratic lawmakers to further their interests, but Democrats have been a minority in the legislature for years and not all Democrats endorse their positions.
If the GOP can convince Gov. Whitmer to support the Teacher Pension plan to fund the roads, what is the MEA prepared to do in order to stop this from happening? If the MEA can’t lobby elected officials to oppose the Teacher Pension plan, then they need to adopt other strategies like Direct Action. The MEA only need to look to other teacher unions across the country, which have been striking in recent years and in most cases they have won their demands. Eric Blanc documents the teacher uprising across the country in his recent book, Red State Revolt: The Teachers’ Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics (Verso Books). Unfortunately, there is no indication that the MEA will adopt any kind of direct action strategy, which is why the teacher union in Michigan continues to loss major battles against the larger neoliberal education policies being championed by groups like the West Michigan Policy Forum.
Senator Tom Barrett, drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants and the DeVos Family
On Friday, in an article published by MLive, it was announced that there will be legislative support for Movimiento Cosecha’s Drivers Licenses for All campaign.
State Senator Stephanie Chang will be introducing legislation in the upcoming weeks that will allow undocumented immigrants the opportunity obtain a drivers license in Michigan. Michigan used to grant undocumented immigrants the right to obtain a drivers license, but that change in 2007, when Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox made a ruling to prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining a Michigan Drivers License.
The MLive article includes video taken by Movimiento Cosecha that shows a member of Movimiento Cosecha asking Gov. Whitmer if she supports undocumented immigrants and their desire to have a drivers license in Michigan. Whitmer said she would support the granting drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.
It is important to recognize that the only real reason that some Michigan politicians are willing to support drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants is because of all the organizing that Movimiento Cosecha and other immigrant rights groups have done to make drivers licenses an issue.
However, there are some Michigan legislators, specifically Republican lawmakers, who do not support allowing undocumented immigrants to have a Michigan drivers license. One such politician is Sen. Tom Barrett, a Republican from Charlotte. Barrett was quoted in the MLive article as saying that allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a drivers license is a,”slippery slope towards granting amnesty or giving them voting rights.” He also stated:
“We have to respect the laws of our country, not encourage or reward people for being here illegally.”
So, lets unpack what Sen. Barrett had to say.
First, on the matter of respecting the laws of the country. Since the founding of the US, most laws have benefitted white people, particularly white people with property. The laws of the US have primarily punished the poor, black, brown and indigenous people. It was legal to own slaves for nearly 100 years in the US. It was legal to disenfranchise communities of color for most of US history and still the system has found ways to prevent people of color from voting. It has been legal in the US to actively discriminate against black, brown and immigrant people. It was legal to deport Chinese immigrants after the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was legal to round up Japanese Americans during WWII and forcibly put them in internment camps. It was legal for white people to take indigenous land.
Second, undocumented immigrants who come to the US are primarily coming out of desperation, fleeing violence, persecution, poverty and climate injustice. Undocumented immigrants risk their very lives to come to the US so they can have a better life.
Third, providing undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a drivers license is not a reward. When undocumented immigrants are allowed to obtain drivers licenses in Michigan, it means they will be able to support their families, contribute to their communities and contribute to broader community safety.
Fourth, does Senator Barrett realize how ridiculous he sounds when he says, giving undocumented immigrants a drivers license is a slippery slope towards granting amnesty or giving them voting rights. How is granting people asylum a slippery slope? As was already stated, people are risking their lives to flee dangerous circumstances and should be able to apply for asylum with the fullest support of the legal system.
Fifth, we all know that only those who have citizenship can vote, so either Senator Barrett doesn’t know the law or he is merely using rhetoric which speaks to his constituents, rhetoric which is rooted in xenophobia, nationalism and white supremacy.
Sixth, Senator Barrett has been a politician only since 2014 and he has won the past few elections primarily because of the amount of money he has raised since becoming a State Representative and State Senator in Michigan. According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the number one family to contribute to Tom Barrett since he first ran for office in 2014, is the DeVos Family. The top two entities to finance Tom Barrett since he first ran for office, have been the House Republican Campaign Committee and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. The number one contributor to both of those GOP entities has been the DeVos Family.
Therefore, since the DeVos Family has been the primary economic contributor to Senator Tom Barrett, we can certainly put some of the blame on them when Barrett says dumb ass shit like, “We have to respect the laws of our country, not encourage or reward people for being here illegally.”
Foundation Watch: What groups received funding from the Van Andel family foundations?
In the past few months we have made several posts about the various DeVos family foundations and some of the foundations run by those that act as financial advisors to the DeVos family.
Today, we want to look at the family that began a partnership with DeVos, a partnership that led to the creation of Amway. Of course, we are talking about Jay Van Andel and his family. Van Andel was always less of a public figure that Rich DeVos, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t as politically active in a variety of causes. Even though Jay Van Andel has been dead for years, it is important to note that for several decades he financially supported numerous far right entities in the US, both religious and political.
The two Van Andel family foundations we are examining today, are the David & Carol Van Andel Foundation and the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation.
According to Guidestar, the David & Carol Van Andel Foundation states that it has just over $90 million in assets. We looked at the 990 documents between 2014 and 2017. However, both the 2016 and 2017 990s did not provide any information on specific recipients of the David & Carol Foundation. Therefore, the amounts listed below are only from 2014 & 2015.
Some of the larger entities that have received funding from this foundation were:
- Cascade Fellowship CRC $1,200,000
- Grand Rapids Christian Schools $647,000
- GREAAT Schools Inc. $233,000
- Grand Rapids Opera $225,000
- Grand Rapids YMCA $260,000
- Western Theological Seminary $1,000,000
- Grand Action $175,000
The largest recipients of funding from the David & Carol Van Andel Foundation are Christian entities, specifically Cascade Fellowship CRC, Grand Rapids Christian Schools and Western Theological Seminary. These entities fit within the ideological framework of the Van Andel Foundation and the Van Andel family.
Another recipient was Grand Action, which fits within the family’s public/private partnership model, which is essentially a Neoliberal economic model, where the public contributes part of the money, but there is no public oversight. Then there is GREAAT Schools, Inc. According to the Guidestar, “GREAAT Schools Inc. is hands-on in the formation of charter school models from concept to implementation. We are committed to organizing high performing school models, including a college preparatory curriculum and a focus on achievement culture.”
Lastly, the David & Carol Van Andel Foundation contributed to civic entities like the YMCA and Opera Grand Rapids. The Opera is a recipient, since Betty Van Andel, David’s mother gave lots of money before she died, which is why the newer building on East Fulton is named after her.
Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation
According to Guidestar, the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation has assets of $93 million. Like the other Van Andel family foundation, there is significant financial support to Christian organizations. We looked at the 990 documents between 2014 and 2017, so the totals below reflect 4 years of contributions. Here is a list of the larger recipients from the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation:
- Hillsdale College $4,800,000
- Holland Home Foundation $1,755,000
- Camp Rogers $1,040,000
- Trillium Institute $500,000
- Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation $250,000
- Michigan State University $250,000
- Children’s Healing Center $250,000
- Gerald R. Ford Foundation $200,000
- Meijer Gardens $200,000
- Family Promise $150,000
- Potter’s House $92,500
- American Enterprise Institute $50,000
- Foundation for Michigan Freedom $50,000
- Acton Institute $35,000
Like the rest of the Van Andel family foundations, a great deal of money has been contributed to Christian entities or conservative organizations, both of which fit within the family’s ideological and political history.
Hillsdale College is a great example of the kinds of entities that the Van Andel family has supported over the decades. We wrote about Hillsdale College in late 2017, which included information about how the college has a history of opposing things like public education and affirmative action.
Some of the ideologically driven entities that received funding from the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation are the Foundation for Michigan Freedom, which is a political lobby group that is run by the DeVos family operative Greg McNeilly. The American Enterprise Institute is one of the most influential right-wing think tanks in the US and the Acton Institute plays a similar role, since by AEI and Acton elevate market-driven economics as what must be protected and expanded.
On the matter of education, the Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation, like the other Van Andel and DeVos foundations, supports Christian Schools like Potters House, but also contributed to the GRPS by way of the Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation, with the intent of influencing public education to reflect their religious and ideological framework.
Both of the Van Andel family foundations we have looked at today, continue the same kind of religious and political support that was begun by their father Jay Van Andel. And, like their father, both Steve and David Van Andel do it with less attention than the members of the DeVos family, even though they share the same goals.
