ICE Wants to Expand Its Offices and Staff in Grand Rapids

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that in approximately 20 weeks, it will expand its operations in several cities, including Grand Rapids, expanding its offices and hiring more people.

Unfortunately, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill increased the federal budget by hundreds of billions of dollars for the Department of Homeland Security, most of which will be used to detain and deport immigrants. They plan to hire more than 10,000 people across the United States, including Michigan, and will also acquire larger offices. Currently, in Grand Rapids, they have an office located at 517 Ottawa NW, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and another office for Homeland Security investigations at 161 Ottawa NW.

Obviously, we know that increasing the number of officers will increase the number of people detained for deportation, including people who have no criminal record and pose no risk, but they have to justify their numbers based on quotas for how many people they have to arrest per week or month.

Unfortunately, the Grand Rapids City Commission has not yet approved a program to adopt sanctuary city policies that could protect people from abuse by officers and discourage immigration from opening more offices and hiring more people. Lately, we have seen that those arrested are being sent to the new detention center in Baldwin, about 80 miles north of Grand Rapids, which has a capacity for more than 1,850 people. They are trying to fill it by bringing in more people every week from Grand Rapids and other cities such as Chicago, as well as from other states.

It is important to speak out against wasting our money on detaining, mistreating, and deporting immigrants, especially when we know that according to all economic statistics, immigrants contribute to the economy, which is currently suffering in key sectors such as construction, restaurants, and agriculture. Above all, because they are arresting people who pose no threat to the United States because they have no criminal convictions.

In the coming days, we will be releasing more details about when and how their plans will be implemented here in Grand Rapids.

‍

SENATOR CALLED UPON TO SUPPORT  COMRADE XOCHITL 

The Cosecha Movement reminded us that we must continue to fight for the freedom of comrade Catalina Xochitl Santiago of the Cosecha Movement in Texas, demanding that Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin support Xochitl, a DACA beneficiary who is being detained and faces deportation even though she is still under the protection of the Deferred Action program.

They are also demanding that the senator do more to support immigrants against violent attacks by ICE, such as last week's killing of young Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in a Chicago suburb. When Ms. Elissa ran for senator, she said she would fight for justice in immigration cases, but it seems that she is following Trump's policy even though she is a Democrat and is doing nothing to stop racism and xenophobia against immigrants.

Senators like Elissa Slotkin must do everything possible to stop the abuses and demand the release of people like our Mexican comrade Catalina Xochitl Santiago and our Venezuelan comrade Wilian Gimenez Gonzalez, a labor organizer in Chicago who is also being held at the North Lake detention center in Baldwin, Michigan. Politicians must speak out against racist mass raids based on racial profiling, as they have done in Los Angeles and Chicago. If the senator wants the support of immigrants and Latinos, she must act in a way that demonstrates her commitment to justice for immigrants. Being a member of the Democratic Party does not guarantee that immigrants will always vote for her if she does not do everything in her power to stop and challenge Trump's anti-immigrant and racist policies.

Last week, the Cosecha Movement held a nonviolent protest in front of the federal building in Grand Rapids asking for her support for Xóchitl. The senator has not yet responded.

We will continue to fight and protest until politicians take action and don't just make promises they don't keep. Call Senator Slotkin's office in English or Spanish at 616-975-0052 and say the following:

Freedom for Xóchitl!

Free Xóchitl!