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Detroiters protesting ICE operations in the city
Residents in Detroit attended a protest near one of the city's federal buildings amid a surge in activity from immigration officers around the U.S.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Tensions around the U.S. are rising as protests against the Trump administration's immigration policies are spreading to major cities.
That includes Detroit where people congregated near the city's federal building to picket the raids carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Big picture view:
As police clash with protesters in California over an increase in ICE raids against immigrants, the fever is continuing to spike elsewhere.
In Detroit, concerned citizens, legal professionals, and public officials gathered in solidarity with the protests in Los Angeles as they push back on allegations of ICE targeting families in Michigan.
"I’m incredibly angry, upset, scared for my neighbors, my residents who are trying to follow due process," said Gabriela Santiago-Romero.
Santiago-Romero represents a diverse district of Detroit made up of Hispanic citizens with family backgrounds that extend beyond U.S. borders.
She described a cycle her constituents are caught in where they attempt to resolve their legal status before getting detained by federal officials.
"(They) show up for their asylum cases, their hearings, and then getting them dismissed and as they walk out the door, they’re getting picked up by ICE and taken away," she said.
Local perspective:
Santiago-Romero said she is looking into allegations an entire family was detained Wednesday morning in Southwest Detroit.
"This morning, around 6:30 a.m., I received a message that there was a quote un quote raid happening," she told FOX 2. "We’re also hearing the whole family was detained and taken away, including a baby.
The allegations are part of the concerns that drove people to the protest on Wednesday afternoon.
"This is not what we stand for. This is not what we want," said Noelle Bellanger with the People's Assembly of Detroit.
Bellanger said it's not unusual to see both marked and unmarked ICE vehicles in those areas of Detroit.
Detroit high school student facing deportation after arrest during field trip: 'This is the last stop'
Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, a Detroit high school student, is currently in Louisiana awaiting deportation back to Columbia after he was detained in Rockford while driving to a field trip.
The other side:
In response to a request for comment, ICE could not confirm whether a family had been picked up by agents.
"Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to specifics of routine daily operations for ICE," they said in a statement.
The backstory:
The protests are the latest ingredient in the growing backlash to policies pushed by the Trump Administration to identify, arrest, and remove undocumented immigrants.
While some of the most dramatic images have come from southern California, where Trump has called in the National Guard against the wishes of the governor, there are also high-profile deportations being reported in Detroit.
On Wednesday, a high school junior enrolled at Detroit Public Schools lost his appeal to pause his deportation. Maykol Bogoya-Duarte was detained by police while on a field trip.
Hundreds of others have been detained at the Detroit-Windsor border after making a wrong turn toward the Ambassador Bridge, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Hundreds detained at Detroit-Windsor border after wrong turn toward Ambassador Bridge
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib was told 12 families had been among those held in custody while one individual attempted suicide while in detention.
The Source: Interviews with protesters, statements from ICE, and previous reporting was used for this story.