Copyright CBS News
Another city in Michigan pulled out of its agreement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, just weeks after signing on. In October, the city of Center Line entered into a new agreement with ICE, giving local police officers the power to act as immigration agents. Known as the 287(g) Task Force Model, it also comes with the potential of additional federal funding for the participating communities. "This carries so much legal liability for the municipality. It can be extremely costly and has really negative consequences for Michigan residents who live, work, or travel through those communities," said Christine Sauvé, policy, engagement, and communications manager at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC). Last week, dozens of residents spoke out against the agreement during a city council meeting, voicing their concerns over how this could endanger innocent people. Immigrant rights advocates say the agreement goes beyond that, with some calling it a dangerous step toward racial profiling and unnecessary violence. "This impacts beyond just Center Line, and my biggest concern was that this was a blueprint for other cities to follow suit," said Katrina Manetta, executive director of Macomb Defenders Rising. "If Center Line were able to get away with this, then maybe Detroit would be able to get away with this, which is an even bigger city with even bigger implications." Center Line's public safety director later announced the city would be withdrawing its agreement, putting out a statement saying, the city "had no intent to participate in any ICE enforcement activities in direct partnership with ICE agents, such as raids on businesses or resident's homes, as the city does not have the resources for that sort of activity." This is the second agency to drop its agreement with ICE in the last month. The Detroit Free Press reports that the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County, a multi-jurisdictional police agency, cancelled its agreement with ICE last month. The agency first entered into the agreement in July. CBS News Detroit dug deeper and found that seven other agencies are still under their own agreements, pushing organizations to continue advocating for their removal. "It really undoes decades of work that local agencies have been doing in the vein of community policing to build better trust and communication with local law enforcement," said Sauvé.
