Grand Rapids Police Department Called ICE on Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, and ICE Sought to Deport Him, Even Though He Had His U.S. Passport and Military ID

MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Mullen, amullen@aclumich.org, (313) 400-8562

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center applaud Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young’s decision to refuse to hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless it presents an arrest warrant issued by a federal judge or magistrate. Today’s decision follows the arrest of Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, who is a U.S. citizen and decorated veteran, but was turned over to ICE by the Kent County Sheriff’s Department at ICE’s request.

In March 2018 the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s mass detention of asylum seekers fleeing persecution, torture, or death in their countries of origin. 

When President Trump announced his Muslim ban, chaos erupted at airports and border crossings nationwide. People flying home to their families were detained at airports, lawful permanent residents were stranded outside the country, and the government’s interpretation of who was banned kept changing. After multiple federal courts across the country issued injunctions suspending the ban, reports surfaced that the government was flouting the court orders. 

Federal law permits United States Border Patrol officers to search vehicles without a warrant within a “reasonable distance” of the border, which outdated regulations define at 100 miles. Border Patrol, by treating the Great Lakes as an international boundary, considers the entire State of Michigan to be within the warrantless 100-mile zone. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Mullen, 313-400-8562, amullen@aclumich.org 

WHAT: 

The Greyhound bus company allows federal agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to board its buses and ask passengers for their “papers” even when CBP has no warrant, no probable cause, and no specific person they’re looking for. 

In May 2018 Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance” immigration policy that resulted in the forced separation of thousands of young children from their families when they crossed the border.

When campaigning for president, Donald Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. In January 2017, one week after his inauguration, President Trump banned travel for immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and halted the refugee resettlement program.