On the heels of President Trump’s return to office, immigration sweeps have begun across the country – with previously off-limit locations like schools and churches now permitted for ICE raids. The Ticker spoke with local attorneys, school officials, church leaders, and law enforcement about the potential for such raids in Grand Traverse County – and planned responses if they occur.

Attorney Marcelo Betti is legal co-director of Immigration Law & Justice Michigan and operates out of the nonprofit’s Traverse City office, which supports low-income immigrants with free legal services and advocacy. Betti says immigration advocates are “expecting increased immigration enforcement raids everywhere in the country, including in northern Michigan.” While it’s “still too early to tell how far the current administration will go,” Betti says, “creating an atmosphere of fear and anxiety among immigrants – whether documented or not – is an essential part of the plan.”

Arrests and deportations would have a negative economic impact locally, Betti says, including in key industries like agriculture, hospitality, and construction.

A new Department of Homeland Security memorandum allows for the expedited removal of immigrants who were lawfully paroled into the country, including those fleeing war-torn countries, Betti notes.

“Our region has welcomed and become home to hundreds of Ukrainians since the war broke out in 2022,” he says. “Northern Michigan is also home to folks from Haiti and Venezuela who were sponsored through a similar sponsorship program and are now vulnerable to deportation.” Allowing raids in schools and churches sends a message that “there is no safe place,” Betti says, adding that “leadership and staff at TCAPS (Traverse City Area Public Schools) and local religious organizations should be prepared to adequately respond to law enforcement.”

TCAPS Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner says the district does have protocols in place, which TCAPS sent to staff again Monday. The guidance states that school officials must balance “three separate obligations,” including not interfering with federal criminal investigations, protecting students’ privacy and confidentiality in accordance with state and federal law, and not interfering with the ability of undocumented noncitizen students to “enroll in and attend school free from discrimination.” Students have a right to free public education in the U.S. regardless of citizenship status, race, or national origin. Accordingly, TCAPS officials are advised not to ask about citizenship status during enrollment, to keep citizen/immigration status confidential if known, to notify the superintendent immediately if they receive any inquiries or directives related to immigration enforcement, and to require officers to produce a warrant or other lawful order in order to access records, students themselves, or nonpublic areas of the school unless there’s imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm.

“The state department has given some really good guidance to the schools,” VanWagoner says. “We’re required to follow the rule of law, but we’re staying very steadfast in what that means for our district. It doesn’t mean anybody can just walk in and do anything they want. We’ve set ourselves up well with security. Anytime law enforcement – whether it’s local, state, or federal – comes in, they have to come through our office and follow those protocols.”

Churches are also responding to the possibility of raids – a particularly sensitive subject given the perception of sanctuary that has traditionally accompanied places of worship. The Michigan Catholic Conference plans to distribute a letter to all its parishes this weekend – a copy of which was shared with The Ticker by the Diocese of Gaylord – pledging “unyielding support and respect for the human dignity of all migrant people in our midst” and urging elected officials to “support policies that keep immigrant and undocumented families safe and united, and to protect those who arrived as children.”

Rev. Linda Stephan of Traverse City’s Central United Methodist Church (pictured) says individuals come to her church for a variety of reasons, including seeking transportation, housing, food, and healthcare support, requesting assistance with their legal immigration status, or simply coming to worship and pray. “This is a sanctuary,” she says. “This is not a place for raids of any kind. No one should fear for their safety when going to church or synagogue or mosque. The ICE order is an intrusive overreach on the sanctity of our houses of worship.”

Stephan notes that Central United’s donors and volunteers include “every political persuasion who have funded both basic services and the only immigration legal aid office in northern Michigan. We all believe in mercy and compassion, and we believe legal access to the immigration system is crucial. These efforts have always been non-partisan.” The church also has a “good relationship with local enforcement,” Stephan says, who “keep our community safe while allowing access to basic services. We do not believe federal interference would benefit our local economy or public safety.”

Local law enforcement agencies are also wary of expectations to participate in raids – both for staffing and jurisdictional reasons as well as maintaining community trust. Grand Traverse Sheriff Mike Shea and Traverse City Police Department Chief Matt Richmond both emphasize their agencies are not responsible for immigration enforcement, which rests with the federal government. “Quite frankly, we don’t have the resources to go and do these (raids),” Shea says. “ICE has a job to do, and if they intersect (with the Sheriff’s Office) and there’s common ground because of criminal activity or a public threat, we would assist. Beyond that, we’re not an immigration agency. We’re a law enforcement agency.”

Shea has a similar stance on using the Grand Traverse County Jail to hold detainees. Holds are appropriate when it relates to criminal issues but not civil ones, he says. (Being in the U.S. without legal documentation is not itself a crime but rather a civil offense). Richmond says the TCPD has the same approach as the Sheriff’s Office, which is to work with federal agencies on criminal matters on a case-by-case basis but not to “go out and stop everybody and check their immigration status. We’re not proactively looking for those violations.” Richmond says the TCPD wouldn’t participate with ICE or the federal government in the types of raids seen this week in some cities. Residents shouldn’t be afraid to contact authorities if they witness or are a victim of a crime because of their immigration status, he says.

“The citizens of Traverse City and Grand Traverse County have to be able to trust law enforcement,” Richmond says. “If they don’t, it makes our job that much harder.”