Federal immigration agents arrested an individual Thursday morning near a courthouse in the city of Ypsilanti, Michigan, causing community concern regarding their unannounced operations in the area. The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at the 14A-2 District Court around 9 a.m. and subsequently made an arrest roughly one mile from the courthouse, CBS News Detroit reported.
According to Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer, cited in The Detroit News, her office was not informed of the federal agency's intent to operate the courthouse, sparking concern. "The unannounced presence of any immigration agent at a courthouse anywhere in our county carries a serious risk of causing fear and panic," Dyer said, emphasizing the national climate’s influence on local tension.
ICE agents conducted further enforcement at two additional locations in Ypsilanti Township and Pittsfield Township around 10:30 a.m. the same day. However, the sheriff's office was notified about those particular operations. In an earlier statement to MLive, Sheriff Dyer expressed serious concerns regarding the way the courthouse operation was managed. "It causes fear and undermines public trust," Dyer stated, as per MLive. Dyer added, stating plans to address such issues with the ICE command for community safety's sake.
The identity of the arrested individual has not been released. Attempts to reach ICE for comment by CBS News Detroit have gone unanswered, and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office insisted that they were not involved in any of the immigration enforcement activities and have no additional reports of immigration activity in the county.
