How Detroit police limits working with ICE
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Photo illustration: Aïda Amer; Photos: Michael M. Santiago and Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Detroit police leaders say the department isn't in the "immigration business" and mostly isn't communicating with ICE.
Why it matters: As immigration enforcement ramps up nationwide, some cities are navigating growing pressure from President Trump's administration threatening funding cuts and legal action on those who publicly limit cooperation with ICE.
State of play: The issue is pertinent in Detroit, with its large immigrant communities.
- The city's approach has spurred questions following recent incidents in which officers were suspended over calling border agents.
In response, Axios reviewed Detroit Police Department (DPD) policy and memos written to the City Council by DPD, the law department and the legislative policy division in early February in order to describe how DPD and federal immigration officials interact.
- Axios also submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to DPD on Feb. 12 for more information about its immigration policies and interactions with ICE, but hasn't yet received a response.
- DPD declined to comment on the memos and the department's ICE-related policies.
What we've learned:
Detroit is not a sanctuary city.
Detroit has called itself a "welcoming city" for years, committed to immigrant inclusion, but has not taken the "sanctuary city" label as sought by some activists.
- Sanctuary cities generally designate themselves as such, and pass laws and resolutions to limit or attempt to obstruct cooperation with ICE, but it's not a standardized term.
- The city's law department noted the sanctuary label could make Detroit a federal target.
- Under the Trump administration, sanctuary cities have seen funding cut threats and more ICE activity.
Regardless of label, Detroit doesn't enforce federal immigration law.
DPD chief Todd Bettison affirmed this view to the City Council when being reappointed earlier this year.
- First assistant chief Charles Fitzgerald told City Council the same during a meeting last month: "We're not in the immigration business. We never have been, never will be."
How it works: City policies bar law enforcement and other employees from soliciting information about individuals' immigration status — unless relevant to an investigation or prosecution of a violent criminal offense, or when processing an arrested person.
- The Unbiased Provision of City Services rules in city code are meant to encourage victims and witnesses of crime to cooperate with officers regardless of immigration status.
- Those rules, as well as DPD's standards of conduct, bar police from scrutinizing or treating someone differently based on immigration status or English proficiency.
- DPD also requires the use of a translation hotline, rather than calling federal agencies for help.
DPD limits contact with federal agencies.
DPD has no policy that prohibits all contact with ICE, but officials say there are "meaningful" limits.
Zoom in: No DPD funds are allocated to support ICE activities, and ICE does not have access to the city's technology systems.
- And leadership has emphasized that DPD does not coordinate with the federal agencies.
What they're saying: "We don't call anyone" within the federal Department of Homeland Security, Fitzgerald told City Council in February — be it ICE, Border Patrol or any other DHS office.
Some cities have partnered with ICE through 287(g) programs — signed agreements that allow local police to act as immigration officers in some ways — but Detroit hasn't and has no plans to.
But there are exceptions.
DPD may, however, assist ICE within Detroit's jurisdiction during emergencies or in executing a valid criminal warrant, per the legislative policy division.
- DPD reported receiving two calls for assistance from federal immigration authorities in 2025. One was EMS assistance with a detainee's wrist injury.
- DPD later assisted ICE in chasing two individuals fleeing on foot and towing a crashed vehicle.
How ICE detainers work.
All DPD arrestees must be fingerprinted for identification and are verified through local, state and federal databases that provide notices to various agencies.
- This notification system can trigger ICE to issue a detainer request to DPD if someone is wanted by the Department of Homeland Security and is considered "removable" from the U.S.
- These are written, nonmandatory requests to local law enforcement to hold someone for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release, giving ICE time to take custody.
By the numbers: Federal immigration officials issued 63 detainer requests to DPD in 2025. Of those, 29 were released to federal agents.
- Others were released mostly to "self" or Wayne County Jail.
Context: DPD operates the Detroit Detention Center, a central lockup that holds people before they've been arraigned. The center has standard procedures for releasing individuals to ICE when the latter has the authority to take them.
- Once it's determined that a person isn't being criminally charged, the center must start the process to release them.
- If this person has been the subject of a detainer, they still get processed for release. But ICE will be notified, and the person could be released to ICE custody.
More limits could be imposed.
Detroit can limit how city resources and law enforcement cooperate with ICE.
The latest: Earlier in March, Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero requested the city draft an ordinance barring federal law enforcement agencies from conducting operations on city-owned property.
Yes, but: The city cannot obstruct "lawful federal government activities," per the city's law department, which expressed caution with potential new ordinances.
- The Trump administration's approach to immigration has "challenged constitutional norms," the department writes. Even policies that are constitutional could still lead to funding cuts or other actions against a city.