Axios Detroit

January 30, 2025
🥤 Just one more day to go, our Dry January folks!
- Why not continue into Dry February, or at the very least, semi-dry February?
☀️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 43.
Today's newsletter is 921 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: "Just a matter of time"
Local officials who haven't yet seen increased immigration enforcement efforts are anticipating a crackdown soon.
Why it matters: Expectations are high in Detroit, a border city with a significant immigrant population, that President Trump's promises of mass deportations will be carried out in the metro area.
- The city's approximately 630,000 residents are 8% Latino and 6% foreign-born, per Census data.
What they're saying: Mayor Mike Duggan said this week that Detroit hadn't seen increased ICE presence yet but that enforcement activities are nothing new.
- "I do anticipate in the coming weeks you will see the (Trump) administration dedicate more people to ICE, so I think you will see detentions pick up," he told reporters on Monday at the grand opening of La Joya Gardens in Southwest.
- "I suspect it's just a matter of time until we see increased activity here."
State of play: The city's position on enforcing immigration laws has not changed with the new president, Duggan said. Detroit will cooperate with ICE, as it does with every federal agency.
- Police do not ask people for immigration papers, Duggan said, but the city does not shield people who are here illegally.
- When anyone is arrested in the city, their fingerprints are cross-referenced with ICE's records. If there's a match, ICE typically asks the city to transfer custody of that individual.
- DPD wrote to Axios in an email yesterday that it does not in any way engage in immigration enforcement because it's a federal responsibility.
Zoom out: Trump has already acted on his campaign promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants through large-scale deportation. With more arrests and detainments to come, ICE's tactics are becoming clearer.
- Trump declared a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border hours after being sworn in as president. The administration also announced it's ending the policy of avoiding arrests in churches, schools, hospitals, funerals, weddings and public demonstrations.
Zoom in: Many local church and school leaders are already taking a proactive approach to protecting their immigrant communities.
- "This district, through its sanctuary district policy and its evolution of that, is not going to let ICE in our buildings without a warrant," DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said this week, per the Detroit News. "We are not going to give records to the federal government, to immigration officials. We are going to be true to our core values — students first."
Go deeper: How ICE could operate and conduct arrests during Trump 2.0
2. Durhal joins campaign season
City council member Fred Durhal III launched his campaign for mayor last night, with supporters painting him as a hands-on civil servant whose Lansing history would benefit his hometown.
The big picture: Durhal wants to continue "restoring the promise of our city," while creating paths for homeownership and financial empowerment, he said in a speech at the west-side Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan facility.
Zoom in: Durhal targeted areas like affordable housing, community violence intervention, regional transit and rebuilding commercial corridors.
- "I'm unapologetic about development … We need to continue to build the development that helps us build the jobs and build our tax base here, so we can put that money back into our neighborhoods," Durhal said.
Plus, multiple speakers called out Durhal's ties to Lansing, where he was a state representative from 2015-2019.
- Tim Greimel, the mayor of Pontiac and a former state representative, said at the event that Durhal was "incredibly effective working with both Democrats and Republicans to bring enormous amounts of resources back home to Detroit."
Zoom out: Other prominent names running for mayor include City Council President Mary Sheffield and former council president and nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins.
3. The Grapevine: You heard it here
📕 Big Sean spoke with local music journalist Kahn Santori Davison about his debut book, "Go Higher," which is part self-help and part memoir. (Metro Times)
🐕 The dog park and bar business in West Village, Barkside, plans to open a second location in Southfield this summer. (Detroit News)
🚘 Eminem's music publishing firm sued a local Ford dealer over alleged copyright infringement for using the song "Lose Yourself." (WDIV)
4. Things to do
January finally ends this weekend!
- Here's what's happening:
🐍 Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Eastern Market's community fair with authentic foods, crafts and cultural performances.
- Sunday, 11am-3pm. Free!
🪩 Dance your cares away at Spot Lite Detroit's D.A.R.E to R.A.V.E., with electronic artists 2Lanes, Duck Trash and more.
- Friday, 9pm. $22.
🎥 For something edgier, check out the Marble Bar's David Lynch tribute night, where local DJs will be soundtracking his films. Costumes encouraged!
- Friday, 9pm. $16
5. Lucky foods to eat
For Lunar New Year, many people in Asia and around the world are eating foods that look like money, sound like good fortune and represent wholeness.
- The Lunar New Year was yesterday, with celebrations through Feb. 12.
Why it matters: "The Chinese believe that you have to have a really positive attitude going into the new year," Grace Young, a cookbook author, culinary historian and activist who works to preserve America's Chinatowns, tells Axios.
- "That's why you're eating these symbolic foods, to bring good fortune and good luck to your family," she says.
Between the lines: The Cantonese words for tangerine and luck sound similar, so oranges are popular on the holiday.
- Whole fish is a holiday mainstay, as the Cantonese words for fish and abundance sound alike. Also fish typically swim in pairs (which could symbolize marital bliss).
Go deeper: More lucky foods to eat … the significance of the Year of the Wood Snake … where to find local celebrations
Our picks:
🎧 Joe is loving the production on the Boldy James and RichGains album.
🤔 Annalise is contemplating the benefits of sleeping 10+ hours a night.
Edited by Everett Cook.
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