ROMULUS, Mich. – The Romulus City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night opposing ICE’s purchase of a warehouse to house a detention facility.
City council says the warehouse could impact property value and impede business ventures.
The council meeting came after a rally held outside City Hall.
What started as a peaceful, sign-filled protest quickly escalated into a confrontation.
Demonstrators lined the sidewalks outside Romulus City Hall with countless signs reading “ICE OUT,” but the mood shifted early on when counter-protesters arrived carrying a sign that said “America Stands with ICE.”
Several confrontations occurred.
Romulus police officers moved in to separate the groups and tame tempers as tensions flared outside.
Local 4 reached out to the Romulus Police Department to ask whether anyone was arrested or detained as a result of anything that occurred at the rally, but has not heard back.
Residents say using the 260,000 square-foot warehouse at 7525 Cogswell Street should not be used to house ICE detainees.
“What is going on these days? This isn’t America. I don’t get it,” said protester Thomas Tomala.
Counter-protesters defended ICE and the agents involved.
“If the rhetoric wasn’t like this, our agents wouldn’t be in danger, and they wouldn’t be masked,” said counter-protester Gregor Butzow.
Inside city hall, residents pushed to get into the meeting, pounding on the windows as they tried to secure a spot during public comment.
“I am a fifth-generation Romulus high school graduate. Romulus raised me. Romulus raised me to know humans are humans no matter what,” one resident said during public comment.
State lawmakers say the community has been blindsided.
“What we’re seeing is that ICE outbid an auto supplier to purchase or lease a warehouse in Romulus and it is not at all what the community wants,” said State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who represents Oakland County and Northwest Detroit and is running for U.S. Senate.
“I would tell them that we don’t want to see an expansion into our community and they should take their business elsewhere. Romulus is not open for business,” added State Sen. Darrin Camilleri, who represents the area.
ICE says the operation will create 1,458 jobs and generate nearly $150 million in economic impact, including more than $33 million in tax revenue.
“These economic benefits don’t even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers,” ICE said in a previous statement to Local 4.
Some residents are demanding more drastic action from local leaders to stop the project.
“Demo it, take it under eminent domain. Whatever you can do, make it impossible for them to use our neighborhood for this concentration camp,” another resident said during public comment.
McMorrow said local and state leaders were not notified about the purchase and still have no clear timeline for when the facility could open.
“It puts local elected officials in a really hard spot because there really is little that can be done right now to prevent the federal government from outbidding private companies,” McMorrow said.