WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit against Washtenaw County, accusing county officials of deliberately obstructing federal immigration enforcement in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
The complaint, filed on Wednesday, April 9, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, named the county, Sheriff Alyshia M. Dyer, Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners as defendants.
What the government alleges
The Justice Department argues that three county policies collectively amount to an unlawful “sanctuary” that shields criminal immigrants from federal removal.
Those policies are: a Sheriff’s Office general order prohibiting compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers, a prosecuting attorney directive instructing prosecutors to minimize immigration consequences in criminal cases, and a Board of Commissioners resolution banning ICE agents from all county-owned property without a judicial warrant.
The complaint contends the policies violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that federal law is “the supreme Law of the Land” and cannot be overridden by state or local governments.
The government further argues that the policies constitute unlawful regulation of and discrimination against the federal government under the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity.
Sheriff’s order draws scrutiny
On Jan. 30, 2025, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office issued General Order 1.14, declaring that immigration enforcement “is not an investigative or law enforcement role or activity of the Sheriff’s Office.”
The order directed employees not to honor ICE detainer requests unless accompanied by a warrant signed by a federal judge, and prohibited staff from using county resources to assist in immigration-related matters.
The complaint says violations of the order could result in disciplinary action, including termination.
According to the complaint, the day before Dyer took office, Community Service Officer Brenden Smotherman emailed two deportation officers at the Detroit ICE office to inform them that, effective Jan. 1, 2025, the sheriff’s office would no longer honor ICE detainers signed by immigration officers.
ICE leadership subsequently met with Dyer and her command staff.
The complaint states the sheriff’s office “had no interest in information sharing, nor was the Sheriff’s Office willing to recall its decision to not honor ICE detainer requests.”
ICE details impact of non-cooperation
According to the complaint, 40 ICE detainers went unanswered in Washtenaw County in 2025 alone, an average of more than three per month.
The government cites several specific cases.
Mario Araujo Rodriguez, described as an immigrant unlawfully present in the United States, was sentenced to 365 days in jail after being charged in Washtenaw County Circuit Court with three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree with a person under the age of 13.
An ICE detainer was submitted, but the complaint says county jail staff will be prohibited from complying with it or notifying ICE upon his release.
Miguel Angel Aparicio-Navas, whom the complaint describes as a previously removed immigrant who unlawfully reentered the United States, was convicted on May 1, 2025, of two counts of sexual assault and one count of domestic violence and sentenced to 365 days in jail.
His scheduled release is April 12, 2026.
ICE has obtained a federal arrest warrant under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, but as of the filing, the complaint states it is unclear whether Washtenaw County will honor it.
Prosecuting attorney’s policy also challenged
The government also challenges a policy directive issued by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office on Feb. 24, 2021, instructing assistant prosecuting attorneys to “seek to avoid immigration consequences wherever possible” when handling cases involving non-citizen defendants.
According to the complaint, the directive tells prosecutors to offer lenient plea deals, reduce charges, use specific language in court documents that avoids triggering immigration consequences, and, in some cases, consider dismissing charges altogether if doing so would keep an immigrant from coming to ICE’s attention.
The complaint calls the policy “a nefarious roadmap” and demands that prosecutors “shirk their reporting obligations to federal immigration officials.”
It says exceptions to the policy are permitted only “in exceptional circumstances, and where public safety requires that deviation.”
Commissioners’ resolution bans ICE from county property
On Jan. 21, 2026, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution barring ICE officers from entering, remaining in, or conducting civil immigration enforcement on any county-owned, leased, or operated property, including parking areas, unless required by law or pursuant to a valid judicial warrant or court order.
The resolution applies to county employees, contractors, and agents as well.
The complaint also references a statement attributed to Board member Yousef Rabhi, who was reportedly quoted as saying at the time of the vote: “When the Nazis come to Ann Arbor, we are going to have to stand as a community to face them.”
The federal government argues the resolution discriminates against ICE specifically, treating federal immigration agents differently from all other law enforcement agencies, a violation of intergovernmental immunity principles established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dangerous arrests cited as consequence
The complaint contends that when ICE detainers are ignored and immigrants are released without notification, agents are forced to make arrests in unpredictable public settings, a practice the government argues is more dangerous for officers, immigrants, and bystanders alike.
The filing details several such encounters, including an incident involving Marco Aleman-Garcia, who the complaint says had been removed from the United States three times before being arrested by Washtenaw County in 2024 on a charge of criminal sexual conduct with a person under the age of 13.
Despite an ICE detainer, he was released without notification. ICE arrested him nearly a year later during a traffic stop on Nov. 25, 2025.
The filing also describes a Nov. 24, 2025, incident in which an immigrant named Daniel Reyes Gamoa, whose domestic violence and child abuse charges were dismissed by the county, rammed a government vehicle with his car during a traffic stop, struck a U.S. Marshals Service vehicle, then fled on foot before being arrested.
A separate incident involved Nixo Ivan Flores-Sosa, whose domestic violence and assault charges were dismissed.
When ICE attempted to arrest him on May 1, 2025, in Ypsilanti, he failed to yield, attempted to flee in a vehicle, and was ultimately removed from the vehicle by force.
Relief sought
The Justice Department is seeking a declaration that all three county policies violate the Supremacy Clause and are preempted by federal law, along with permanent injunctions blocking their enforcement.
The government is also requesting attorney fees and costs.
The case is assigned Civil Action No. 5:26-cv-11166 in the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division.