Grand Rapids hears widespread calls for sanctuary designation and reviews GRPD policy on immigration enforcement

City Manager: the commission received a report on the Grand Rapids Police Department(GRPD) policy governing interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and with undocumented residents, and dozens of residents urged the commission to declare Grand Rapids a sanctuary city and to adopt enforceable limits on local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The city manager told the commission the cityenacted an "equal services policy" in 2017 and that the GRPD later adopted a more prescriptive foreign-national policy after a 2018 incident. "The department will not inquire into a person's immigration status when a person seeks police services such as filing complaints or reporting incidents to 911," the city manager said in the meeting packet presentation. The manager added the city is "focused on safety and not status."

Why it matters: speakers at the meeting said federal executive orders and enforcement plans have…