Hundreds of residents urge Grand Rapids commission to adopt sanctuary policies; commissioners say they will reopen discussion

Dozens of residents and immigrant-rights activists urged the Grand Rapids City Commission on July 29 to adopt a set of six sanctuary-focused policies that would limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The public-comments period, held at a commission night out event at a Grand Rapids Public Schools site, drew repeated appeals from organizers with COSECHA, Rapid Response to ICE and allied faith and community groups. John Haines, a community member, told commissioners: “These policies are not about politics. They are about values and human rights.”

Advocates asked the commission to prohibit local police from making arrests on civil immigration warrants; to bar city workers from asking about immigration status; to refuse 287(g) agreements that deputize local officers to enforce federal immigration law; to prevent contracts with the federal government to detain immigrants; to oppose immigration detention centers in the city; and to prohibit sharing camera or other surveillance footage with federal immigration authorities.

Speakers described recent local incidents they said involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement or that caused family separations. Rapid Response volunteers and other organizers recounted cases in which people attending scheduled federal appointments were detained; one speaker described accompanying residents to check-in sites and said volunteers were threatened with arrest. Multiple callers said immigrant families have avoided routine activities, like going to the grocery store or seeking medical care, because of fear.

Commissioners responded after the public-comment period. Commissioner Kelsey Roux said she wanted to reopen discussion on sanctuary city status and related policies, and invited an expanded process: “I want to reopen that conversation,” she said, adding that the commission should consider federal, state and local constraints and next steps. Commissioner Sasse said he was available to speak individually with residents and asked for more conversations outside the dais. Commissioner Knight said she wanted to review more information and see the full facts before moving.

City staff and the police chief did not present a policy change at the meeting; the city manager and chief had briefed the commission earlier in the day, the manager said, and commissioners identified the appropriate committee (public safety or committee of the whole) as the venue for follow-up hearings or briefings.

Organizers said they will continue pressing the commission. Several callers demanded immediate votes to drop charges against community members arrested during demonstrations and to end specific local practices. City leaders did not take a formal vote on sanctuary policies at the meeting.

The commission meeting also included other business — zoning requests and development hearings, a firefighter compensation ordinance and several consent and nonconsent items — that commissioners addressed after the public-comment session.