Detroit police officers arrested two people and used pepper spray on a group of protesters who attempted to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from detaining a man who was allegedly in the country illegally.
Detroit Police Department policy bars local police from soliciting the citizenship status of residents to determine their compliance with federal immigration law. But the Monday incident shows DPD can assist ICE activities in other ways. Police Chief Todd Bettison told BridgeDetroit that officers were dispatched to “keep the peace” at the request of federal agents who executed a search warrant for a wanted person on Monday.
“Officers were standing by when a subject interfered with the federal investigation by attempting to block authorities with his vehicle,” Bettison said in a statement. “Officers approached that subject, who then ran from their vehicle. Officers pursued the subject and took them into custody. Another subject was arrested for malicious destruction of property of a separate federal vehicle.”
Videos posted online by Detroit Will Breathe and Asamblea Popular Detroit show protesters yelling at a group of masked and heavily armed ICE agents as they entered a home on Detroit’s westside.
ICE said officials raided the house near Livernois and Joy Road in search of Marcos Fabian Arita Bautista, a Honduran man who was removed from the U.S. on two previous occasions. ICE said Arita pleaded guilty in 2022 to driving an unregistered vehicle without insurance in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
“Arita has been removed from this country twice and fled from law enforcement officers to try and escape a situation of his own making,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit acting Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft. “If you have a final order of removal and there is no legal pathway for you to remain in the United States, ICE must lawfully carry out that removal.”
Arita Bautista was arrested with assistance from several agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Marshals. ICE said Arita fled from officers and was observed entering the residence. ICE said officers received an urgent search warrant signed by a judge to search the property.
City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said she spoke to a woman living in the home Arita fled to, who told the council member that ICE did not produce a warrant.
“They need to show warrants or they can’t expect people not to intervene,” Santiago-Romero said. “Everyone was asking for a warrant that they did not show or left a copy with the family which is what they’re supposed to do. None of this would’ve happened if they followed the law and proper procedures.”
ICE did not comment on whether a warrant was produced on-site or if it was left with people in the house.
The videos also show a crowd of protestors attempting to question law enforcement officers at the scene.
Despite acting as a form of crowd control for Arita Bautista’s arrest, Bettison said DPD “does not engage in immigration enforcement.”
“Our mission is public safety for both law enforcement and the public,” he said. “We support peaceful protesting, but will not tolerate any action that puts officers or anyone else in danger.”
Some police agencies entered into federal agreements so local officers can perform certain immigration law enforcement functions with the training and support of ICE. Detroit is not among the agencies involved in the 287(g) program. Participating agencies in Michigan include the Taylor Police Department and sheriff’s offices in Berrien, Calhoun, Jackson, and Roscommon counties.
A DPD spokesperson compared the situation to responding to a 911 call. He said the department has no discretion in whether to respond when another agency asks for help.
ICE said Arita Bautista illegally entered the United States in September 2015 before being apprehended by Border Patrol and deported to Honduras. He allegedly entered the U.S. illegally again through Texas in February 2018 and was deported a second time.