ROMULUS – In what has become an almost weekly event in the city, about 200 people protested last Saturday against a plan by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to convert a large warehouse building on Cogswell Road into a federal detention center for undocumented immigrants.

Protesters marched approximately 1.5 miles, starting from Romulus Middle School to the warehouse site, which the federal government recently purchased a few miles from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The move is part of efforts by the administration of President Trump to accelerate the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Demonstrators carried signs expressing their opposition to Trump’s immigration policies, as well as to what they described as aggressive enforcement actions carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly in cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis.

The crowd was largely composed of older White Americans, immigration advocates and opponents of Trump’s immigration policies, along with several political figures.

Most notably, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II joined the demonstration.

Gilchrist, who is running for secretary of state in the November election, took the stage and addressed the crowd to loud cheers.

“Our movement is stronger than their hate,” he said. “Our vision is greater than their hate. And our love is stronger than their hate.”

“I do not wish to see any human being treated the way ICE is treating people,” said Beth St. Andrew of Romulus as she waited for the march to begin. She said the proposed ICE facility would harm her city and believes it is her civic duty to oppose the federal government’s plan.

“I am concerned about the immigrants in our area,” St. Andrew added. “I think we should all be concerned, and I am here today to make sure my voice is heard.”

Since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, immigration authorities have arrested thousands of immigrants in Michigan. A large detention facility has also been opened in the city of Baldwin in northern Michigan, where hundreds of detainees are being held. Rights advocates reported that some detainees began a hunger strike on April 19 due to what they described as “poor conditions” inside the facility, which is operated by a private company.

During the protest, Arika Lycan, a resident of Ypsilanti and one of the protest organizers, expressed solidarity with detainees in Baldwin.

“They have bravely taken on a hunger strike and are enduring cruel, inhumane conditions,” Lycan said through a loudspeaker. “Those are our family members. The people that the federal government is proposing to lock up here in Romulus — if this facility moves forward — those, too, are our family members. I am here and we are here because their struggles and our struggles are intertwined.”

In a statement, the protest organizer, Shut Down the Camps Coalition, said that demonstrators opposing Trump’s immigration policies will gather at the warehouse every Saturday. The group added that the federal government failed to consult with local officials and residents before purchasing the warehouse.

They also accused the Department of Homeland Security of wasting taxpayer money on the site and competing with a local business that had also sought to purchase the building.

The coalition’s protests are regularly met by smaller counter-demonstrations in support of ICE, which has prompted police intervention on multiple occasions.

The weekly demonstrations against the Romulus facility are unfolding alongside a legal battle led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, in coordination with the city of Romulus, to block the opening of the new detention center.

The lawsuit argues that the warehouse is unsuitable for use as a detention facility due to its proximity to schools and residential neighborhoods. It also claims that the building is at risk of flooding and lacks sufficient capacity for an adequate sewage system.

Nessel and the city have requested a temporary restraining order to halt work on the facility until the case is resolved.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security continues preparations at the site, including renovating the warehouse and equipping it with the necessary infrastructure to house approximately 500 detainees, as well as installing perimeter fencing, exterior lighting, surveillance cameras and security checkpoint.