ROMULUS — During its regular meeting on Monday, the Romulus City Council unanimously issued a formal declaration opposing the opening of a detention center for undocumented immigrants within city limits, as protesters clashed outside City Hall between supporters and opponents.

Although the resolution carries no legal authority to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from establishing the facility, officials said it reflects the city’s official and popular rejection of the proposed federal installation.

The Council cited several financial, ethical and legal justifications for its opposition, in addition to concerns about declining surrounding property values and violations of zoning regulations in the city, which is also home to Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

City officials confirmed they are preparing to confront the Trump administration in federal court, calling on Michigan state leaders to intervene to help prevent the facility, which federal authorities say is still under consideration as they assess its impact on the local community.

Alongside the unanimous opposition expressed by elected lawmakers representing the area, Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight is among the strongest opponents of establishing the new detention center within his city. He explained that he has informed “lawmakers at all levels” that his administration “will work with legal counsel to determine its authority in this matter.”

McCraight and the City Council are working with the city’s legal advisor to exhaust all legal avenues to block the facility, clarifying that the city will not issue a certificate of occupancy or any building permits for the facility unless compelled by “an order from a federal judge.”

Romulus’ plan is to refuse to grant the necessary permits and occupancy certificates based on zoning ordinances, thereby forcing the federal government to sue the city in order to move forward with the project.

Prior to the Romulus City Council meeting, anti-ICE protesters gathered outside City Hall, where several speakers denounced the proposed detention center, including Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist and State Senate candidate Abbas Alawieh.

The demonstration included limited physical altercations with a small group of pro-ICE demonstrators before police intervened to separate them — an early glimpse of the type of disturbances the new federal facility could bring to Romulus’ quiet neighborhoods.

ICE previously confirmed the purchase of a 300,000-square-foot facility on Cogswell Street in Romulus to convert it into a detention center with approximately 500 beds, immediately triggering widespread objections among local officials and growing public concern that ICE activity could attract instability and unrest to their neighborhoods.

The Romulus facility, which has not yet been officially approved, comes as part of President Trump’s effort to acquire 23 warehouses across the country to use as detention centers for undocumented immigrants pending deportation.

According to Bloomberg, ICE plans to open seven large detention centers, each with capacity exceeding 7,500 beds, 11 centers each with 1,500 beds and five additional centers with approximately 500 beds, including the Romulus facility.

Immigration supporters’ concerns

Immigration advocates in Michigan fear that the Romulus facility may be merely a prelude to expanding enforcement operations against undocumented immigrants in the Detroit area, similar to what occurred in Minnesota, especially given that ICE has also leased administrative offices in Southfield.

In Minnesota, two protesters — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were murdered by ICE officers during enforcement operations raids that resulted in thousands of arrests in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area in recent months. Protesters in Romulus carried signs bearing the names of Good and Pretti to denounce ICE brutality. Other signs called for abolishing the federal agency, which currently has more than 470 agents in Michigan — an increase of roughly 200 since 2017.

In addition to ICE agents, approximately 2,224 officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are currently active in Michigan and also engage in arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants.

Michigan has long ranked high in the number of CBP personnel because it is one of 17 border states. The state’s unique geography places it entirely within 100 miles of the Canadian border, granting CBP authority to treat it as a border enforcement zone.

In the current fiscal year, the Great Lakes State ranked seventh in the number of CBP officers, following Texas, California, Arizona, Washington, D.C., New York and Florida.

Michigan has already recorded a 230 percent increase in daily arrests of undocumented immigrants during the period from the beginning of Trump’s second term in January 2025 through mid-October. During that period, 593 individuals were arrested on the streets, compared to 48 during all of 2024.

Since then, immigration authorities have maintained an upward trajectory in arrests across the state. Opponents fear the numbers will double once ICE preparations in the Detroit area are completed, especially as deportation rates remain far below the Trump administration’s goal of removing one million people annually.

Estimates indicate that more than 3,500 undocumented immigrants were arrested in Michigan during the first year of Trump’s second presidency.