Concerns Rise Over ICE High-Speed Pursuits in Detroit Neighborhoods
High-speed chases involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have sparked safety concerns among Detroit city officials due to the potential danger posed to residents and property.
District 7 City Council Member Denzel McCampbell has vocalized concerns after two separate incidents in May and June, where ICE pursued individuals at high velocities through residential areas of District 6 and District 7. These pursuits resulted in injuries; one individual sustained a knee fracture, while another was impaled by a fence post.
In addition to personal injuries, significant property damage occurred, affecting fences, garages, and vehicles. McCampbell emphasized that those pursued were only suspected of lacking legal status in the U.S. and not of any criminal activity.
“It’s not a criminal matter, it is civil,” McCampbell stated. “And also to have these dangerous pursuits happening in our neighborhoods that puts the folks they are chasing in harm’s way, kids that may be playing outside, folks that are walking down the street, and also to have no recourse for accountability, that is something that we all should be concerned about.”
McCampbell noted that ICE has not responded to requests for information from himself or other city officials regarding the incidents. Additionally, ICE did not inform the injured individuals’ families about their conditions or the hospitals where they were being treated.
In an effort to address these issues, McCampbell, alongside District 6 Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero and District 7 Police Commissioner Victoria Camille, penned a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The letter urges DHS to halt vehicular pursuits, disclose their current pursuit policy, confirm details of the recent incidents, share investigative findings, and hold any non-compliant agents accountable.
As of now, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not responded to Michigan Public’s request for comment on these allegations.
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