One thing to realize about Ann Arbor in 2026 is that while there are some people who support ICE and the Trump Administration, they seem to be outnumbered by the Ann Arborites who do, and there are multiple organizations against ICE.
Ann Arbor Against Ice held their first formal protest rally in front of the Federal Building as the sun was setting on February 20.
“This went so incredibly well. We couldn’t imagine Abdul El-Sayed here… Debbie Dingell coming to speak at our first major protest as an organization. It’s genuinely incredible,” co-organizer Alex Rodriguez, who is also a member of Ann Arbor Indivisible, told Current.
When asked about recent developments in the Twin Cities, Rodriguez said, “It’s smoke and mirrors. We know that they’re just going to come back to the city the next time some bullshit idea comes out. First they had the Somalians; next they’re going to blame the Latin community. They’re just going to keep using random excuses, so we just have to stay out here, stay on the streets, fighting like hell that we don’t accept ICE. They have no place in a multi-national community like the United States of America.”
The Feb. 20 protest
It was indeed a hugely successful initial day out for the group, not just because of the dozens who showed up, but by the sheer number of elected officials who came to speak. Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor warned the crowd of the far-right ideology motivating the current federal administration, which envisions creating a country for what is euphemistically called “heritage Americans” by white supremacists.
“What is the purpose of this?” Taylor asked the crowd after summarizing what ICE, and the second Trump administration in general, is doing nationwide. “The purpose of what they are doing is to de-legitimize Black and Brown people in our country, and to definitionally reserve America for what they call ‘Heritage Americans’ – White citizens. This is a contemptible practice, made all the more infuriating of course by its erasure of the actual Native Americans, and the centuries of enslaved laborers and their Black descendants, who have built, and continue to build, the best of America. We have to ask ourselves: why is it that this has built in this country…? We’ve got to realize that America was born in sin, the original sin of white supremacy. It is in our nations bone’s. It is an ideology that we have mitigated to an extent over the centuries, but we have never truly tackled it. And if we continue to tell ourselves stories about America we will never heal the hate that that disgusting ideology has born.”
There was a common theme throughout the many speakers. Person after person expressed anger at the Administration and frustration at a lack of action from the Democratic Party.
“The resolution we passed at the County creates ICE free zones universally on all county properties – parks, parking lots, buildings, public and private spaces – without a signed judicial warrant,” Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi (Democrat – District 8), who is also challenging Taylor for the Democratic nomination for Mayor this November, said when asked how he’d do the job differently. “The City limited theirs to places that require a badge to get through. I think that’s not enough. We need to have ICE free zones on all City properties, public and private. I would extend the ICE free zones and I also believe that when there’s protest like in Minneapolis, instead of law enforcement and city services being deployed to protect ICE or property against protestors, we should be deploying those services and resources to protect the protestors against the federal government and the fascists in ICE.”
The Administration has signaled a partial withdrawal in Minneapolis in the face of sustained protest and resistance to ICE activity, including the abduction of a five year old. The names of Renee Good and Alex Pretti were also remembered – both protestors shot dead by ICE officials while exercising their rights to protest.
No one at the rally called for negotiations on ICE or to reform it – everyone called for the agency, which was created in response to the 9/11 attacks in 2002, to be fully abolished. Congress is currently in a showdown over federal funding and a major sticking point is ICE funding. Part of the government was funded, but ICE and other law enforcement funding was not part of the package, setting up an oncoming fight over how much and whether to fund the agency. ICE funding has received a massive increase in funding recently, now rivaling what other countries spend on their entire militaries.
Protesters gathered on the miniature plaza between the brick storefronts of Liberty Street, and the stacked concrete and glass shapes that form the Federal Building. The leader of the U of M chapter of the College Democrats was there. So was Patch Harrison.
State level representatives were also there – Jason Morgan and Carrie Rheingans – both Democrats. Rheingans reminded people that State Democrats are trying to pass resolutions to keep state data out of the hands of federal immigration, and to protect people’s rights; but they can’t get anything through if the Michigan State House of Representatives remains in Republican control after November. Eli Savit, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor, who is also mounting a run as a Democrat to be the next Michigan Attorney-General, said that Vice-President J.D. Vance was wrong when he said that ICE had “absolute immunity” and that their actions were in fact endangering public safety.
RELATED:Ann Arbor Remembers Alex Pretti and Protests Trump Administration
Further organizing is in the works, both by Ann Arbor Against Ice and other organizations. Zane Parker, another co-organizer, said that he is a big believer in the future because he thinks that things are coming to a head.
“The reason I have so much hope in change in our area, and in the country, is whether you’re the most conservative person ever, you can only hide from the fact that your life is getting worse for so long,” Zane Parker, another co-organizer, said. “You can only blame immigrants for so long. You can only see ICE do what they’re doing for so long and not realize that the change needs to be somewhere else.”
The last to speak at the rally was Rep. Debbie Dingell (Democrat – Michigan), who recently voted against funding ICE in Congress. She also criticized Trump on constitutional grounds, and was the second politician to criticize Trump on Christian grounds. She also reminded people of another protest that is going to happen soon in Romulus.
Dingell praised “the young people in the crowd” for showing up to protest before addressing the notion that elected representatives were not doing anything by saying “You do have representatives that give a damn! We are out there, we are fighting, we are speaking up and speaking out. So when people ask ‘where the fuck are our representatives?’ I am right here, and I am in Washington, fighting Donald Trump every single day.” She got a round of chuckles when she added “And by the way, he doesn’t like me…”
Upcoming protest on Feb. 23
Protests are also happening this month within driving distance of Washtenaw County. The Trump Administration is planning on building an ICE detention facility near Detroit Metro Airport. The second Trump Administration has been fast tracking the construction of these facilities, which Abdul El-Sayed – who is running for the United States Senate as a Democrat – likened to a concentration camp. That protest will be in front of Romulus City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on February 23.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
