Michigan communities are being put on notice—and we must speak up now.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, Romulus, Michigan has been identified in ICE planning documents as a potential site for a 500‑bed immigration detention facility, part of a nationwide push to dramatically expand detention capacity. While these plans are described as preliminary, history shows that when communities stay silent, “preliminary” becomes permanent.

Detroit and its surrounding cities have already paid a heavy price for mass incarceration, over‑policing, and the criminalization of Black and immigrant communities. Building a warehouse‑style immigration detention center in the metro Detroit area would deepen that harm—separating families, traumatizing children, and funneling millions of taxpayer dollars into detention instead of housing, healthcare, and education.

ICE has not explained where such a facility would be located, how it would be operated, or whether local governments or residents would have any meaningful say. That lack of transparency alone should alarm every Michigander. A 500‑bed detention center is not a neutral infrastructure project—it is a decision to cage hundreds of people at a time, many of whom are asylum seekers or long‑time community members with no criminal convictions.

We have seen what detention expansion looks like elsewhere: overcrowding, medical neglect, abuse, and families shipped hundreds of miles away from legal counsel and loved ones. Metro Detroit should not become another node in a system that profits from human suffering.

Local officials have not confirmed any plans—but that means we still have the power to stop this before it happens.

We call on ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and local officials in Romulus and Wayne County to:

• Publicly reject any ICE detention facility in Romulus or the Detroit metro area
• Commit to transparency and community consent before any federal siting decisions
• Refuse to cooperate with or support the expansion of immigration detention in Michigan

Our communities deserve investment, dignity, and safety—not secretive plans to lock people away.

Sign this petition to say clearly: No ICE detention center in metro Detroit.