Federal immigration agents arrested three people in East Dearborn on Saturday morning in an operation the Dearborn Police Department says it learned about only after the arrests were made.
The operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations took place near Warren Avenue and Mead Street around 8 a.m., according to a news release from the Dearborn Police Department. "Federal authorities contacted the Dearborn Police Department after the arrests had taken place," police said. "There was no advance notification or coordination with the City of Dearborn or the Police Department."
As of Saturday afternoon, federal authorities had not provided the department with the names of those arrested or the reasons for their arrests, police said. The department said it was still seeking more information from federal authorities.
"Communication between federal agencies and local law enforcement helps support public safety and ensures we can respond accurately to residents' questions and concerns," Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said in the news release. "We encourage federal authorities to communicate with our department when conducting operations in our community."
The incident comes shortly after Canton police and Plymouth-Canton Community Schools said they had no advance notice of immigration enforcement activity near Hulsing Elementary School on Oct. 20, prompting officials to shelter students and staff in place for more than an hour. The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit Field Office and the Department of Homeland Security did not provide comment to the Free Press on the Dearborn operation as of Saturday afternoon.
