DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says the city will comply with federal immigration policy, should Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pay a visit.
Duggan said that there's no evidence of mass deportations or mass immigration raids happening in Detroit— despite Councilwoman Gabriel Gabriela Santiago Romero releasing video allegedly showing ICE agents in the city this week.
Santiago-Romero did not see the alleged raid herself, and there has been no confirmation from local law enforcement.
Speaking to reports at the Detroit Policy Conference on Thursday, the mayor said: "Detroit is not a sanctuary city. We are a welcoming city. A welcoming city means if you are in this country lawfully as an immigrant, we encourage you to come here — we support your success. If you are in this country illegally, we should not be shielding you from ICE and federal enforcement, and the city of Detroit does not do so."
The mayor's comments come going on a couple of months since Duggan announced he will be running as an independent in the 2026 Michigan governor's race.
Meanwhile, immigration attorney Herman Dhade says he has seen an increase in business since President Donald Trump took office, and he and expects to see ICE agents around as efforts increase to make sure that immigrants are legal.
"And in my opinion they will become quite aggressive," Dhade said, speaking to WWJ Newsradio 950's Charlie Langton on Friday. "Trump has already been changing policies, canceling Biden policies."
Dhade recommends that if you are an immigrant, make sure your papers are up-to-date.
"You know, if you are in a situation, you're worried about arrest, make sure you're documents are in order," Dhade said. "Leave them with loved ones, so if you are arrested, the problem is you may not be able to communicate with the outside world very well."
Mass deportations and sending troops to the U.S.-Mexico border are top-line items as President Trump moves to fulfill his promised sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policy.
But he's already facing some hurdles.
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order denying U.S. citizenship to the children of parents living in the country illegally, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional." The 14th Amendment to the Constitution promises citizenship to those born on U.S. soil, a measure ratified in 1868. [More on this, here].