By Sarah Atwood, satwood@detroitnews. com Oakland County advocacy groups Sunday called for transparency in the perceived relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and federal immigration enforcement. The speakers, who included Michigan House of Representatives District 5 challenger Kali Scales, represented groups like the Great Lakes Democracy Alliance and Michigan Women for Democracy. They spoke to a crowd of about two dozen about their concerns about the way the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office worked with ICE to apprehend an alleged gang member who was fleeing on foot. The advocacy groups claimed the Sheriff’s Office’s decision to put Clarkston Community School District’s buildings under a “shelter-in-place” order worried families and students. Advocates called for clear, written policies to prevent panic and protect immigrant communities. “We’re here today asking for a lot of things of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, but at the end of the day, we’re not asking for that much.” Scales said. “We need to not let our brothers and sisters and neighbors be taken into custody unlawfully, and we need the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department to, in writing, give us our assurance that they will stand against ICE, that they will stand with the citizens of Oakland County, whom they are bound to protect and to serve.” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the office does not handle immigration enforcement nor does it look for “immigration status of individuals,” and the office was clear and transparent in alerting the community about what happened and why the school district was put on lockdown. “We got a call that (ICE) had attempted to arrest someone who was a gang member and who had fled on foot into the community,” Bouchard told The Detroit News on Sunday. “It had nothing to do with schools, and the direction of flight was towards a school. So the schools went into a shelter-in-place. Obviously, if you get a fleeing suspect with an unknown background running towards a school or even a neighborhood, that’s concerning on every level.” ICE was not immediately available for comment. Bouchard said deputies were deployed to the area, with one deputy remaining at the school. ICE officers were never on school property, and the shelter-in-place was a precaution, said Kelly Allen, director of marketing and community relations for the district, last week. Bouchard said the office didn’t know about the operation or that ICE was looking for a gang member in the area until they were called about a suspect fleeing on foot. He said he didn’t think there was gang activity in the area and he didn’t know where the gang the suspect was a part of was based. “I think our community would be very concerned that an individual that was fleeing federal agents, that was reported to be a gang member, if we didn’t do anything to protect the school, the kids or the community,” Bouchard said. “I think there’d be greater concern there.” Speakers at the event outside the Sheriff’s Office headquarters said the increased enforcement in the community was reason for urgency and action, and for the Sheriff’s Office to agree to safeguards to protect the community. The safeguards include: ending voluntary ICE cooperation; community oversight and accountability; posted policy on collaboration with ICE and reporting requests from ICE; and documentation of decisions made in regard to the requests. “We are asking ICE to stop their abuses and asking Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to stop collaborating with ICE,” said Emily Duthinh of Clarkston and adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy. The advocacy groups said they would continue to protest until they saw action from the department and others across Michigan to be transparent. “We’re coming after all the counties in Michigan,” said Cara Erskine, an Oakland County resident. “Oakland County is just the first stop. They say they don’t cooperate. We want to formalize this and get it in writing.”.
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2025/11/23/oakland-county-advocates-call-for-transparency-when-police-work-with-ice/