Lansing’s ongoing debate on immigration essentially boils down to a balance between protecting folks in the country illegally versus the safety of law enforcement tasked with protecting citizens.
The ACLU of Michigan this week made it clear where its focusing its efforts.
“We’re deeply concerned … about the possibility of masked law enforcement officers using these secret police tactics,” ACLU West Michigan Policy Strategist Liz Balck testified before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee on Thursday.
ACLU rep on its support for protecting illegal immigrants over the safety of ICE agents: "We have to weigh doxxing and that risk versus civil rights…I think it's very clear which the ACLU is going to side with." pic.twitter.com/sAiF5M7fBR
— Michigan Forward (@MIForward_Net) November 6, 2025
“We really have to weigh doxxing and that risk versus civil rights and accountability,” she said. “And I think it’s very clear which the ACLU is going to side with. It’s absolutely going to have to be people’s fundamental civil rights to be able to go into spaces without being snatched out of thin air by masked law enforcement.”
The testimony follows a dramatic 1,000% spike in attacks against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and 8,000% increase in death threats. In Portland, illegal immigration activists doxed ICE agents with posters in neighborhoods that included their names, pictures, addresses, and pictures of their families, along with messages that read “NO PEACE FOR ICE,” and “CHINGA LA MIGA,” which translates to “F**k immigration services,” according to DHS.
Balck’s comments came just days after an ICE officer was smashed in the face with a metal coffee cup during an arrest in Houston, resulting in 13 stitches and burns to his face, CBS News reports.
In September, three women were indicted by a federal grand jury for livestreaming their pursuit of an ICE agent to his home and then posting the victim’s home address on Instagram. The women also had a message for neighbors, shouting “neighbor is ICE,” “la migra lives here,” and “ICE lives on your street and you should know.”
According to DHS:
In Texas, an ICE officer’s spouse received a call saying, “I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE, and you sleep at night. F*** you, f*** your family. I hope your kids get deported by accident. How do you sleep? F*** you. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family.”
The Michigan Senate hearing on Thursday centered on several immigration related bills supported by the ACLU and Senate Democrats, including Senate Bill 508 to provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants at funerals, weddings, religious institutions, schools, courthouses, hospitals and other “sensitive areas.”
The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 509 to ban state agencies from sharing information for immigration enforcement, and Senate Bill 510 to jail law enforcement officers in Michigan who attempt to conceal their identity to avoid unwarranted harassment.
“Designating a short list of protected areas where immigrants would not have to fear arrest by ICE is not only following former DHS guidance but also ensures that the civil liberties of all Michiganders in those spaces will be respected,” Balck testified.
“Protecting Michiganders’ personal information from unlawful or secret government overreach has never been more critical,” she said. “And lastly, strictly limiting mask-use except under genuine hazardous conditions and requiring that all on-duty officers wear appropriate uniforms are necessary steps to protect both public safety and civil liberties.”
Elsewhere in the hearing, an immigration “expert” from We The People Michigan argued that entering the the country illegally isn’t a crime, though Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, set the record straight.
MUST WATCH! 👀
In a hearing today on Lansing Democrat bills to create sanctuary zones where illegal aliens can't be arrested, one of their "experts" argued that entering the United States illegally isn't actually a crime. Seriously!?
Democrats are completely out of touch. pic.twitter.com/NJ4JTYIkzh
— MI Senate Republicans (@MISenate) November 7, 2025
“It is a crime,” Runestad clarified, as the woman repeatedly talked over him, claiming “that’s your opinion.”
The senator responded while being interrupted: “No, it’s the truth and it’s the law.”
Others who testified opposed the anti-ICE bills, arguing the legislation would needlessly restrict immigration enforcement while putting the public and immigration agents in danger.
“ICE knows that individuals in secured locations like courthouses and hospitals are unarmed,” Shari Rendall, with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, testified. “It is safer to take an individual into custody at those locations rather than going into the community where the alien may be armed and pose a danger to not only the immigration officer but also the public at large.”
Rendall argued SB 210 “essentially demonizes law enforcement officers who are simply trying to protect their identities and keep themselves and their families safe.”
“At a time that ICE law enforcement faces a 1,000% increase in assaults and their family members are being doxxed and targeted, this legislation simply sows division and hatred of immigration officials,” Rendall testified.
