In the latest development in the dispute over Detroit police officers’ contact with federal immigration authorities, Michigan Speaker of the House Rep. Matt Hall, R-Richland, said Thursday that firing the two officers would be “completely unacceptable,” intensifying a rift between the Republican-led legislature and city leadership.
The officers suspended for contacting illegal immigrants’ cases with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol, are now facing possible termination after Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said their actions violated department policy and requested the city’s Board of Police Commissioners move forward with disciplinary hearings.
“I think one of the things that we need to see from the city of Detroit is cooperation with ICE,” Hall said at a press conference Thursday.
Detroit’s ordinance prohibits officers from soliciting information about immigration status to enforce federal immigration law, and the department has said the suspensions relate to that policy. Deported.news previously reported that Chief Bettison noted the incidents occurred on Dec. 16 and Feb. 9, when officers contacted Border Patrol after a felony warrant case and during a traffic stop after the driver did not speak English, respectively.
While Hall acknowledged the officers did not follow department procedures, he argued the outcome of the arrests, in which illegal immigrants were taken into federal custody, should carry more weight than the policy violation.
“You know, it’s my understanding that these two officers didn’t follow their protocol, but, but but on the other hand, I mean, what happened was the arrest and now hopefully the beginning of deportation against somebody who was a very serious criminal,” Hall said. “And so while you have this small process violation, you have someone who is a very serious criminal that now is in the custody of ICE and is now hopefully going to begin deportation hearings.”
Hall also warned that firing the officers could harm his relationship with Detroit’s municipal leadership.
“Firing these two officers would be unacceptable to me and would very much sever the relationship that we’re building between me and the city of Detroit,” he said.
During the 2025 legislative session, the House adopted HR 19, a resolution blocking state funding from cities designated as “sanctuary” jurisdictions for illegal immigrants. While nonbinding, Hall said the resolution could influence future funding decisions.
“We have a house resolution that this body adopted that said we’re not going to give some of the pork spending to cities that are sanctuary jurisdictions,” the Richland Republican said. “And so we’d have to look at this very carefully as we evaluate a policy where police officers are fired for calling ICE and how that worked with our policy that said we will not give this additional funding to these sanctuary jurisdictions, we’d have to look at that very carefully.”
Hall praised the officers’ actions, saying they were “doing their jobs.”
“At the end of the day, right, they’re dealing with a very serious criminal that is now in the hands of ICE,” Hall said.
He also signaled support for broader cooperation between state and federal immigration enforcement.
“We don’t want criminal aliens, criminal illegal aliens in Michigan. I mean, you look at all the violence, the murders, the criminal sexual conduct that’s occurred by some of these criminal illegal aliens. In order to make Michigan safer, we need our local governments cooperating with the immigration enforcement.”
Some legislative Democrats have called for the officers to be fired to uphold Detroit’s policies and community trust. City officials have defended the ordinance as a way to keep local policing distinct from federal immigration enforcement.
Hall said he remains hopeful the city will reach a different conclusion about the discipline.
“I’m very hopeful that they make the right decision and find a more appropriate way to deal with this violation of their policy, something that will result in the officers learning, you know, learning right, learn their policy, understand the reasons for their policy.”
