ICE arrest in Holland Township came after physical altercation, Ottawa County sheriff says
A fight between unidentified officers and a man that drew local law enforcement to a Holland Township street Monday morning has been confirmed to be an immigration enforcement arrest.
HOLLAND TWP. — A fight between unidentified officers and a man that drew local law enforcement to a Holland Township street Monday morning has been confirmed to be an immigration enforcement arrest.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. near 993 Butternut Drive. According to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, the department dispatched deputies to the scene following 911 reports of "unknown officers" fighting with a man.
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The initial emergency call was placed by a bystander whom the officers on-site had specifically asked to contact local authorities due to the "combative" nature of the subject, officials said.
One bystander was reportedly recording the arrest by phone.
By the time a sheriff’s deputy arrived, the individual had already been taken into custody. The deputy identified the personnel on the scene as agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Federal authorities confirmed they were executing an arrest based on an existing federal warrant.
"Once confirming everyone was safe, our deputy cleared the scene," the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released following the incident.
The encounter briefly sparked questions regarding the level of cooperation between local and federal authorities.
However, the statement by the sheriff’s office indicated its presence was strictly a response to a call for service regarding a physical altercation in progress.
"The sheriff’s office is not and has not been involved in any 'Immigration Enforcement Operations in West Michigan,'" the statement read.
ICE officials have not yet released the identity of the individual taken into custody or the specific nature of the federal warrant.
Rising number of ICE arrests in Michigan
By Oct. 15, 2025, ICE had arrested 2,349 people in Michigan — more than double the 952 arrests in 2024, MLive reported.
Nationally, ICE arrested 225,757 people through mid-October last year, also doubling the previous year’s numbers. The agency started making more community arrests instead of relying solely on a pipeline of detaining immigrants caught at local jails, the Washington Post reported.
Michigan data shows that about a quarter of last year’s arrests (593) were categorized as “ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Street Arrest,” MLive reported. That’s up from 58 labeled as such in 2024. Others are tagged with general locations such as Grand Rapids, Detroit and Flint.
— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at hvandyke@ottawanewsnetwork.org.
