Ottawa County faith leaders urge sheriff, board to take public stand on ICE to reassure residents

OTTAWA COUNTY — As public outrage and attention are focused on the deadly surge of federal agents in Minneapolis, immigration operations have continued across the U.S. — and West Michigan faith leaders are asking local elected leaders to take a stand to protect their residents.

As of Dec. 14, ICE arrested more than 328,000, deported nearly 327,000, and was holding 68,400 people. Shortly after Christmas, the agency changed tactics from targeting local jails as a pipeline for detaining immigrants to deploying to specific cities for raids.

After two shooting deaths of U.S. citizens at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, demonstrations opposing the Trump Administration’s Operation Metro Surge took place across Minnesota late last month, drawing tens of thousands of protesters.

ICE arrested 2,349 people in Michigan from January through October 2025, nearly triple the number arrested in the state in the same timeframe in 2024, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.

ICE had detained 3,338 people in Michigan in the same time period — most of them at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, which reopened as a detention center in June 2025 — last year through October, nearly triple the number detained in the same timeframe in 2024.

Michigan data shows that about a quarter of last year’s arrests (593) were categorized as “ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Street Arrest." That’s up from 58 EROs in 2024. Others are tagged with general locations such as Grand Rapids, Detroit and Flint.

Ottawa County also has seen ICE activity, with an arrest in Holland Township making headlines in late January after federal agents got into a physical altercation with a man they eventually arrested on a federal warrant.

Read More: ICE arrest in Holland Township came after physical altercation, Ottawa County sheriff says

Now, 60 Christian clergy from across Ottawa County have issued a unified public statement expressing their concerns about the human impact of current immigration enforcement practices and calling on the sheriff and the board of commissioners to “publicly refuse to participate in or support the current model of federal immigration action in our local community.”

“We call on those with power in our government and our communities to reject the path of violence and to resist narratives that rely on fear to divide us from one another,” the shared statement said. “We explicitly reject the brutality of current immigration enforcement practices and urge the immediate withdrawal of federal forces from local communities until a reformed system with capable and properly trained individuals can take on this work.”

The pastors believe their request is not partisan, but a matter of faithful Christian witness rooted in scripture and the historic tradition of the church.

“We grieve the suffering unfolding in our communities and believe the Gospel calls us to stand with the vulnerable,” the statement said. “Love of neighbor requires action in this moment.” 

Along with the written statement, the faith leaders released an accompanying video, which can be viewed on YouTube; they also posted the statement on the petition website Change.org, asking for residents’ signatures.  

“Many places in our world feel bleak, we grieve the suffering we see unfolding in our own communities, and we long to find faithful responses to the pain and violence around us,” Rev. Jared Cramer, of St. John’s Episcopal in Grand Haven, said in the video. 

“We commit to listening to the voices and experiences of those most impacted by the current enforcement efforts of ICE,” Rev. Jen Adams, of Grace Episcopal in Holland, said in the video.

“We urge partnership with all people in our communities, especially those directly impacted by immigration enforcement,” said Rev. Tish Bowman, of First United Methodist in Holland.

Ottawa Sheriff Eric DeBoer declined to comment for this story on Friday, but referred to a letter he sent to Brugger on Jan. 26 clarifying his office’s approach to federal immigration enforcement.

“Our office remains committed to equal enforcement of the law and equal service to every person in Ottawa County. We recognize that recent national attention on federal immigration enforcement has raised concern across the political spectrum and we want to be clear about our role at the local level,” DeBoer said in the letter.

“We work with our federal partners, including, when necessary, providing information or assistance to help locate and arrest individuals who are the subject of criminal investigations or have active criminal warrants, as required by law. At the same time, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is not engaged in civil immigration enforcement, and our deputies do not initiate contacts for the purpose of determining immigration status,” he said.

DeBoer said the primary responsibility of the sheriff’s office is “the safety of everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Ottawa County, and that mission depends on the trust and cooperation of all members of our community.”

He said the most important thing is that residents feel safe — in general, as well as being comfortable enough to report crimes and speak with police.

“Victims, witnesses, and community members must feel secure reporting crime and interacting with deputies without fear that doing so will automatically result in immigration consequences, and our practices are designed to support that confidence,” DeBoer said in the letter.

“We will continue to comply with federal and state law while exercising our local discretion in a way that preserves that trust, maintains public safety, and respects the dignity of every person we serve.”

Ottawa County Board Chair Josh Brugger said he believes county officials are doing all they can to keep their communities and residents safe.

At the board’s Jan. 27 meeting, he said the recent Holland Township ICE incident “brought the immigration issue closer to home for many of our residents.”

“I understand residents’ desire to reach out to commissioners with national issues of concern,” Brugger said at the meeting. “We are accessible, we’re willing to listen, and we represent you when it comes to county-related issues that impact each one of us.”

“Each of us up here wishes that we had the solution to immigration and immigration enforcement. And some of us may even wish that we had the authority to solve this challenge. But we do not. That power resides with Congress,” he said.

He also pointed to the current county board’s mixed political makeup, with the current moderate Republican majority holding a six-seat majority, four far-right conservatives and one Democrat — making a unified message from the board on any political issue unlikely.

“On this issue, there are diverse viewpoints among our board members and within our community. This is what is challenging,” Brugger said. “I recognize the justified passions of those who are protesting and have a right to do so peacefully. I acknowledge the very real fears that members of our community and nation have. I also honor those who are responsibly and respectfully carrying out their orders as agents of the federal government when done lawfully.”

Brugger posted his statement, as well as DeBoer's letter, on his commissioner Facebook page on Jan. 27.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, Cramer emailed the shared statement from the pastors to Brugger and asked for a response.

“To be clear, I did read what you said at a recent county meeting, and that does not answer our request in the view of the 60 of us who signed this statement,” Cramer said in the email.

In a Feb. 6 response, Brugger said there is no current plan for any further action. 

“I recognize that you and others feel that what we have done and the path thus far chosen is not enough. At this time though, given all the variables in play, there is so far as I know, no plan to do anything further,” he wrote to Cramer.

“The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department is only assisting other law enforcement officials as where required by law and is not engaged in civil immigration enforcement,” Brugger said in the email. “In the department's response to the one immigration-related phone call that they [received] earlier this year, they also shared that they do not check immigration status. Further, an immigrant is a person and the OCSD ‘remains committed to equal enforcement of the law and equal service to every person in Ottawa County.’"

Brugger said the approach of the sheriff’s office is in accordance with what the faith leaders are seeking.

“In our messaging, and in our actions, we are clearly rejecting the path of violence and resisting the narratives that rely on fear to divide us from one another. Our sword is not out,” Brugger said in the email. “Our measured response is intentional and even based on recent experience.”

Brugger said he has concerns that, by taking further public policy action, it could lead to unwanted negative attention from the Trump Administration. He pointed to a resolution that commissioners approved in February 2025, requesting that state energy regulators postpone the planned May 2025 closure of the coal-fired J.H. Campbell plant, and that energy concerns could be addressed by regulators, assuming that “the closure of the Campbell Plant will not have an adverse effect on the reliable delivery of electricity to our respective communities.”

“While an imperfect example, we spoke up on the Campbell plant, asking only for a review at the state level. Based on the information at hand, it was appropriate to do so. But in the asking, in the highlighting of it, the Trump Administration caught wind and now the power plant is to remain open for the foreseeable future — an undesirable outcome for many in our community,” Brugger said in the Friday email to Cramer. 

“With a reactionary federal government that seems at times to be looking for a fight, I have no interest in provoking them into creating a Minneapolis-style situation in Ottawa County. That would be the worst thing we could do for our residents, especially the immigrant community,” he said.

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at sleach@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Follow her on Twitter @ONNLeach.