In an adult education course at the United Methodist Church in Ypsilanti, Spanish speakers gather twice weekly in front of volunteer teachers to practice English and learn the nuances of American culture: what to expect on Halloween, how to navigate the bus system, what to do if a police officer pulls you over. “Conozco mis derechos,” the teachers instruct their pupils to say during that last lesson. “I know my rights.”

For Washtenaw County’s undocumented immigrants, whose rights are the focus of an impassioned national debate, that last lesson is tricky. Laws and policies that either hinder or facilitate the work of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement have cropped up in state and city legislatures across the country. In the first half of 2008, 1,267 bills addressing illegal immigration have been considered in 45 state legislatures. At least 175 laws and resolutions having been enacted in 39 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some city police forces have made enforcing federal immigration law a local priority. Several cities on both coasts and every region have also taken the opposite stance, becoming “sanctuary cities” by enacting policies to protect their illegal citizens.

Where does uberliberal Ann Arbor fall on the spectrum? Not as left as you might think. And with ICE zoning in, undocumented immigrants living in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County are starting to feel it.

ON THIN ICE
Staying out of custody comes down to avoiding the wrong place at the wrong time and, most importantly, knowing friend from foe. A network of activist organizations like the Washtenaw County Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights have taken up the banner for undocumented immigrants, staging several demonstrations against ICE here and in Detroit during summer and spring, and lobbying city government officials in Washtenaw County to enact protective policies.

WCICIR member Laura Sanders said that ICE has taken action in Washtenaw County more than 20 times since March, and that often several people were detained at once when the agency set out to arrest just one. But those are just the cases that people brought to the WCICIR’s attention—ICE doesn’t record the number of arrests made in individual counties or cities. Immigration activists, though, say ICE seems to be putting on the heat more than ever. "My own sense is the right-wing administration is trying to further their agenda before they're out of office," said WCICIR member Max Heirich, a former University sociology professor.

ICE spokesman Gregory Palmore said in an e-mail that the federal agency has upped its efforts everywhere, thus becoming more visible even in counties where the immigrant community it small. On the outskirts of Washtenaw County, where much of the undocumented population lives in trailer parks, ICE’s looming presence is like the boogey man. One day an officer might come for you. Or he might come for your friend and take you, too. ICE officers have the power to interrogate anyone about their identity and immigration status, so when they set out with a deportation warrant for one person, they often end up detaining the target’s companions, too.

ICE’s work in the county is wrapped in stories of human rights violations. Sanders said she has heard about front doors being broken down and parents roughed up in front of their children. Whether those are fact or fearful rumors is hard to say, but Sanders said when ICE makes an arrest the detainee’s family and friends generally don’t stick around—let alone report abuses and risk drawing questions about their own immigration status.

Palmore denied that violence occurs during ICE arrests.

“Under ICE, you will find the most humane detention system possibly in the world.” Palmore added that the agency adjusts the detention warrant for immigrants with children, detaining only one parent, or in the case of a sole-caregiver, allowing the family to stay at home and ordering the adult to appear in front of an immigration judge later.

NATIONAL STAGE, LOCAL DECISION
But the personal aspects of immigration law enforcement, such as the breaking up of families, doesn’t bode well with some people, creating immigrant sympathizers among far-left liberals and conservative Christians alike. This contingent’s views are reflected in the more than 20 “sanctuary cities” with municipal policies that flaunt federal law and extend citizen rights to undocumented immigrants.

While Congress continues to vacillate between immigration reform and tighter regulation, state and municipal governments have skirted a lack of federal direction by enacting laws that make clear where they stand on the issue.