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Join Me at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Meeting

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners is holding its regular meeting this week, and the upcoming county budget is on the agenda for public review.

  • Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
  • Time: 6:00 PM (Arrive by 5:30 PM to sign up for public comment)
  • Location: Commissioners’ Auditorium, Building 12E, 1200 N. Telegraph Rd., Pontiac, MI
  • How to Speak: Sign up outside the Auditorium before the meeting; no online registration is required. See the ICE Out OC speaker guide. Security screening applies.

What I’m Sharing at the Meeting

Back in May, Mike Flores from ICE Out of Oakland County joined us at our monthly meeting to share how Oakland County isn’t doing enough to protect local immigrant communities. He highlighted reports that people were being delivered directly from county jails into ICE custody—something WDIV footage previously corroborated by showing local law enforcement assisting federal agents in searches.

At the time, our County Commissioner replied that the county was already doing all it could and that new funds were impossible because the budget was locked. A lot has changed since then:

  1. The Budget is Open: The multi-year budget is actively on the agenda for Thursday. If we want Oakland County to allocate real, dedicated funds to support and protect immigrant families, now is the time to ask for it.
  2. Legal Victory in Washtenaw County: On August 21, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that counties can’t be forced to do ICE’s work for them, and that counties have always had the right to decline cooperation with ICE.
  3. Escalating ICE Activity: Recent reporting confirms that ICE arrests across Michigan reached new record highs this summer. Doing nothing guarantees the situation will worsen for our neighbors.
Graphic showing Oakland County with 1,160 ICE arrests, the second-highest total in Michigan
Oakland County: 1,160 arrests, second-highest in Michigan. Courtesy: Oakland CAFE.
Graphic showing Michigan ICE arrests reaching their highest monthly level in July 2026
Michigan ICE arrests hit a July 2026 record (see MLive article).

Contact Your Commissioner

If you want to reach out ahead of Thursday or can’t attend in person, make sure your voice is heard:

What is ICE Out of Oakland County Asking For?

The community priorities in the ICE Out OC Board Meeting Speaker & Attendee Guide are:

Approve

  1. $50K for legal aid (0.004% of the approximately $1.17 billion county budget)
  2. $100K for food insecurity for children (0.009% of the approximately $1.17 billion county budget)
  3. Add 2 community members to the Community Safety and Civil Rights Ad Hoc Committee

Codify

  1. No ICE on any county property without judicial warrant (following Eli Savit in Washtenaw County)
  2. No 287(g) agreements
  3. No CLEMIS contracts with DHS/ICE

How Does Eli Savit Protect Immigrants in Washtenaw County from ICE?

An August 2026 court victory by Eli Savit in Washtenaw County affirmed that local governments cannot be forced to do ICE’s job, and have had the right all along to limit cooperation with ICE. Washtenaw County protects its immigrants by:

  • Ensuring minor infractions don’t escalate to ICE detention: Instructs prosecutors to resolve minor charges to take into account the immigration consequences of their charging decisions
  • No ICE enforcement on county property: Restricts ICE from conducting any enforcement operations on any count-owned properties, including public areas
  • No ICE assistance: Directs county staff and law enforcement not to assist ICE or hold people for ICE to detain

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