Five people were arrested during an immigration enforcement operation near Hulsing Elementary School in Canton Township on Tuesday, Oct. 20, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told Patch in an Oct. 22 report.
The school sheltered in place for just over an hour beginning around 10 a.m., according to Canton police. Police said neither their department nor Plymouth-Canton Community Schools had advance knowledge of the federal operation.
ICE described those arrested as immigrants without legal status and said one had a final order of removal. The spokesperson told Patch that agents approached six people who then ran toward the school.
According to the spokesperson, police secured the school’s perimeter during the operation. The arrests occurred about a quarter-mile from the school, away from school property, and no ICE agents entered the school.
Patch reported that ICE provided no further details about the arrests.
Hulsing Elementary is at 8055 Fleet St., according to the school’s website.
Police described ICE’s activity as a “special enforcement” operation, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“Upon receiving notification of the event, our police officers worked with the school to ensure students and staff were secured safely in their building,” Canton Director of Police Services Joseph Bialy said in a statement quoted by Patch’s initial report.
The shelter-in-place ended without incident after law enforcement determined it was safe, police said.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell said in an Oct. 20 statement on X that the operation caused fear and concern in the community and that local police had not been notified beforehand.
Dingell said she contacted ICE and that the agency acknowledged unspecified issues with the enforcement activity. She said she would continue working with ICE, the township supervisor and other relevant parties to address the concerns.
