ANN ARBOR, MI: In a landmark bill for the state of Michigan, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners has voted to ban all Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from entering Washtenaw County properties unless they have a warrant to do so.
Senate Bill 508 was passed for Washtenaw County on January 21, 2026. Following an increase in ICE activity and concern in Michigan, including major cities like Ypsilanti, the bill is a direct legislative response to the killings and deportations of Americans without due process. The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted the bill in unanimously, and marks the first such piece of legislation in the state of Michigan.
The bill bans ICE from conducting actions in “sensitive locations,” defined as including educational institutions, places of worship, courthouses, and therapy and rehabilitation centers.
These new restrictions protect schools like Skyline. ICE agents are only permitted to enter if under court orders or if necessary to address an imminent threat to public safety.
“The only times where there may be some authorization [for ICE to enter] would be if they had subpoenas or certain court documents,” says Principal Casey Elmore. However, even in this scenario, agents would still likely be denied, at least temporarily. “Those are not things we would have to respond to in the moment. They have certain timelines for response.”
ICE agents were responsible for an estimated 200,000 deportations in 2025, with 32 confirmed deaths. The bill came in the wake of the death of Renée Good during the onset of 2026, who was shot in her van while driving away from ICE agents in Minneapolis.
The vote in Washtenaw County reflects a growing national response to the killing of Good on January 7, which sparked protests, calls for investigations into ICE, and heightened political tensions under the Trump administration. The death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner, and has resulted in lawmakers and advocacy groups alike pushing for legislation limiting how ICE can conduct actions within their borders.
The sponsor of the bill is Senator Mary Cavanagh, who declined to comment.
