Overview
- The Justice Department, which filed the case Thursday in the Eastern District of Michigan, names Sheriff Alysia Dyer, Prosecutor Eli Savit, and the county board and seeks court orders blocking the policies and declaring them unconstitutional.
- The suit targets three measures: a sheriff’s order refusing ICE detainers without a judge’s warrant, a prosecutor directive to avoid immigration consequences for noncitizen defendants, and a county resolution barring ICE from county property without a judicial warrant.
- The complaint cites 40 unanswered ICE detainers in 2025 and says releases forced arrests in public settings that raised risks for officers and bystanders, noting that a detainer is only a request to hold or notify and not a judge-signed warrant.
- Federal lawyers argue the county rules are preempted by the Supremacy Clause and unlawfully single out federal immigration agents under the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity.
- County officials had not issued detailed public responses by Friday morning, and the case could influence how local jails and courts in Michigan handle ICE access as similar limits spread, including a recent Ann Arbor policy.