Over 100 protesters gathered outside a Southfield office building complex on Wednesday, March 11, saying they oppose the building’s use in Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
The group came together outside of One Towne Square. Organizers of the protest believe lawyers for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), which represents ICE, are tenants in the building. The building’s owner, Real Estate Development and Investment Company (REDICO), said it has entered into an agreement with the U.S. government but would not confirm that OPLA is the tenant.
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, who represents Southfield, said he’s worked with other Michigan senators to introduce Michigan bills to unmask ICE, prohibit immigration enforcement in public safe spaces, and keep personal data away from ICE. He said Southfield is “a civil, safe, harmonious community” that doesn’t need ICE offices.
“ICE is causing the unsafety. ICE is causing the disruption,” Moss said. “ICE is causing the harm. So all of us coming together to push back will continue to make our voices heard. We pushed Kristi Noem out. Now we gotta push ICE out.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said ICE and any officials or lawyers working for the organization have no place in Michigan.
“ICE is leasing a new office here — I hate even calling it an office — a deportation machine, here in Southfield to fill it up with lawyers and administrators who will carry out this fascist police state,” Tlaib said. “And let me tell you, these are not lawyers that are protecting our rights. They are protecting the mass deportation of the fascist army. … The deportation machine depends on the office behind us.”
People from Southfield, as well as other metro Detroit communities, came to the protest to oppose potential ICE offices in the area.
Minister Danielle Bolton of God is Real Ministries in Southfield and Fr. Chris Yaw of St. David’s Episcopal Church also spoke at the rally.
“We can’t do anything alone, but together we can melt this ice up out of Southfield,” Bolton said.
About the contract
REDICO confirmed it has a contract with the federal government but did not confirm OPLA is stationed at the office. In a statement to the Free Press on March 11, REDICO said it has not entered into a lease with ICE.
“The lease in question is with the United States of America, by and through the General Services Administration, for general office use only, consistent with REDICO’s longstanding relationship with GSA,” the statement said.
“The terms of the lease explicitly prohibit any law enforcement, detention or similar activities from occurring at the property,” the statement said. “Should the terms of the lease be violated, REDICO is prepared to fully enforce the agreement. The safety and security of employees, tenants and the community is our top priority.”
The GSA manages and leases property for many governmental agencies and departments, including DHS and ICE.
GSA did not immediately respond to a Free Press inquiry about what the office at One Towne Square is used for.
On Feb. 11, the city of Southfield said in a statement that the “U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has executed a lease for office space at One Towne Square to support administrative and legal functions associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”
“Based on information provided to the City, the leased space is intended for administrative and legal operations,” the city said. “The City has been advised that ICE enforcement officers will not be operating out of this location.”
The statement was deleted from its website the following day. Southfield Mayor Kenson Siver told the Free Press, “We did not want to say what the use is after hearing from (the) landlord. We only have the landlord’s statement. We have not heard from GSA or ICE. … The city has no authority to get involved in landlord/tenant contracts for uses that are permitted by zoning.”
REDICO confirmed in a statement to the Free Press on Friday, Feb. 13, sent through a public relations agency, that they have a lease with GSA, but added that “the lease explicitly prohibits any law enforcement, detention or similar activities to take place on the premises.” REDICO said its lease was for “general office use only.”
Southfield Neighbors Action Committee
The protest was organized by a group called Southfield Neighbors Action Committee. Cameron and Lauren Fink co-founded the committee in February when they learned OPLA lawyers representing ICE had moved into the office building. Cameron Fink said he and his wife helped organize the protest because “we don’t want ICE in our community.”
Cameron said he and his wife “are not professional protesters” but couldn’t accept that ICE might be working two miles from their neighborhood. He said many Southfield residents don’t want ICE or their lawyers in the city. He said the committee hosted its first in his living room with six people, its second at a church with 40 people, and this protest was the third meeting with over 100 attending.
“We hope that REDICO sees they will not have business as usual ever again until they cancel this contract,” Fink said. “We will be here with First Amendment-protected protests every day, every week, forever, until OPLA is gone. We want to show them that it is consequential to Southfield, to Oakland County, to Michigan, frankly to American democracy. We don’t think having a lawless agency’s legal team based here is appropriate, and they are going to see that every day until it is gone.”
Lauren Fink said her family and Jews around the world will soon observe Passover to tell the story of Exodus and how Nahshon chose to walk into the sea when violence and oppression was behind him.
“We are out here today because we have faith, but we aren’t looking for a miracle, we’re just looking for REDICO to be the good neighbors they claim to be,” Lauren said. “REDICO leadership has said that they cannot cancel the lease. Maybe they feel trapped. There is a vast sea ahead and they are afraid to drown. But remember Nahshon who took that first step. You cannot move forward until you begin to move forward. It is time to walk into the sea. REDICO, it is time to cancel the lease.”
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Protesters rally against ICE lawyers in Southfield office building
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
