Immigration arrests in Michigan have surged since President Donald Trump returned to office, but new data shows most people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t have criminal convictions.

The crackdown is instead sweeping up families and nonviolent immigrants—a far cry from Trump’s promise of deporting the “worst of the worst.”

Today, The ’Gander’s Kyle Kaminski breaks down what the numbers are truly revealing about Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Plus: Michigan lawmakers take action to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Interlochen

Supreme Court sides with Michigan in pipeline fight (AP News): The US Supreme Court ruled Michigan’s lawsuit over Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline will remain in state court, rejecting the company’s attempt to move it to federal jurisdiction. The decision keeps the state’s effort to shut down the aging pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac alive amid ongoing environmental and legal disputes.

Data center hearing draws overflow crowd to Capitol (Bridge Michigan): Michigan residents overwhelmingly voiced opposition to hyperscale data centers at a Lansing hearing this week. Among the biggest concerns was the centers’ environmental impacts. Though state leaders remain supportive of the projects, lawmakers are considering new rules to rein them in.

DOJ demands Michigan county’s 2024 ballots (NBC News): The Justice Department is demanding Wayne County turn over 2024 election ballots as part of a broader federal inquiry. The move has drawn sharp pushback from Michigan officials. Attorney General Dana Nessel called the request baseless and a weaponization of the Justice Department.

(The ‘Gander TikTok)

Since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, federal immigration agents have arrested more than 4,200 people right here in Michigan. That’s more than three times the number of arrests recorded in all of 2024 under President Joe Biden. And here’s the part the Trump administration doesn’t want you to focus on—less than a quarter of those people had criminal convictions.

Here’s the deal: The Detroit Metro Times reviewed data from the deportation data project, covering Trump’s first 14 months back in office. And the numbers flatly contradict Trump’s core talking point that this crackdown is focused on, quote, “the worst of the worst.”

Of the 4,200 people arrested in Michigan, only 966, or about 23%, had criminal convictions. Another 26% of them had pending charges, but pending charges are not convictions. Some of those cases may have already been dismissed or ended in acquittals. And that means more than half the Michiganders swept up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no conviction, and weren’t even facing charges.

And here’s the kicker. Look at who’s actually being targeted. The arrests involved people from 93 countries. But the overwhelming majority of those immigrants came from Latin America and Mexico. Of all 93 countries represented, only eight were predominantly white. Combined, they accounted for just 20 arrests out of 4,200.

Oh, and ICE also arrested children. A total of 108 teenagers were taken into custody under Trump. 21 were 12 or younger. The youngest was a three-year-old from Guatemala. 

So what? Well, the Trump administration has built its entire immigration agenda on the claim that it’s targeting dangerous criminals. But the data tells a much different story. One where more than half the people getting arrested had no conviction, and no pending charges. Where kids as young as three are being detained, and where some folks are increasingly afraid to leave their homes.

Get the full story in this edition of “so what, Michigan?“

Decades after Epstein allegedly used his donor status to make contact with children at a Northern Michigan arts camp, state lawmakers are demanding a formal reckoning. (davide bonaldo via shutterstock.com)

By Kyle Kaminski

Nearly 50 state lawmakers from both parties say they want answers about how a convicted sex trafficker spent years as a welcomed donor at one of the country’s most prestigious youth arts institutions. And a new resolution would let them demand exactly that.

A bipartisan resolution introduced this month in the Michigan House of Representatives would create a special select committee to investigate the Interlochen Center for the Arts and its long-documented relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous financier and serial predator who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges.

House Resolution 284 was sponsored by state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) and 44 colleagues—including three Republicans. It was referred to the Government Operations Committee on April 16. If passed by the full state House, it would create a new, six-member committee with real teeth: the power to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, and compel the records of corporations, state agencies, and individuals connected to the investigation.

“Was anyone at the camp responsible for Epstein and what he was doing during those stays?” Tsernoglou said in a release. “Was he just allowed to roam free because he was a major benefactor? These are extraordinarily concerning questions that, to my knowledge, we have never gotten answers to.”

By Abby Deatrick

On May 1, 2026, community members will protest, march, and take action across the country and here in Michigan. International Workers’ Day, commonly known as May Day, commemorates the historic struggle for an eight-hour workday and the broader fight for fair working conditions, inspired by events such as the Haymarket affair in Chicago in 1886.

As national concerns grow over rising prices, international tensions, immigration enforcement actions, and the Trump administration’s attacks on public programs, this year’s theme is “Workers Over Billionaires,” with calls for no school. No work. No shopping. To reject business as usual. 

Here’s a roundup of May Day protests, marches, gatherings, and mutual aid drives in Michigan:

📣 Have an event to add? Email Abigail Deatrick, The ’Gander’s state organizing coordinator, with details. Please send submissions at least one week before the event.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with stories from Kyle Kaminski and Abby Deatrick. It was edited by Brook Bolen.

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