Immigrant support groups criticized Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Wednesday for referring to illegal immigrants as “illegal,” which they labeled as “the i-word.”
Liberal political groups and public figures want people to stop calling illegal immigrants “illegal.” They prefer terms like “undocumented” or “unauthorized” immigrants instead.
Some places are planning to oppose the Trump administration’s attempts to deport criminal illegal immigrants. However, Duggan has stated that Detroit is not a safe city and will not protect those living in the city illegally.
“ICE has a list of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes,” said Duggan, a former Democrat who is now an Independent, last week. “When one of the people we arrested comes forward, they will get in touch with us.” If we have them at the Detroit holding center, we will hand them over to ICE.
The Detroit News reports that nine organizations in Michigan that help immigrants criticized the mayor for calling undocumented immigrants “illegal.”
“The Mayor’s use of the I-word is disrespectful, dehumanizing, and an insult to Detroit’s long-standing immigrant communities,” the organizations said in a press release seen by local news.
Duggan apparently dismissed the criticism as just “political correctness” in an email, according to the Detroit News.
“When Detroit police arrest someone and find out that the person is in the country illegally, we do not protect you from federal action,” he said.
Some groups disagree with me and are criticizing my comments for being politically correct. However, I won’t apologize for clearly explaining Detroit’s stance. “We have maintained this stance through the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations,” Duggan said.
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