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job pays in cash that matches a
college degree? That’s the biggest
discrepancy.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement generally does not
focus its activity in universities
because
they

along
with

hospitals and places of worship

are
considered
“sensitive

locations.” Once students graduate,
however, they are generally more
susceptible to ICE detainment or
deportation.

Workplaces are not afforded

the same protected status. Over
the summer, ICE inquired about
the citizenship statuses of the
employees
of
the
restaurant

owners at Café Zola and at Sava’s.
In July, hundreds of Ann Arbor
workers and residents gathered to
condemn ICE’s increased activity.

Despite the fact that universities

are mostly avoided by ICE, the
agency’s activity can sometimes
occur on the border between
“sensitive locations” and the rest
of the world. The Washtenaw
Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant
Rights works to confirm ICE
activity and posts these alerts
on their Facebook page. On Feb.
5, WICIR posted about the Jan.
31 ICE detainment of a Latino
man outside his place of work
the corner of Willard Street and
Church Street — just across the
street from East Quad Residence
Hall.

ICE did not respond to request

for comment.

In addition to worrying about

ICE, undocumented immigrants
in Washtenaw County have to face
federal immigration enforcement
by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection because Ann Arbor
is less than 100 miles from the
Canadian border.

While jurisdictions like the

University and the City of Ann
Arbor have procedures in place
prohibiting their law enforcement

agencies
from
soliciting

immigration status, according to
Jim Baird, chief of the Ann Arbor
Police Department, ICE often
prefers not to involve local law
enforcement
in
investigations

anyway. AAPD and ICE stick
to their own duties, Baird said,
explaining how the inability of
local law enforcement agencies to
verify citizenship is a key reason
why ICE does not want their
interference.

“If we come in contact with

somebody, I have absolutely no
way to know if that person is here
legally or illegally,” Baird said.
“There’s no way for me to even
figure that out. So we don’t do the
investigation, we just don’t care.
It’s not relevant information for us
all whether somebody is a citizen
or not.”

The
only
instance
AAPD

inquires
about
citizenship,

Baird said, is when they arrest
someone. This is because that
person has the right to make their
country’s embassy aware of their
arrest. If the person is arrested
for a felony or misdemeanor
punishable by 93 or more days in
jail, they are fingerprinted. ICE
receives a notification from the
fingerprinting database after a
number of hours. ICE can then
request a “detainer” of this person,
asking the county jail to keep them
two days after their jail sentence
terminates. But, Baird said AAPD
would not hold a person longer
because of a detainer.

Despite
the
amplified

national presence of ICE and
CBP,
Baird
emphasized
local

law enforcement’s unwavering
commitment to protecting the
safety of all Ann Arbor residents,
including
undocumented

immigrants.

“From a local law enforcement

perspective, there has been no
change whatsoever,” Baird said.
“In Ann Arbor, we have enacted
an ordinance and a policy, but it
really didn’t change anything, it
just kind of codified what we were

already doing and the way we’ve
been doing it for decades. It really
is a federal issue.”

The
ambiguous
future
of

immigration policy generates a lot
of media attention surrounding
the
safety
of
undocumented

immigrant
populations.

AAPD also works to confirm
immigration enforcement activity
by contacting ICE directly when
they receive reports. The work
of these organizations helps to
verify rumors, which quickly
circulate through undocumented
immigrant
populations
when

there is suspected ICE activity.

Baird explained how AAPD has

asked ICE to notify the department
when they are working in the local
area. Yet, these notifications have
lately become more infrequent,
which Baird speculates could be
for multiple reasons.

“I’ve actually seen a significant

reduction in the times they’ve let
us know,” Baird said. “I don’t know
if that’s necessarily because a
reduction of activity in Washtenaw
County or if they’re just less strict
about when they let us know.”

The
Michigan
Immigrant

Rights Center, based in Ann Arbor,
also serves the undocumented
immigrant population providing
legal counsel, education about
immigrant rights and training for
attorneys working on immigration
cases pro bono.

Sarah Schoettle, Washtenaw

staff attorney for MIRC, has
observed the barriers that prevent
undocumented immigrants from
realizing their rights and helps
her clients navigate the confusing
nature
of
immigration
law.

Schoettle cites a host of reasons
that discourage undocumented
immigrants from pursuing legal
pathways,
including
language

barriers, unfamiliarity with the
U.S. legal system and lack of
knowledge regarding their rights.

“In some ways, we need

to bust a mystique that only
a certain type of person can
be involved at a higher level
of engagement, and not just
politics, but on community
boards and things of that
nature,” Campion said.

The panel emphasized the

importance of civic involvement
not only on a national scale, but
also at a local level, such as in
city council elections and even
in public schools and libraries.
Several panelists indicated a
crucial step in increasing civic
engagement in Ann Arbor was
to increase accessibility to such
involvement.

“I think we are in some

ways purposefully complex in
the way that we do business
at even a very local level,
and that again is a barrier to

entry for a vast number of
people,” Campion explained.
“If you don’t understand how
civic codes work, you can’t sit
through a city council because
you won’t know what they’re
talking about 80 percent of the
time. That’s intimidating to
people.”

Another
suggestion
to

increase
accessibility
was

to improve the standard of
living for Washtenaw County’s
impoverished
populations.

Neel
Hajra,
president
and

CEO of the Ann Arbor Area
Community Foundation, said
ensuring basic needs such as
food security and childcare
would
give
underprivileged

individuals more opportunities
to pursue municipal interests.

“Twenty-five
percent
of

households
in
Washtenaw

County don’t make enough
to meet their basic needs,”
Hajra said. “When you live in
a vibrant community with so

much good going on, it’s pretty
easy to miss all the challenge.”

Several
attendees
were

actively involved in community
organizations
working
to

increase
civic
engagement.

Jeffrey Smeargle, a member of
the League of Women Voters
of Ann Arbor, spoke of his
efforts to energize Ann Arbor
residents before the upcoming
2018 midterm elections.

“We need for the next eight

months to beat this like a
drum,” he explained. “We have
to get really obsessive about big
turnout in the election.”

The forum was the third

part of a four-event series
being presented by the City
of
Ann
Arbor.
The
series

aims to facilitate discussion
about sustainability and civic
involvement. The first two
forums focused on electric
vehicle usage and ways of
tracking
environmental

sustainability goals.

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News
Friday, March 9, 2018 — 3

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concerned,(by) the least the market
will allow them to pay.”

LEO is demanding the starting

lecturer pay to be increased to
$60,000 for Ann Arbor. The
organization also wants a $1,000
pay increase per year for lecturers
and an increase in annual salary
increases. On a non-salary side,
LEO is also asking for increased
diversity
within
faculty
and

financial support for lecturers that
want to make their classes more
inclusive and promote community
service efforts with students.

Robinson
also
specifically

addressed a recent counteroffer
from the University regarding
salary increase, which he said was
insulting to LEO’s efforts.

“I’m not sure if (the counteroffer)

even covers inflation,” Robinson
said. “It’s a complete blow-off.
They’re basically saying, ‘You must
be joking. We aren’t even going to
give you a serious counter.’… This is
not their final offer obviously, but
it’s such a low and insulting one.
I certainly think they do not get
that we are committed to making a
paradigm shift this time.”

LEO will be bargaining in

Dearborn on Friday, and in Ann
Arbor on March 16. During the

Ann Arbor bargaining session, the
group plans to host a march around
campus beginning at noon. A LEO
staff member, who asked to be
anonymous due to the nature of her
job, also stated a strike will occur
on April 9 and 10 if bargaining
demands are not met.

Art & Design sophomores Miles

Honey and Katie Lacroix came to
the event after attending a poster-
making workshop held by Art &
Design lecturer Andrea Cardinal.
Honey said she felt the University
does not treat its lecturers the way
she believes they should.

“I’m not interested in being part

of a University that doesn’t treat
its (foundational) staff and faculty
well,” Honey said.

Lacroix also said she wanted

to support LEO after becoming
close with her lecturers and seeing
what they do to continue educating
students despite low wages.

“When you start to get to know

your
teachers,
and
especially

getting to know lecturers, you
become friends with them during
class and after class,” Lacroix said.
“You get to know their personal
stories and then when you start
to learn that so many of your
lecturers literally have three jobs …
You realize they’re doing their best
to teach you in class but they’re
dealing with all of these stresses
outside … I can’t not do anything.”

with silence,” Taylor said.

This
silence,
she
argued,

leads to an acceptance of racist
ideologies, contributing to the
rise and acceptance of “alt-right”
figures such as Richard Spencer.

In terms of implicit racism

through economic policy, Taylor
noted how on his campaign
website, Trump promised to help
working-class African Americans
by using money from deporting
illegal immigrants to help support
inner-city communities. She said
both Republicans and Democrats

have been guilty of blaming and
exploiting the most vulnerable
population
for
social
issues,

specifically through the lens of the
2016 presidential candidates.

“Racism is in the service for a

larger agenda,” Taylor said.

In an analysis of the 2016

presidential
election,
Taylor

explained the majority of Trump’s
support came from wealthy white
Americans, not the working class
–– hence his strategic comments
targeting the “alt-right.”

LSA junior Kevin Ashwood

reflected on the similarity between
the Democratic and Republican
parties, especially with regard to
their ideas about wealth and its

distribution.

“A lot of the time we often

identify Republicans with being
the one percenters and Democrats
with being definitely against it,
when that’s really not the case,”
Ashwood said.

Over 100 million eligible voters

did not vote in the 2016 election,
and Black voter turnout fell for
the first time in over twenty years.
Taylor attributes this to failures of
both candidates to offer a serious
attempt to fight inequality in the
country.

BARGAINING
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DUTY
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ACTIVISM
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DACA
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