DEARBORN, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — As Ramadan begins, mosques across southeast Michigan are filling for nightly prayers, but national immigration enforcement headlines are shaping conversations beyond worship.
Some Muslim leaders say recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns in other states, along with reports of arrests in Michigan, have prompted questions from congregants about “safety.”
MORE NEWS: Police Chief Ripped For Wanting To Fire Cops For Calling Immigration During Traffic Stop
“People in the community hear about these things … so obviously it raises concern, in particular during the month of Ramadan, when the mosques are packed every night,” CAIR-Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid told The Detroit News.
Ramadan, which began this week, is observed through daily fasting, prayer, and evening gatherings that often bring crowds to mosques throughout communities such as Dearborn, Detroit, Hamtramck, and Warren.
Walid added that his organization has spent recent weeks educating immigrants about their legal protections.
“Not having one’s green card on them, for instance, is an offense,” Walid said, “so by not having it on them it could trigger some sort of proceeding that could ultimately get them deported.”
Some mosques have also increased private security and coordination with local police, though immigration enforcement operations typically target individuals suspected of violating federal immigration laws—not religious gatherings themselves.
Additionally, activists have pointed to ICE’s new administrative office in Southfield as a source of concern, even though the leased space at One Towne Square is designated strictly for office functions.
“We will have our own security, that’s for sure—armed security at the door,” Imam Steve Elturk, president of the Islamic Organization of North America in Warren, said.