A local resident who demanded answers about the city of Taylor’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was grabbed by three police officers and arrested Tuesday night after she pressed Mayor Tim Woolley on whether the partnership is putting immigrants and people of color in danger.
The confrontation unfolded during public comment at a Taylor City Council meeting, where about half a dozen people objected to the Police Department’s participation in ICE’s 287(g) program, a controversial agreement that allows local officers to work with federal immigration authorities.
The woman, who said her name was Melody, was speaking with urgency about ICE when Woolley began defending the city’s policy.
“This is serious, and my words contain as much seriousness as they need because everybody is in danger when they’re in your city limits,” Melody told Woolley. “Do you understand how dangerous this is, Mr. Mayor?”
Woolley responded that public safety is his priority.
“In my city, your safety is my priority,” Woolley responded. “These men and women who are standing there…”
Melody interrupted him.
“You’re not answering my question,” she said. “I asked about ICE.”
When Woolley said he wanted to make sure residents are safe every day, Melody shot back, “Then don’t work with ICE.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” Woolley insisted.
“It absolutely does,” Melody shot back. “That’s why I’m here.”
Moments later, Council President Charley Johnson declared her out of order.
“Your time is up! Leave!” Johnson yelled.
Three police officers then pulled Melody away from the podium as she continued demanding an answer.
“I want my question answered,” she said as officers removed her from the council chambers. At one point, she could be heard saying, “You don’t have to break my fucking arm. Let go of my arm.”
Police later arrested her.
To activists, the arrest proved their concern that Taylor officials are treating residents alarmed by ICE as the problem, while defending a federal agency that has increasingly come under fire for deaths in custody, aggressive raids, medical neglect, and tactics that have spread fear through immigrant communities.
Those concerns were repeated to Taylor City Council on Tuesday.
Shannon, a resident who opposed the agreement, said today’s ICE is more dangerous than the agency that existed years ago.
“This ICE is not the ICE from 30 years ago,” Shannon said. “This ICE isn’t the same ICE we had a year ago. We haven’t had an ICE like this. We haven’t had a president that said ignore warrants, bust down doors, do what you want.”
She added, “Being in an agreement with them is mind-boggling. What we have now is dangerous and it will only get worse. It’s turning a blind eye to what is happening.”
Another resident, Kassi Gregory of Taylor, said she was less worried about Taylor police than what happens after officers turn someone over to ICE.
“I’m not concerned about Taylor police,” Gregory said. “I’m worried what will happen to people when they’re turned over to ICE.”
She said Taylor residents could lose trust in police if they believe officers are working as a pipeline to federal immigration agents.
“I’m concerned about people in Taylor losing trust in police because they’re worried about ICE,” Gregory said.
Gregory tells Metro Times that she was “rattled” by the way police and council responded to Melody.
“It was a messy citation,” Gregory says. “None of us expected this to happen.”
Taylor police entered the 287(g) agreement in 2025, making the department one of the few in Michigan to join the federal program. In a Facebook post ahead of the meeting, opponents said a Freedom of Information Act request showed the agreement was signed by the police chief, not the mayor, and that the city had no record of a City Council resolution authorizing it. They argued that residents never had a chance to object at a regular public meeting before the agreement was finalized.
Under the agreement, Taylor officers can check whether someone they are investigating is wanted by ICE and notify federal authorities if the person is in the city.
At the meeting, Chief John Blair said officers do not go into homes, businesses, or schools looking for undocumented immigrants and do not report undocumented crime victims to ICE. He said the agreement formalizes what other departments already do and has been used a handful of times this year, including in cases involving people accused of transporting fentanyl.
But activists say the agreement gives ICE a foothold in Taylor without public accountability.
After Melody was removed from the council chambers, Johnson and
Woolley admonished her, claiming activists must follow certain rules.
Wooley, who said he’s from Minnesota, where federal agents have killed residents, suggested activists should not complain and instead should get involved in politics.
“There are several ways to be activists and one of them is to pay your dues and get in the government so you can be an activist from the inside,” Wooley said.
Johnson was more blunt.
“One way to be an activist is to not be a fool,” Johnson said. “We don’t do a back and forth.”
Johnson then acknowledged that he shares some of the concerns about ICE.
“I have a lot of the same concerns as she has,” Johnson said. “I’m not a fan of ICE, never have been, never will be, and I’m a white middle-aged guy.”
Still, Johnson said he trusts Taylor police, without explaining how his opposition to ICE squares with his support for the department’s partnership with the agency.
“I believe ICE is out of control, absolutely,” Johnson said. “In my opinion, ICE shouldn’t be around. But we have police we trust.”
That contradiction sat at the center of Tuesday’s meeting. Some city officials conceded that ICE is dangerous or out of control, while insisting Taylor residents should trust local police to work with the agency.
Woolley also defended local cooperation with federal authorities, but said he does not want Taylor to see the kind of unrest that has followed aggressive immigration enforcement elsewhere.
“Nobody wants chaos here,” Woolley said. “I don’t want a Minneapolis here.”
But for residents who came to City Hall to oppose the ICE agreement, the message was clear. When they asked why Taylor police are helping an agency they believe is terrorizing immigrant communities, city leaders defended the partnership, cut off the questions, and allowed police to remove one of their critics by force, even though at least one councilman doesn’t support ICE’s existence.
ICE’s detention system has become deadlier since President Donald Trump returned to office. An analysis by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization, found that deaths in ICE custody or detention increased to 33 in 2025, up from 11 in 2024 and fewer than 10 in earlier years. So far this year, at least 18 people had died in ICE custody, according to reporting on the death of Denny Adán González at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Together, those figures show at least 51 deaths in ICE custody or detention since Trump took office in January 2025.
The deaths are part of a larger pattern of allegations against ICE. A Washington Post investigation found that use-of-force incidents in ICE detention centers rose during the first year of Trump’s second term, with internal records showing officers used pepper spray, takedowns, and restraints in incidents that included detainees seeking food, water, medical care, or protesting conditions. Civil rights groups have also reported allegations of abuse, medical neglect and inhumane conditions in detention facilities.
For immigrant communities, the harm often begins long before detention. Advocates say local police cooperation with ICE erodes trust, making immigrants less likely to report crimes, seek help, or cooperate with investigators. The American Immigration Council warns that 287(g) agreements can make immigrant communities fearful of local police, even when they are victims or witnesses. A Penn State report on federal-local immigration enforcement found that activation of 287(g) task force agreements and the Secure Communities program significantly increased the risk of violent victimization among Latinos.
