YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now responding after reports this week that agents were targeting parents near a bus stop in Ypsilanti during student drop-off times.
Watch the report from Simon Shaykhet in the video player below:
“ICE does NOT target schools for enforcement actions or bus stop locations. To be clear, NO children were present during these arrests," an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to 7 News Detroit.
ICE said its officers initiated vehicle stops after watching two vehicles leave a targeted residence and detained Delmy Yamileth Molina Vasquez and Gissel Alejandra Pavon Nunes, Carolina Hernandez-Aviles and Elder Alberto Veliz-Mencia. ICE said they will all remain in custody pending immigration proceedings.
Read the full statement from ICE below:
“ICE does NOT target schools for enforcement actions or bus stop locations. To be clear, NO children were present during these arrests. ICE officers were conducting targeted operations seeking to apprehend illegal aliens with final orders of removal from the United States, Jan. 27, 2026. During the intelligence-based operation, ICE officers observed two vehicles leave the target’s residence and initiated a vehicle stop. During the vehicle encounter, officers encountered Delmy Yamileth Molina Vasquez and Gissel Alejandra Pavon Nunes, both illegal aliens from Honduras and Carolina Hernandez-Aviles an illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal. All three illegal aliens entered the U.S. under the Biden administration’s catch and release policies. During the second vehicle encounter, officers detained Elder Alberto Veliz-Mencia an illegal alien from Honduras. All of the illegal aliens remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings and will receive full due process.” “Lies like these are just another reason why our officers are grappling with a 1,300% increase in assaults, a 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks and a staggering 8,000% uptick in death threats.” “We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."
Earlier this week, Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia M. Dyer said they received multiple reports that ICE detained a mother in front of her child and other residents.
She said the ICE activity did not happen on school grounds.
“It appears that parents connected to local schools were targeted at a bus stop in Ypsilanti during student drop-off times,” the sheriff wrote in a post on Facebook earlier this week.
We sat down with Dyer on Wednesday to talk with her about the situation.
“Following parents when they’re dropping off kids at school or leaving school or going to bus stops should also be off limits," she told 7 News Detroit's Simon Shaykhet.
Dyer said she is working in partnership with local leaders and schools to help children feel safe going to and from school. Dyer said she supports Senate bills aiming to protect sensitive locations, like hospitals, schools and places of worship from ICE operations targeting those in the U.S. illegally.
“There’s been a lot of fear, understandably around this," she said.
If anyone needs support or resources, the sheriff notes they can call the WICIR hotline for immigration-related emergencies at 734-355-2707.
Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report below:
“Everyone deserves to have safety and security in a place that they call home,” said Washtenaw County Commissioner Crystal Lyte.
Lyte grew up in Ypsilanti and says ICE agents are using fear tactics to intimidate Washtenaw County residents.
“I’m just not falling for it. I’m not afraid. And protect yourselves at all cost, and especially these kids,” she said. “I’m not gonna let some of our vulnerable community and folks in this county just disappear.”
Ypsilanti Community Schools also sent a letter to district families about the situation, saying “Ypsilanti Community Schools remains a safe sanctuary for all scholars.”
Read the full letter below:
Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, also shared his thoughts on the sheriff's post and local ICE operations.
“ICE has to do their job. If no one’s lives are being put in jeopardy, they should be able to go wherever they need to go to get criminals and illegals off the street," he said.
"How can you take a federal law and carve out not near bus stops, not near the church or where the coffee shop is?" Bellino added. “We got to pick them up somewhere, where you know they’re going to be. This is how you do it.”
