Two officers with the Detroit Police Department were suspended without pay for 30 days on Thursday for calling Customs and Border Protection agents on two separate occasions that resulted in the agents taking suspects into federal custody.
A Detroit Police sergeant and officer were accused by Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison of breaking department policy when they called Border Patrol agents during traffic stops on December 16 and February 9, ABC’s Detroit affiliate WXYZ reported. Bettison pushed to fire the officers, but the Board of Police Commissioners voted on Thursday to suspend the cops without pay. The officers were initially suspended with pay on February 12.
We have a place for you, patriots.https://t.co/3c7b0Ry86A https://t.co/8bCkfH1Yhb
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) February 20, 2026
While Detroit has not officially declared itself a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, it effectively acts as on as the police are prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agents. During the incident earlier this month, Detroit Police sergeant Denise Wallet was called to assist an officer who was dealing with a person who could not speak English. According to Chief Bettison, the sergeant called Border Patrol to help with translation services instead of using the police department’s translation service line.
Wallet, who has been with the department for 27 years, sued the city after she was suspended. In a complaint, Wallet said that she contacted Border Patrol simply to identify the suspect, “not to enforce immigration law or to inquire into the subject’s immigration status,” Michigan Advance reported. Wallet’s action was discovered by the police department during a bodycam audit, which showed the sergeant make “a verbal comment expressing her disagreement with the DPD policy regarding immigration and collaboration with the federal government.”
In the complaint, Wallet argues that the police department’s policy violates federal law, which states that “no state or local government entity or official may prohibit or restrict any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, federal immigration authorities information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any individual.” Wallet also argues that her due process rights were violated since she was suspended without being given an opportunity to defend herself.
Leftist Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib praised Chief Bettison for punishing the police officers.
“Chief Bettison and I agree that we need to make sure that our community and our residents trust the people who are trying to keep us safe,” Tlaib said.
Michigan House Republican leader Matt Hall, however, said that the Detroit Police Department’s action could prompt the state House to review the department’s policies, saying that firing the officers would be “unacceptable,” The Detroit News reported.
After the board voted on Thursday to suspend the officers without pay, Bettison said he would no longer pursue firing the officers.
“This incident should make it clear, however, that as Chief, I will continue to vigorously enforce DPD’s policies,” he added.
While Detroit has not seen the same surge in federal immigration operations that cities like Minneapolis and Chicago have experienced, ICE agents routinely arrest suspected illegal immigrants in the Motor City and surrounding area.
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