Activists Rally at Michigan Capitol to Demand Whitmer Act on Romulus ICE Facility
Protesters invoked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s own PAC name against her as they demanded action to stop a planned ICE detention facility from opening in Romulus.
LANSING, MICHIGAN — A coalition of immigrant rights activists, faith leaders, and environmental justice advocates gathered outside the Michigan State Capitol on June 11, 2026, urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to stop the development of an ICE detention center in Romulus.
Protesters Ask ‘Where’s Whitmer?’
Members of the Coalition to Shut the Camps assembled in Lansing after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security purchased a warehouse in Romulus with plans to convert it into an immigration detention facility. Demonstrators chanted outside the Capitol building, pressing the governor to publicly oppose the project and use her authority to block it.
Melody Simmons, chair of the Coalition to Shut the Camps, called out Whitmer directly over her silence on the issue. “Governor, you named your own PAC ‘Fight Like Hell,'” Simmons said. “So, when there is an actual fight, where are you? DHS bought a warehouse in Romulus, and we don’t know where our governor is.”
Whitmer launched her political action committee, named Fight Like Hell, in 2023. Protesters at the rally invoked that name to challenge what they described as her lack of response to the planned detention center.
Other Governors Cited as Models for Action
Simmons and Alex Rodriguez, co-chair of Workers Against Oppression, pointed to actions taken by governors in other states as examples of what Whitmer could do. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of Environmental Protection issued administrative orders barring occupation of two planned ICE detention centers until the Department of Homeland Security demonstrates compliance with federal and state environmental regulations.
In Maryland, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting construction of a proposed ICE detention facility, a move that Gov. Wes Moore actively supported, according to the Michigan Advance. Activists argued these examples show that state-level executives have tools available to push back against federal detention center development.
Romulus Facility at Center of Controversy
The warehouse purchased by DHS in Romulus, a city in Wayne County southwest of Detroit, has become a focal point for immigration advocacy groups across Michigan. The coalition gathered in Lansing includes community organizations, immigrant rights groups, faith leaders, and environmental justice advocates, reflecting a broad opposition to the facility’s development.
As of June 11, 2026, Whitmer had not publicly commented on the Romulus detention center project, according to Michigan Advance reporting. The governor’s office had not issued a statement in response to the rally or the coalition’s demands.
