The University of Michigan Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (UM-AA AAUP) expresses solidarity with workers and families in Minnesota, where the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, alongside major labor unions and faith leaders, has called for statewide action in opposition to violence imposed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
We express solidarity with labor unions, who held a Day of Truth and Freedom on January 23rd, to unite against the violent ICE occupation of U.S. cities. Their demands, which we share, include:
- ICE must leave Minnesota now;
- The agent who killed Renee Good must be held legally accountable;
- The upcoming congressional budget must provide no additional federal funding for ICE, and ICE must be investigated for human and constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors; and,
- Minnesotan and national companies must become 4th Amendment Businesses — they must cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds.
Our AAUP chapter is angered over the cruelty and violence that ICE is unleashing across U.S. cities, most recently in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. In accordance with statements made by AAUP national and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities AAUP chapter, we are outraged over the fear and terror that ICE agents are inflicting on Somali workers and families, on other African, Asian, and Latinx communities that have long been threatened and aggrieved by immigration agents, and on their co-workers, friends, and neighbors. We lament the killing of Renee Nicole Good, an unarmed legal observer, who was shot dead by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, the killing of Alex Pretti after he was already restrained by multiple agents, and any others who were unjustly harmed or killed since the writing of this statement. We decry the Trump administration’s language, policies, and actions that are intensifying this violence.
We know that ICE is active in Michigan, with sightings of agents around university campuses, reports of raids destabilizing communities, Native American tribes warning their citizens of unwarranted stops and detentions, and workers being arrested on the way to their jobs. In 2025 alone, the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, reopened to hold an influx of new detainees, and ICE agents made over 2,300 known arrests—more than doubling the number of arrests from the prior year. Our students, co-workers, friends, and neighbors are at risk as a result of ICE’s intensified surveillance and policing activities. We are all at risk.
As a union and membership association of faculty and academic professionals, the AAUP is committed to advancing academic freedom and shared governance and ensuring higher education’s contribution to the common good. At the University of Michigan, we cannot meaningfully participate in institutional governance, pursue groundbreaking research, or deliver world-class education when we are at risk. Along these lines, our University of Michigan Ann Arbor Chapter of the AAUP calls on the University of Michigan administration to ensure the safety and security of all members of our community, in full recognition of immigrant workers’ valuable knowledge and contributions. We further demand that the federal government end its racist, violent attacks on immigrant workers and families. Finally, in solidarity with the Day of Truth and Freedom, we demand that Congress provide no additional funding to ICE and that ICE leaves our cities—from Michigan to Minnesota and beyond.
University of Michigan AAUP 