ADRIAN — Adrian’s Police Chief Vince Emrick led an educational discussion on immigration at Monday night’s City Commission meeting, answering frequently asked questions about the apparent increase in immigration enforcement in Adrian.
This discussion came after city residents, some of whom are affiliated with the organization Hope in Action, expressed their concerns to the commission about recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity.
Chief Emrick confirmed that ICE was present in Adrian on at least four occasions in 2025, and carried out arrests at local businesses, but that the Adrian Police Department was only notified of their presence once and received one call for service at an ICE arrest in Adrian on June 14th.
Adrian police have no authority to intervene in an ICE arrest, but department policy states that officers are required to do so in the event of, quote, “any unreasonable use of force,” unquote.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deputize state and local law enforcement to perform specified immigration officer functions, and Chief Emrick stated that he and his department have, quote, “no interest,” unquote, in cooperating with ICE in this capacity.
Chief Emrick concluded his presentation by urging residents to contact their state legislators, hoping that this would, quote, “bring some positive change,” unquote.
Adrian Mayor Angie Heath prepared a statement for the meeting, expressing solidarity with concerned citizens and the Hispanic community and urging unity among residents.
WLEN News spoke with both Chief Emrick and Mayor Heath after the meeting, and we will hear from them in a future newscast.