Ypsilanti parents detained by ICE near school bus stop, sheriff says

Washtenaw County officials say agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency took parents into custody near a school bus drop-off spot in Ypsilanti.

According to Ypsilanti Community Schools and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, ICE agents took some parents of local students into custody as they were waiting for a school bus. 

Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross, Ypsilanti Community Schools Superintendent, called the circumstances "a deeply distressing situation." 

"Earlier today, following reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence near our campus, we have received confirmation that several parents in our community were taken into custody while off school grounds," Zachery-Ross said in her letter dated Tuesday.  

School officials did not say how many parents were taken into custody by ICE agents. 

Both the superintendent and Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer said the ICE activity does not appear to have taken place on school property. Zachery-Ross said the school district's policy is that "we do not voluntarily cooperate with ICE," and a valid judicial warrant would be required for federal agents to go into the school buildings or on school property.

Dyer said the ICE activity occurred near bus stops in Ypsilanti, saying that it appears "parents connected to local schools were targeted at a bus stop in Ypsilanti during student drop-off times."

Zachery-Ross said she is urging students to "walk in groups" or use "trusted carpools" for their transportation to and from school. 

The Ypsilanti superintendent said she is working closely with the sheriff's office to monitor school sites, as well as working with the Washtenaw County Intermediate School District to support the students and their families who were involved in the situation. 

"People shouldn't be afraid to go to school or church without facing detainment or worse from untrained, reckless, and unaccountable federal agents," state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who represents the district. 

Zachery-Ross encourages families to keep their emergency contact information and care plans for children updated with the district.

"We will continue to advocate for your safety, your dignity, and your right to an education free from fear," she said. 

CBS News Detroit has reached out to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Detroit for comment.