FIRST ON FOX: A Michigan Democrat seeking to replace Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in the House previously suggested that he opposes the idea of local governments in the state reporting illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities and voiced his support for Lansing’s decision to declare itself a sanctuary city at the time.
The remarks from Curtis Hertel Jr., who served for eight years as a Michigan state senator and is the sole Democrat seeking election to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, came during an April 2017 conversation with City Pulse – a news outlet serving the Greater Lansing area.
Given a hypothetical situation involving an illegal immigrant who was questioned by authorities during a routine traffic stop, Hertel said he believes local law enforcement officers should not make the call to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to inquire about the individual’s immigration status.
Curtis Hertel Jr., a Democrat running to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, previously suggested that local governments should not report illegal immigrants to ICE. (Curtis Hertel campaign, Getty Images)
“One, I don’t like the term ‘illegal’,” Hertel said. “A lot of these people have been here a long time. A lot of them, it wasn’t their choice to come here. They were brought here as children. In my opinion, those that risk and sacrifice so much who just wanted to be part of the American experience have earned a status among Americans that a lot of us haven’t earned just by being born here. They want America. So no, I don’t believe that we should be calling ICE and actually being involved in that process, I don’t.”
Hertel, who represented portions of Lansing, served in the state’s upper legislative chamber from 2015 to 2023. He told the City Pulse that he believed Lansing doesn’t have a “responsibility to be immigration officials.”
Hertel did, however, say at the time that he…
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