Residents and faith groups urge Oakland County to fund legal aid for immigrants and stop Flock surveillance contracts

Dozens of Oakland County residents and members of faith-based groups pressed the Board of Commissioners on Thursday to take immediate action on two issues they described as urgent: providing emergency legal and food aid to immigrants affected by recent ICE enforcement and moving to curtail county surveillance technology.

Speakers from groups including Strangers No Longer and CAFE said hundreds of Oakland County residents have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months and that local service providers lack capacity to offer legal representation and emergency support. "It's been 4 months. Do your job," Emily Douthin of CAFE told the board, urging commissioners to allocate the $100,000 that several speakers said had been proposed for legal aid and food assistance but not yet released.

Faith leaders and volunteers described people afraid to seek medical or government services and cited families separated by enforcement actions. Christina Greiser, who said she leads a church-based immigrant-support program, asked the board to "support the resolution to provide funding for legal assistance and food aid for immigrant families in our community." Multiple speakers said legal navigation and bond-fee assistance were immediate priorities.

Public comment also returned repeatedly to Flock, a private company that operates license-plate readers and camera-equipped devices. Residents objected to the county's contracts with Flock, saying the technology risks privacy and civil-liberties harms for residents of color and called for cancellation or stronger policies limiting data retention and access.

Commissioners acknowledged the volume of public concern and several said the questions raised would be addressed by staff and committees. The board did not vote on a $100,000 allocation at Thursday's meeting; organizers said they would continue pressing the county for a formal appropriation and an implementation plan for rapidly delivered legal and food aid.