Teams of federal agents began setting up the two-hour checkpoints on November 12, targeting secondary roads in Port Huron and Trenton, two small communities to the north and south of Detroit. Stopping all traffic, they demanded proof of citizenship from travelers they deemed "suspicious." Their "primary objective" was not "contraband" but "illegal aliens," said Loretta Lopez-Mossman, acting chief Border Patrol agent in Detroit.

The week before, Latino, a weekly Spanish language newspaper, had published a front-page article warning that the Immigration and Naturalization Service cops, known as la migra, would be stopping on the freeways.

Officials said that no checkpoints would be set up in Detroit because of problems of traffic congestion. Mexican-born workers, however, who live in the neighborhood known as Mexicantown, have reported a recent increase in the number of Border Patrol vehicles on the streets. A parishioner of Saint Gabriel’s Church in southwest Detroit told the Militant that after a recent Sunday service the priest reported that immigration officials were stationed outside, and advised everyone to stay put.

"I expect we will be bombarded with complaints," said Maysoon Khatib, a caseworker with the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Dearborn. "These kinds of checks will just make it harder for Arab Americans who have been a target since the Sept. 11 attacks," she told the Oakland Press.

Michigan is home to the third largest Arab-American population in the country, estimated at around 350,000 people. They are mostly concentrated in the southeast of the state around Detroit. According to the 2000 census the Detroit area is also home to about 75,000 Hispanic residents, including a large working-class community of Mexican-born immigrants in the city’s southwest.

Since September 11, 2001, the number of agents in Michigan has grown from 32 to 70, with another 13 scheduled to be assigned. The agency recently deployed three new patrol boats and a helicopter. Officials have announced plans to install 10 cameras along sections of the U.S.-Canadian border, claiming that smuggling is a problem.

A Border Patrol spokesperson revealed in early November that New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington state already have similar checkpoints programs.

Under federal law, Border Patrol agents have the right to set up checkpoints within 100 miles of the U.S. border. Within a 25-mile span they can stop "suspicious" vehicles, as well as search and conduct surveillance of private property. For many years the 8,000-strong patrol on the U.S.-Mexican border has exercised these powers.

The Border Patrol operation sparked widespread discussion among Latino workers in Detroit. "We need to get everyone together--the Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, everybody--and have a march right down Vernor," remarked a worker from the Dominican Republic. Vernor is the main road running through Mexicantown.

He and three co-workers have joined others in making plans for protest action. They have also translated a news article to help them spread the facts on the events among other Spanish-speaking workers.  
 
 
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