Two Detroit police officers did their jobs. They called federal agents for help during traffic stops. For that, they got suspended without pay for 30 days.
Let that sink in.
Sergeant Denise Wallet, a 27-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, was on a call earlier this month assisting an officer dealing with a suspect who couldn’t speak English. She called Customs and Border Protection for help identifying the individual. Not to deport anyone. Not to “enforce immigration law.” Just to figure out who the person was.
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison wanted her fired. He wanted both officers gone. The Board of Police Commissioners talked him down to 30-day suspensions without pay, which is still a financial gut punch for cops who were trying to do their jobs.
Here’s the kicker: Wallet’s “offense” was discovered during a bodycam audit. The department found footage of her making “a verbal comment expressing her disagreement with the DPD policy regarding immigration and collaboration with the federal government.” So she got punished for actions and opinions. In America. In 2026.
Detroit hasn’t officially declared itself a sanctuary city. It just acts like one. The police department’s policy prohibits officers from cooperating with federal immigration agents, full stop. Wallet is now suing the city, arguing that the policy violates 8 U.S.C. 1373, which says no state or local government can prohibit officials from sharing immigration information with the feds. She’s right. Federal law is clear on this.
ICE didn’t waste time responding. The agency posted on X: “We have a place for you, patriots.” Below the message was a link to apply for a job with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That’s not just a recruitment pitch. It’s a public rebuke of a police department that punishes its own for following the law.
Rashida Tlaib, Michigan’s most reliably anti-enforcement voice in Congress, praised Chief Bettison. “We need to make sure that our community and our residents trust the people who are trying to keep us safe,” she said. The irony is staggering. The people trying to keep Detroit safe are the ones getting suspended. The ones undermining federal law are getting congratulated.
Michigan House Republican leader Matt Hall fired back, saying the legislature would review the department’s policies. Firing officers for cooperating with the federal government, he said, would be “unacceptable.” The House review can’t come soon enough.
This isn’t complicated. A police sergeant with nearly three decades of service called a federal agency for translation help. She didn’t round anyone up. She didn’t conduct an immigration raid from her squad car. She picked up a phone. And for that, she lost a month’s pay and nearly lost her career.
Bettison backed off the firings after the board vote, but he made sure everyone got the message: “I will continue to vigorously enforce DPD’s policies.” Policies that put local politics above federal law. Policies that tell cops they’ll be punished for cooperating with their own government.
Detroit is a city with one of the highest violent crime rates in America. Its police department is understaffed. And the chief’s priority is hunting down officers who called Border Patrol. That tells you everything you need to know about where the priorities are in blue-city America.
Sergeant Wallet served Detroit for 27 years. The city thanked her with a suspension and a bodycam inquisition. ICE thanked her with a job offer.
Sometimes the story tells itself.
