Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation said FBI personnel were present in Berrien County and the city of Portage Wednesday, conducting non-immigration-related law enforcement operations.
FBI spokesperson Jordan Hall of the FBI's Detroit field office confirmed in a statement sent by text that FBI personnel were present in "multiple areas of Berrien County", as well as in the city of Portage, "conducting law enforcement activities".
"This is not an immigration-related matter, and currently, there is no known threat to public safety," Hall said in the statement.
Michigan State Police spokesperson Lieutenant DuWayne Robinson also confirmed that MSP personnel were present in Portage on Wednesday to assist the FBI with their operations.
“I can confirm that we have resources there assisting the FBI with these operations. They are going to put out their own presser informing the public on what has transpired today," Robinson said.
Hall said that the FBI isn't able to give out details on active operations per U.S. Department of Justice policies, but also confirmed that personnel were present in Portage on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, photos surfaced on the Neighbors App by security company Ring showing a Department of Homeland security vehicle, MSP tactical vehicle, and a large row of MSP patrol cars parked near Portage Road and the Kalamazoo airport.
Other posts on the app and the social media site Reddit began to speculate about an ICE presence in the area. Some were deleted by the moderator. Many responded with claims the vehicles were related to law enforcement training activities.
However, Robinson confirmed that MSP is not partnering with ICE in the Southwest Michigan region, and both Robinson and Hall confirmed that no immigrations enforcement operations were taking place in the city of Portage or in Berrien County on Wednesday.
Robinson also said that the law enforcement vehicles in Portage were part of the joint operations between MSP and the FBI and were not part of a training exercise.
WMUK was not able to reach a representative with the DOJ for comment on this story.
