As a U.S. House member from Michigan, Mike Rogers voted on December 8, 2010 against the House-passed DREAM Act, which would have let people brought to the United States as children seek legal status; the bill died in the Senate. Today no one can newly gain DACA status, and Michigan has about 4,430 active DACA recipients.
Rogers, now the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, celebrated the One Big Beautiful Bill Act the day the House passed it and said in January 2026 that it would "invest in historic and transformational border security." The law directs $170.7 billion toward immigration and border enforcement, and in 2025 ICE reported at least 30 detainee deaths, the highest total since 2004.
Rogers described Trump's enforcement as aimed at "gang-bangers, murderers, child-molesters," though 65% of people booked into detention had no criminal convictions, and he issued no direct statement after a Border Patrol officer killed Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti in January 2026. In Michigan, the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin reopened in June 2025 after shutting down in 2022, and about 1,400 people were held there in April 2026.
Mike Rogers's House Vote, Statements and Support for Trump's Immigration Crackdown and Its Enforcement Money
- Rogers Voted Against the DREAM Act in 2010, Which Would Have Let People Brought to the U.S. as Children Earn Legal Status. On December 8, 2010, Mike Rogers, then a House member from Michigan, voted no on the House amendment to H.R. 5281 that carried the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 (the DREAM Act), which would have let people brought to the United States as children seek conditional legal status. The House passed it 216 to 198, but the Senate failed to end debate on it by a vote of 55 to 41 on December 18, 2010, and the bill never became law. Michigan Public reported in March 2025 that Michigan was home to about 4,430 active DACA recipients in the last fiscal year, according to federal data, and that people are no longer able to gain DACA status.
- Rogers Celebrated the Law That Put $170.7 Billion Into Immigration Enforcement. Mike Rogers posted "Historic tax cuts for hard-working families! It's a great day to be an American!" on July 3, 2025, the day the House gave the One Big Beautiful Bill Act final approval. His campaign's statement that day listed "securing the border" among the law's victories. The law directs $170.7 billion toward immigration and border enforcement and provides enough funding to hire 10,000 new agents, the American Immigration Council found. ICE's hiring push grew the agency from about 10,000 personnel to more than 22,000, Military.com reported in January 2026.
- Rogers Said the Law's Enforcement Money Would "Invest in Historic and Transformational Border Security". On January 9, 2026, after touring the southern border, Mike Rogers said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he called the Working Families Tax Cuts, would "invest in historic and transformational border security". Lawmakers seeking answers about a Michigan detainee's death noted in December 2025 that ICE had reported at least 30 detainee deaths that year, the highest total since 2004, including a death at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. Immigration agents have detained 506 U.S. citizens, including at least 70 American children and teens, ProPublica found in October 2026.
- Rogers Said Trump's Crackdown Goes After Murderers and Child Molesters; Most People Detained Had No Criminal Conviction. In January 2026 interviews his campaign published on January 21, Mike Rogers praised "the three-pronged approach the President is using: go after these criminal elements: gang-bangers, murderers, child-molesters that are causing havoc." Of the 204,297 people booked into immigration detention from the start of fiscal 2025 through June 2025, 65% had no criminal convictions, and over 93% had no history of violent offenses, according to a Cato Institute analysis cited by the American Immigration Council; many were held for immigration violations, traffic offenses or other low-level infractions.
- Rogers Issued No Direct Statement After Border Patrol Killed Alex Pretti. As of January 25, 2026, the day after a Border Patrol officer killed Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti, Mike Rogers had not issued a direct statement on the killing of Pretti, the Michigan Advance reported, while each of the Democrats in Michigan's Senate race had responded. Brookings noted that two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by Department of Homeland Security agents in Minneapolis in January 2026.
What the Immigration Crackdown Mike Rogers Backs Has Meant at Michigan's North Lake Detention Center
- North Lake detention center. The GEO Group's North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, which shut down in 2022, reopened in June 2025 as an ICE detention center, and Nenko Gantchev's Dec. 15 death there was the fourth reported detainee death nationwide in a four-day period that month.
- Medical care and lawyers. About 1,400 immigrants were held at North Lake in April 2026, and legal groups including the ACLU of Michigan said detainees were being denied medical care and access to legal representation.
- Abuse complaint. A woman who reported a sexual assault at North Lake was deported by ICE before the investigation was over, the Michigan Advance reported in June 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Rogers on Immigration and enforcement
What is Mike Rogers's record on immigration enforcement under Trump?
Mike Rogers voted against the DREAM Act as a House member in 2010, celebrated the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on the day it passed and later said it would "invest in historic and transformational border security," backing the law's $170.7 billion for enforcement. He praised Trump's crackdown as aimed at murderers and child molesters, though most people booked into detention had no criminal conviction, and he issued no direct statement after Border Patrol killed Alex Pretti. In Michigan, the North Lake detention center in Baldwin reopened in 2025, and a detainee died there in December 2025.
How much money did Mike Rogers back for ICE detention?
Mike Rogers backed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which gives the Department of Homeland Security $45 billion to detain immigrant adults and families, available through September 30, 2029. That is a 308 percent increase on an annual basis over ICE's 2024 detention budget, and the American Immigration Council estimates it could support a detention population of 116,000 individuals by 2029.
Do most Americans approve of how ICE is operating?
Mike Rogers backs more money for an agency most Americans disapprove of: a Marquette Law School poll in early 2026 found 60% of adults disapprove of how ICE handles its job, while 40% approve.
What did Mike Rogers say after ICE and Border Patrol agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis?
Mike Rogers issued no direct statement on Alex Pretti's killing as of the next day, the Michigan Advance reported, but after Renee Good's killing he issued several statements accusing Democrats of supporting "criminals over cops and America's safety." On January 22, 2026, he said, "The Left's never-ending war against law enforcement is an assault on Americans' safety."
Last updated: 2026-10-25