Dearborn

The Dearborn primary ballot is unusually crowded this year, with seven candidates vying to be the city’s next mayor. 

Mayors in Dearborn have historically been long-tenured; the city has had just seven since 1929. The current Mayor, John O'Reilly Jr, announced that he would not seek re-election earlier this year. 

Updated at 1:00 p.m. on July 29, 2021

The City of Dearborn will offer sample ballots in Arabic at all polling sites for the primary election next week, following appeals from local and national advocacy organizations.

“We pushed hard,” said Nada Al-Hanooti of Emgage Michigan, a Muslim-American advocacy organization who said she met with Dearborn City Clerk last week to discuss the need for Arabic-language election materials in the city where nearly half of residents are of Arab origin.

Members of the Dearborn City Council declined to address concerns about policing from a local Black Lives Matter organization at a meeting that coincided with the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd on Tuesday.

City Council members did raise their concern for another timely issue, however. After going through the slate of resolutions, President Susan Dabaja, a candidate for mayor of Dearborn who has been endorsed by the city's police union, voiced her concern over the Israeli military action in Gaza. 

Thousands of people gathered at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn Sunday afternoon to express their support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. People of all ages sang, danced, wore kufiya scarves, and waved Palestinian flags large and small.

The United Nations says Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 180 Palestinians in the past week, and Hamas missiles have killed at least ten people in Israel.

Dearborn City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to change the name of the Hubbard Ballroom in its civic center, the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. The venue used for weddings and other events will now be called the Lincoln Ballroom in honor of President Abraham Lincoln.

Orville Hubbard was the longest serving mayor of Dearborn, but gained notoriety for his racist remarks and fervent support of racial segregation. 

A small group of mostly Arab-American organizers led a march of more than 200 people through the streets of Dearborn Sunday afternoon, in support of the Black Lives Matter rallies held across the country in the past week and a half. Calling for the formation of a citizen’s police oversight committee and other reforms, activist Nasreen Ezzeddine told the crowd, “The reality is, we do not need to look beyond Dearborn’s borders to find cases of police brutality and anti-blackness, left unaccountable.”

On Tuesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a partnership with CVS Health to roll out rapid COVID-19 testing in Dearborn. The Abbott ID NOW™ COVID-19 test offers super-fast results, under 15 minutes.

Detroit was one of the first cities to deploy the rapid test, particularly to screen first responders and health care workers in quarantine, so healthy people could return to work. Mayor Mike Duggan suggested on Monday a deal for more machines was coming. But NPR reports some health care systems have stopped using it because of questions about its reliability.

Dearborn City Council will not be renewing its prisoner housing contract with Calhoun County.  The agreement stems from controversy over detentions of undocumented immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  

"We will not be renewing at this point in time and don't anticipate working with Calhoun County," says Mary Laundroche, Director of Dearborn's Department of Public Information.

“ICE RAIDS STARTED IN DEARBORN,” the social media and Whatsapp messages warned on Monday afternoon. Dearborn residents sent the messages to each other after agents from Homeland Security Investigations visited Hamido, a well-known Middle-Eastern Dearborn restaurant.

The manager, Kassem Rizk, says he wasn’t sure at the time if the agents were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but he says two officers came in, and one officer asked for employment verification forms.

“He said that he was sweeping the area. He said this was his tenth stop,” Rizk says.

A lot of Michiganders have hometown pride. It’s the reason you see so many locals sporting everything from bumper stickers to tattoos celebrating their home. But in some cities, hometown pride is a bit more complicated.

Cities like Dearborn, Michigan.

Dearborn native Rima Fadlallah says many people from her city see being “too Dearborn” as a negative thing. Being associated with the city's large Arab American community, she says, "in some ways is an unpopular thing to do."

A travelling exhibit from Dearborn, documenting the experiences of Iraqi and Syrian refugees and immigrants is being showcased at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration until Labor Day.

“What We Carried: Fragments and Memories from Iraq and Syria” tells the stories of families and individuals that sought refuge and safety in the United States after fleeing the Iraq war in 2003, and the war in Syria beginning in 2010.

A Dearborn man has been arrested in Syria on suspicion of fighting for the Islamic State.

American-backed forces captured Ibraheem Musaibli earlier this month.

The New York Times says that authorities are working to prosecute him in the United States. He's currently being held in an undisclosed facility.

Musaibli has been described as a high school dropout who moved to Yemen before traveling to Syria in 2015.

U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and John Conyers joined other members of Congress today to speak out against anti-Sharia law marches planned across the country this weekend -- including two marches in Michigan.

Two men who walked into a Michigan police station carrying guns and wearing body armor are facing felony charges.

James Baker and Brandon Vreeland wanted to make a point about their right to openly carry firearms when they walked into the Dearborn Police Department earlier this month.

They are now facing felony charges, including carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest, and disturbing the peace. They were arraigned today. 

A couple of stunts from open-carry activists, and a threat targeting Muslims have Dearborn's police chief concerned.

Over the weekend a group carrying guns marched down Schaefer Road in Dearborn,  apparently in support of two armed men who were arrested earlier this month. That pair walked into the Dearborn police station carrying guns and wearing body armor.