Rachel Maddow claimed Washtenaw County, MI, had a room packed and overflowing because the Trump administration threatened and demanded they effectively inform on local residents and county employees about a county ID program. By local residents, Maddow means illegal immigrants. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s April 10, 2025, subpoena only sought records from the program, which provides IDs to immigrants and others, not explicitly demanding to “inform” on individuals. In her segment, lasting barely 2 minutes, Maddow showed cropped video and photos showing 20 people from the front. She then showed an MLive article with a photo depicting the same people from behind, making the crowd appear larger than it was. 18 of the people were white. All of them looked older than 55. And 12 of them looked at least 70 years old. One of the white people held a sign that said, NO ICE.
Washtenaw County, which includes the liberal city of Ann Arbor, its county seat—the main city where county government offices and administrative functions are housed—likely saw a response due to its progressive lean. However, Maddow’s narrative lacks evidence and oversimplifies the issue.