State Rep. Jamie Thompson, of Brownstown, issued the following statement after an incident in Taylor and Brownstown last week. Thompson represents Brownstown and part of Taylor as part of the 28^th House District:

“On Thursday, June 6th, an attempted traffic stop near Southland Mall escalated into a high-speed chase involving Taylor Police, the DEA, and several other law enforcement agencies. This intense pursuit utilized four K9 units, helicopters, drones, and led to shelter-in-place lockdowns at Trillium Academy in Taylor and Gudith Elementary in Brownstown. The two men who led police on this dangerous chase were armed but ultimately apprehended without further incident.

“After consulting with local officials, my office confirmed that the two men involved in this incident were in the country illegally. These criminals not only crossed our southern border unimpeded but were able to make it all the way to our Downriver communities and dangerously close to our schools. It is completely unacceptable that our students were forced to shelter in place while illegal immigrants freely roamed our streets with guns and drugs.

“This dangerous situation underscores a critical issue we face in Michigan: President Biden’s disastrous open border policies endanger our streets, families, and now our Downriver schools. We must secure our borders, provide robust funding for local law enforcement, and urgently pass the bipartisan school safety plan to protect our schools.

“I am incredibly grateful to our local law enforcement officers for their swift response. These heroes brought this situation to an end safely, and I commend them for that and for their valor. However, our local law enforcement should never have been forced to deal with these illegal immigrants, because they should have not been in our Michigan community in the first place. While President Biden and Michigan Democrats continue to play politics with our safety to appease the radical left, I am committed to pursuing real solutions that will make Michigan and Downriver a safe place for our children to learn, play, and pursue their dreams.”