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Resident urges Mesa to end cooperation with ICE, citing civil liberties concerns
Summary
At the June 16 Mesa City Council meeting, a long-time resident urged the city to withdraw from its 2009 agreement with ICE and stop checking for ICE warrants during traffic stops, saying continued cooperation undermines trust and public safety.
Michael Stanley, a Mesa resident of 45 years, urged the Mesa City Council on June 16 to withdraw from the city’s February 2009 agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to end all cooperation with the agency, including checking for ICE warrants during routine traffic stops.
Stanley told the council that Mesa Police Department’s stated goal to “protect and serve all residents” is incompatible with continued cooperation with ICE because immigrants may avoid calling police out of fear. “When Mesa signed this agreement in 02/2009, ICE followed defined procedures and guidelines for protection of civil civil liberties and professional conduct. That is no longer the case as we all know,” Stanley said.
Stanley listed specific concerns he said have arisen in federal immigration enforcement, including “warrantless detentions and racial profiling, mass deportations,” and conditions in detention centers that he said have led to deaths. He said those practices have broader impacts: “ICE actions undermine Mesa PD's duty to protect and serve with integrity.”
What happened at the meeting: Stanley made his remarks during the public comment portion; councilmembers did not respond during the meeting. The mayor read the council’s standard public-comment rules at the start of the citizen-comment item and noted state law generally prohibits the council from responding during the meeting, but staff often follows up with speakers after the meeting to gather more information.
No formal council action to change the city’s agreement with ICE or to direct staff was recorded in the meeting minutes.
