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Immigrant-rights protest threat and ICE concerns raised at Homestead public comment; police chief clarifies department role
Summary
A public commenter said protesters were prepared to demonstrate regularly over alleged cooperation between Homestead Police and ICE; the police chief said the department has not conducted ICE operations and has not been trained by ICE but maintains an agreement similar to those with other federal agencies.
During public comment at the June 18 Homestead City Council meeting, a resident who identified himself as Jonathan Alderman raised concerns about perceived cooperation between Homestead Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said community members were seeking an apology from a named local figure after a posted comment. The speaker warned protesters could appear daily and said advocacy groups from other cities were contacting him.
Mayor Lawson asked the chief to confirm the department’s role. The chief replied: “I’ve met with the with the Spanish community 3 times, and all 3 of those meetings were called by me. And we’ve explained to the community what our status is. We’ve explained that thus far, we have not even been trained by ICE. Therefore, we haven’t done any ICE operations, but we do have an agreement with ICE like we have with many other federal agencies.”
The comment and the chief’s reply occurred during the public-comment portion. Council members and staff did not record an apology on the record; the public commenter said the community had asked for an apology from “Mister Jeff Lassner” but did not identify whether he spoke on behalf of a formal organization. The city did not state any investigation or disciplinary action in the transcript.
This item is a public comment and not an official council action; the chief’s statement is the department’s recorded response in the meeting transcript.
