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Residents press Thornton Council on Flock cameras and local protections amid immigration enforcement concerns
Summary
Residents urged Thornton City Council to host public discussion of Flock/ALPR cameras and to consider local measures protecting residents from federal immigration enforcement; council members said staff will develop options and a community town hall is scheduled Jan. 14.
Residents pressed the Thornton City Council on Jan. 13 for clearer rules and local protections after several national enforcement incidents prompted fear among immigrant communities.
Steven Mathias, who organized a town hall on automated license-plate reader systems known as Flock, invited residents to the Jan. 14 meeting at the Thornton Community Center and said the Thornton Police Department declined to attend and had not submitted a written statement. “The purpose of the town hall is simple, to make sure that residents’ questions get answered, to address misinformation publicly, and to give people an opportunity to share how they feel about the trade offs between public safety, public policy, and privacy,” Mathias said.
Other public commenters tied national immigration enforcement activity to local safety concerns. Chris Cook, a Ward 4 resident, urged the council to adopt a resolution similar to Aurora’s opposing “unlawful and overreaching federal immigration enforcement actions” and to affirm due-process protections, citing recent deaths and raids reported elsewhere. Online commenter Eric Montoya urged accountability of elected officials and warned the council to prepare for possible enforcement actions that could affect Thornton.
Council members acknowledged the concerns and said the city would prepare options. Council member Martinez praised residents organizing the public forum and said the council agreed at its update session before the meeting to begin work on a response plan to protect services and communicate with residents if immigration enforcement increases. Mayor Pro Tem (who introduced the city’s land acknowledgment earlier in the meeting) noted Colorado law provides some limits on municipal cooperation with federal agents and said that offers a measure of protection.
Next steps: Mathias’ town hall is scheduled for Jan. 14, and council members said staff will return with options for city-level policies and communications to address resident concerns.
