Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Aurora residents press council for an "ICE‑free" ordinance after alleged detentions; mayor to send draft to committees
Summary
Dozens of Aurora residents described recent alleged detentions and assaults they attribute to federal immigration agents and urged the City Council to prohibit federal immigration enforcement from using city property; Mayor John Lash said staff is drafting language and will route it through WRAP and Committee of the Whole for review.
Dozens of Aurora residents came to the Aurora City Council on Oct. 28 to demand that the city adopt an ordinance barring federal immigration enforcement agencies from staging operations on city property, saying recent incidents have left families fearful.
In public comment, speakers recounted incidents they attributed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) around Allen Elementary School and Rush Copley Hospital. Shannon Buckley, a 4th Ward resident, urged the council to act: "I'm here tonight to urge this council to pass an ordinance that would prohibit ICE agents from utilizing city property," she said, telling the council residents are ‘‘traumatized’’ by what she described as warrantless actions by federal agents.
Other speakers described community patrollers who were detained, pepper‑sprayed or injured while documenting what they said were ICE operations. Ruben Morales, who said he was assaulted while checking on an idling vehicle near a school, called for safeguards and for the city to require federal agents to display identification and warrants before using local facilities.
Mayor John Lash said the mayor's office has been reviewing ordinances passed by other municipalities and will work to combine language that fits Aurora. "What we're doing now is looking at all those ordinances and trying to combine them, to find an ordinance that would work for the city of Aurora," Lash said, adding that a draft will go first to the city's WRAP committee and then to Committee of the Whole for further review and amendment as needed.
Council members asked staff to share the draft ordinance with council members before the item is posted so members may offer suggested changes. No ordinance vote took place at the Oct. 28 meeting; the council set the next procedural steps and said it will return the item to committee for working language and consideration.
The public comment period on Oct. 28 was extensive: the council initially allocated 30 minutes for speakers, then voted unanimously to suspend the rules and allow all signed‑up speakers to address the council. Mayor Lash encouraged residents and council members to provide input on the draft before it is posted for formal consideration.
