Residents urge Bountiful council to adopt limits on local cooperation with ICE

At the Feb. 24 Bountiful City Council meeting, resident Isabel Milligan told the council she and neighbors are "concerned about the impact ICE will have on the people in our city" and urged officials to adopt protective measures and be transparent about how city resources would be used if immigration enforcement increases.

A second public commenter (not clearly identified on the record) presented six specific policy proposals for the council to consider. The measures the speaker outlined included requiring a judicial warrant before any city resources are accessed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, passing a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE, mandating public reporting of interactions with federal agencies, partnering with immigrant‑rights organizations to provide education about rights, funding community advisory bodies to monitor residents' rights, and ensuring no city funds, staff or facilities are used for federal immigration enforcement (with attention to 287(g) agreements).

Milligan told the council she has seen reports from other communities of enforcement actions that have included arrests near schools and hospitals and alleged harassment of local businesses: "In cities and towns across the country, masked men have been kidnapping residents in the middle of the night and in broad daylight... Ice has been seen in Bountiful already. Our neighbors have been have already been harassed and even threatened to close business." No city action on those demands was taken at the meeting; the items were raised during the public‑comment period, which the mayor closed after several speakers concluded.

The speakers asked that their proposed policies and a flyer describing them be included in the meeting minutes. Councilmembers did not debate or vote on the policy requests during this meeting; the public‑comment period is an opportunity to raise topics for future agenda consideration.