Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges council to ban cooperation with ICE
Summary
A resident told the council during public comment that it should pass an ordinance banning cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in civil immigration matters, bar ICE from using city property and schools, and use city resources to verify and investigate masked agents.
A resident speaking during the public-comment period urged the council to adopt an ordinance banning all municipal cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in civil immigration matters and to bar ICE from using city-owned property and schools for such actions.
“The council must show it is willing to act in the face of these clear violations of law by ICE,” the resident said, calling for a local ordinance that would prohibit “all forms of cooperation with ICE regarding civil immigration matters.”
The speaker also asked the council to restrict ICE access to city-owned facilities and schools and to follow examples from other municipalities, saying, “We need to join cities like Worcester, who have moved towards using city resources to support verifying masked agents and investigating and documenting their criminal actions.”
The remarks in the transcript were made during public comment; the transcript does not record any motion, vote or formal response from council members on the proposals.
Supporters of local limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities argue such ordinances protect community trust and limit use of municipal resources for federal civil immigration enforcement. Opponents typically argue local governments cannot obstruct federal law enforcement, though no such counterargument appears in the recorded segments.
The transcript contains no specific ordinance text, timeline for drafting legislation, or any recorded council direction to staff. The comment concluded with a call to the council to join other cities that have enacted limits on municipal cooperation with ICE.
