Community speakers press Lowell Council on ICE activity; police say they do not track or routinely receive notice of operations

Marcos Candido, a Lowell resident who identified himself at the meeting, urged the City Council to adopt a local ordinance banning cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on civil immigration matters and to bar ICE from using city property as an operational staging area.

"This council must show it is willing to act in the face of these clear violations of law by ICE," Candido said, calling for the city to prohibit use of schools and city sites for civil‑immigration operations and to document ICE activity.

Councilors pressed city officials and police for specifics. Manager Golden told the council that the Lowell Police Department (LPD) does not maintain a dataset of ICE operations and that ICE has not routinely requested city cooperation. "ICE has never asked, nor do they ask, and we do not know when they show up," Manager Golden said.

Chief Huron told the council that LPD's cooperation with federal partners typically involves criminal investigations conducted with agencies such as the FBI, DEA and ATF; civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and differs operationally. "We've asked [ICE] if they could notify us if they are coming in," he said, but added federal operational security often limits what ICE shares with local departments.

Councilors from multiple districts described a sustained level of community worry about ICE presence and tactics, including reports of masked agents and vehicle traffic that residents said creates fear. Several councilors said legal staff and the police superintendent should examine whether local policy language can be clarified to reassure residents without creating a false sense of protection.

Councilor Duran recommended seeking advice from civil‑liberties organizations and the city solicitor to identify legally enforceable steps such as refusing use of city property or clarifying cooperation only in response to criminal warrants. Councilor McDonough asked for cleaner, more explicit language in LPD policy that reflects the department's practice: "Local police in Massachusetts do not enforce federal civil immigration law and lack authority to arrest or detain individuals based solely on ICE civil detainers," he said.

The council passed a motion requesting a report from the city solicitor on what non‑symbolic policy changes the city could adopt and asked the superintendent and manager to return with options and implementable steps. The council did not adopt a new ordinance during the meeting; members emphasized both the limits of local authority over federal enforcement and the need to improve transparency and community education about residents' rights.