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Council adopts limits on city assistance for civil immigration enforcement after debate
Summary
After debate on public‑safety implications, Cincinnati City Council passed motions requiring an audit of whether city programs collect citizenship data and barring sharing of real‑time surveillance and use of city property for civil immigration enforcement unless required by law, court order or warrant; one member voted no on two of the motions.
Cincinnati City Council on Feb. 25 adopted three related motions that restrict how city resources may be used to support civil immigration enforcement.
Item 22 asks the administration to audit city programs that engage with the public to determine whether they collect citizenship or naturalization status and to deliver a report within 90 days. If the audit finds programs that collect such information and that practice presents a public‑safety risk, the motion asks the administration to divest from those strategies.
Item 23 directs the administration to prohibit sharing any real‑time data, footage or information obtained through city‑owned surveillance technology (including cameras, drones and license‑plate readers) with any third party for the purpose of assisting civil immigration enforcement unless mandated by law, court order or judicial warrant. Item 24 instructs the administration to prohibit use of city‑owned or city‑controlled property (buildings, parks, parking lots) as unpermitted staging, processing or operational sites for federal civil immigration enforcement unless federal officials have a valid court order or judicial warrant; it also asks the administration to provide guidance to frontline staff about how to respond.
Makers of the motions, including Council member James and Council member Albee, said the measures are intended to protect immigrant communities and to follow recent federal court rulings that local entities cannot be compelled to assist civil immigration enforcement except as mandated by law. Council member Johnson argued caution, saying some federal partnerships are essential to public safety and warning the city must not jeopardize MOUs supporting major investigations. That concern was recorded by multiple speakers and Johnson voted "No" on items 23 and 24; the motions otherwise passed.
