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Residents urge Winchester council to end ICE contract, demand transparency
Summary
Dozens of residents urged Winchester City Council to disclose details of a contract tied to ICE operations and to consider terminating it, saying the public has been kept in the dark and requesting a council resolution opposing local agreements with ICE.
Dozens of Winchester-area residents used the council—hamber public-comment period to press elected officials for more transparency about a contract involving the Northern Regional Juvenile Detention Center (NRJDC) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Several speakers asked for public disclosure of the contract renewal process, who made decisions and how votes were recorded, and some urged the council to terminate any arrangements that allow ICE operations in local facilities. "We want answers and we don't want them through the Winchester Star nor through private tours," said Chelsea Dicus, who said more than 2,000 residents oppose ICE operations locally and asked council to pass a resolution opposing agreements with ICE. Dimitris Straubakis said the public "deserves to know where each of you stands" on renewing the contract and called lack of disclosure "not transparency".
Multiple speakers linked their concerns to the New River Juvenile Detention Center/NRJDC contract and the 287(g) and related intergovernmental arrangements. Brian Nurm said some counties have formal coordination agreements with ICE and said coordination is unnecessary; others noted that local JDC commission minutes have been missing from public records and that residents have been directed to file Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain routine information.
Speakers framed the issue as moral and community-focused. "We don't want to be known for Winchester being this really nasty place that doesn't like immigrants," said Mariela Alvey, who described her own immigration experience and urged the council to apply pressure to terminate the contract. Another resident asked councilors to consider the traumatic effects detention has on refugee and immigrant children.
Council did not take formal action on the contract during the meeting. The public-comment statements called for either (a) fuller public disclosure of the contract terms and decision-making records or (b) a council resolution explicitly opposing agreements with ICE. Council staff and members acknowledged the comments but did not announce a next step or vote on the matter during the session.
