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Immigrant-rights coalition asks Dubuque council to tighten rules for license-plate reader data
Summary
Members of the Building Bridges Coalition urged the Dubuque City Council to require that federal requests for the city's license-plate-reader data be forwarded to the city attorney for review and to suspend the program if data are used for immigration enforcement or the city faces sanctions.
Members of the Building Bridges Coalition urged the Dubuque City Council during public input on July 6 to strengthen procedural safeguards around the city's license-plate reader system to protect immigrant neighbors.
Sister Nancy Miller, speaking for Building Bridges, said the coalition reviewed the city's policy and supports the existing prohibition on immigration-enforcement uses but urged the city to require that any request by a federal authority for data or information be forwarded to the city attorney for review. "We appreciate and support that policy," she said, then asked the council to require city-attorney review of federal requests and to suspend the program if the request is fulfilled for immigration enforcement or if the city is threatened with sanctions.
Other speakers from the coalition described national immigration-enforcement activity and said immigrants in Dubuque would feel safer if the city added an explicit review step. Dave Hyer, a member of the coalition, cited the police department general orders provision that allows consultation with the city attorney when legal conflicts arise and suggested formalizing that consultation before sharing data in ambiguous circumstances.
City staff told the coalition members that the license-plate reader policy, as currently written and discussed with city manager and law enforcement leadership, lists prohibited uses that include immigration enforcement and that staff can consult the city attorney when conflicts arise. Councilmembers received the comments as public input; no formal action was taken at the meeting to change the policy.
The coalition requested two specific actions: require that all federal requests for license-plate-reader data be forwarded to the city attorney for review, and adopt a formal suspension procedure if the city's policy is overridden and data are used for immigration enforcement or the city faces sanctions. Council members did not act on those requests at the July 6 meeting but may consider them in future discussions.
