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Resident urges Council to defend constitutional protections in public comment
Summary
In open session, resident Peter Steel urged council members to uphold the U.S. Constitution and raised concerns about federal litigation he described as asserting the power to detain individuals without judicial oversight; he urged local officials to join other elected officials in opposing such actions.
During open session resident Peter Steel called on the council to honor their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and to take a stand against what he described as recent federal assertions of detention authority without due process. He asked the council to ‘‘rise above their day‑to‑day responsibilities and respond to the weightier requirements of the oath.’’
Steel said the matter has implications for residents who are foreign born and asked the council to send a clear message opposing the litigation he described. The council did not take formal action on the comment (open session remarks do not create policy), and no council member proposed an agenda item in response at the meeting.
