The U.S. Conference of Mayors is holding its annual meeting in Tampa this weekend, and one of the resolutions they are poised to vote on calls upon federal authorities to focus their deportation actions on convicted criminals, and not on undocumented individuals who “contribute to their local communities.”
That’s according to Andy Ginther, mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the conference’s sitting president.
Ginther spoke on Thursday at a press conference held at the Tampa Marriott Water Street on the first day of the four-day event. There are 179 mayors from across the country who have gathered for the annual summer meeting, where they will participate in panel discussions on issues such as handling natural disasters, homelessness, and public safety, to name a few.
Resolution
The resolution regarding immigration has three main planks:
- Delineates the appropriate roles of local and federal officials in protest response.
- Calls on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to focus its deportation actions on convicted, serious criminals, and not on undocumented “hard-working individuals who have families and pay taxes and contribute to their local communities.”
- Urges federal officials to notify local authorities in advance of any planned ICE actions, and to conduct those actions in “as orderly and unprovocative way possible.”
Fresno, California, Mayor Jerry Dyer served 40 years in the Fresno Police Department, the last 18 as chief. He said at the press conference that one of the things he’s learned is that for police officers to be effective they must be seen as a welcome presence and not “as an occupying force.”
“Unfortunately, what we are seeing today in many cities across America, including L.A., is an occupying force, and that is federal agents and now our U.S. military,” he said. “And, unfortunately, the Los Angeles Police Department is having to be brought into that situation.”
“I do think that our friends over at HIS (Homeland Security Investigations) and ICE need to modify how they approach immigration enforcement in our cities, and the truth is the tactics need to be changed,” he added. “The uniforms need to be modified, and I really believe there needs to be better coordination with local law enforcement.”
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, host of this weekend’s conference, served on the Tampa Police Department for 31 years, the last six as chief. She echoed Dyer’s remarks, arguing that collaboration between local neighborhoods and the police department is built on a “foundation of trust.”
When that trust is eroded, crime rises, she said. Why? Because when some in immigrant populations become victims of crime, they aren’t comfortable in reporting that because they no longer trust law enforcement.
“That is the fundamental reason that local law enforcement should not be engaged in immigration enforcement,” she declared.
Backlash in San Diego
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said he is still unhappy about an ICE raid that place in his city’s South Park neighborhood late last month on a Friday evening, when dozens of ICE agents raided a popular Italian restaurant to round up and ultimately arrest four people, according to the website CalMatters.
“It was explained to me that they were looking for a handful of dishwashers, busboys, and waiters and waitresses,” he said. “None of them are known to have any serious criminal offenses.”
Agents used flash-bang grenades and intimidated patrons with their aggressive presence, Gloria said. And he criticized the lack of coordination between federal agents and local law enforcement.
“My officers were called to respond to that situation,” he said. “The radio calls were for hundreds of people in the streets that were protesting and blocking traffic. … That lack of coordination … puts everybody at risk, including the federal agents who were doing their job that day.”
ICE officials reportedly had a warrant for 19 individuals who were employed at the restaurant and were alleged to be using falsified green cards.
Gloria noted the No Kings protest Saturday in San Diego, where media reports initially indicated as many as 60,000 came out to protest the Trump administration. “I’m pleased to tell you that there wasn’t one arrest,” he said. (Local organizers now say that there were 69,000 people at the demonstration).
“Was that raid in the restaurant focused on making our country safer, or was it focused on sowing fear in that community? Those are the things that we as Americans need to pay attention to,” added Castor.
Before he spoke about the proposed ICE resolution, Mayor Ginther discussed the decision by President Trump to send the California National Guard and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles, and said the conference stands behind L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (who was scheduled to appear at the gathering on Friday).
“The federal government’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles without the consent, and indeed over the objection of the governor, is an unprecedented overstep,” he said. “We must acknowledge the seriousness of the protests sparked by these federal actions. People have the fundamental right to peacefully assemble and voice their concerns. That is the cornerstone of American liberty.”
The resolution on ICE actions is scheduled to be discussed on Friday during the Criminal and Social Justice Committee, with the entire body of mayors to vote on the resolution on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Conference of Mayors.
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
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