California City Terminates “Divisive” ICE Contract Amid L.A. Protests
Glendale, California, which is located just minutes from Los Angeles where anti-ICE protests erupted this weekend, has decided to end a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees in its jail.
In a press release Sunday, city officials said that “public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive.”
“And while opinions on this issue may vary—the decision to terminate this contract is not politically driven. It is rooted in what this City stands for—public safety, local accountability, and trust,” the statement said.
Ahead of the unrest in Los Angeles, Glendale had come under some scrutiny over a 2007 contract to house ICE detainees despite a 2018 sanctuary state law ensuring that no local law enforcement resources are used for the purpose of immigration enforcement.
In one year, the city collected $6,000 to house ICE detainees, and the Los Angeles Times reported that the city receives $85 per detainee per day. In the last week, two ICE detainees were held in Glendale’s detention center, leading to an outcry over the city’s potentially unlawful compliance, as the Trump administration has moved to increase the number of daily ICE arrests.
But it seems that Glendale will no longer be complicit in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The statement continued, emphasizing that local law enforcement was not responsible for enforcing immigration law, and that the city would remain in compliance with the law.
“The Glendale Police Department has not engaged in immigration enforcement, nor will it do so moving forward,” the statement said.
Just a few miles away in downtown Los Angeles, massive anti-ICE protests are still ongoing after immigration authorities arrested at least 44 immigrants Friday. In response to the protests, Donald Trump bypassed California Governor Gavin Newsom to deploy the National Guard, which has used tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets against the protesters and journalists.
The decision on behalf of Glendale is a victory for the protesters and a clear response to the ongoing direct action in Los Angeles, as well as the Trump administration’s escalating efforts to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state will sue the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard to quell anti-ICE protests.
Law enforcement officers and protesters have clashed for three days in Los Angeles, where locals have taken a visible stand against the president’s anti-immigration agenda. In response, Donald Trump ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to intervene—a move that Newsom decried as a seed intended to “manufacture chaos and violence.”
“Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight,” Newsom told MSNBC, referring to Trump’s order as unconstitutional. “He’s exacerbated the conditions. He’s lit the proverbial match. He’s putting fuel on this fire.”
Trump’s executive order directed the Department of Defense to coordinate with affected governors to distribute National Guard troops throughout their states. But, as Newsom tells it, they never did, opening room for a lawsuit.
“There’s a protocol, there’s a process. He didn’t care about that,” Newsom said.
Newsom also said he spoke with the president for nearly 20 minutes over the phone late Friday—after the protests had started—but that the protests “barely” came up despite his attempts to steer the conversation towards L.A.
“He wanted to talk about all these other issues,” Newsom continued. “He never once brought up the National Guard. He’s a stone-cold liar; he said he did.”
“I’ve always wanted to approach engagement with the president of the United States in a respectful and responsible way. But there’s no working with the president, there’s only working for him. And I will never work for Donald Trump,” Newsom said.
In a separate interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, Newsom warned that defying the language of the executive order will allow Trump to replicate the situation in L.A. in cities across the country.
“This is a preview for things to come. This isn’t about L.A. per se, it’s about us today, and you—everyone watching—tomorrow. Donald Trump is unhinged right now,” Newsom said.
Donald Trump went on a late-night social media tantrum Sunday, attacking the anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles where he unleashed the National Guard.
Large protests in and around Los Angeles erupted Friday after immigration authorities arrested at least 44 people as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. By Saturday, Trump........© New Republic
