A California city is scrapping a contract it had with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security to house federal immigration detainees amid clashes between law enforcement and protesters in Los Angeles.
The City of Glendale announced Sunday it is terminating the deal it has maintained since 2007, which allowed federal detainees to be held at the Glendale Police Department facility, after acknowledging that public perception of the arrangement has “become divisive.”
The move to cancel the ICE contract arrives amid a weekend of protests and rioting in Los Angeles against a series of Trump-backed immigration crackdowns across the city. California Governor Gavin Newsom accused the president of escalating the unrest by deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to L.A. and posting inflammatory social media comments.
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Glendale was accused of violating California’s sanctuary state law, which prohibits local law enforcement from using resources for federal immigration enforcement, by housing the federal detainees. At least 82 people detained by ICE have been held at the Glendale Police Department facility since January, according to NBC News Los Angeles.
“Despite the transparency and safeguards the City has upheld, the City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive,” the City of Glendale said in a statement.
“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 Department of Homeland Security said it is “deeply disturbing” that Glendale is terminating the agreement “just as violent rioters are looting and defacing Los Angeles and assaulting federal law enforcement.”
“Glendale’s politicians stand with criminal illegal aliens, including gang members, rapists, and murderers over American citizens,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “Secretary Noem has a clear message for the L.A. rioters and sanctuary politicians: You will not stop us or slow us down. ICE will continue to enforce the law.”
The city also rejected allegations raised during a council meeting last week that detainees held at the police facility were denied food and water for hours. Officials insisted all immigration detainees were provided a bed and access to medical care.
Glendale said its police department will continue to abstain from immigration enforcement and will remain fully compliant with California’s SB 54 sanctuary laws.
Andres Kwon, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, previously accused Glendale of violating the state’s sanctuary laws by housing ICE detainees.
“Ultimately and effectively, this Glendale contract with ICE is helping the Trump administration carry out its mass deportation agenda that is racist and has abused countless people’s constitutional, civil, and human rights,” Kwon told NBC News Los Angeles.
