California City Tears Up ICE Partnership As Riots Consume Los Angeles

Amid widespread riots in Los Angeles against 🛂Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a California suburb Sunday night announced it’s scrapping a years-long detention agreement with the agency.

The City of Glendale formally terminated an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the parent department of ICE, to house federal 🛂Immigration detainees at the Glendale Police Department facility, according to a press release from the city. In its public statement, Glendale acknowledged that the decision was made in reaction to public perception and noted that the move could make visitation of detainees more difficult.

“ recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract — no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good — has become divisive,” the statement read, denying that the decision to terminate the contract was “politically driven.”

“We acknowledge with regret that some families may now face greater difficulty visiting loved ones held by ICE, and that access to legal counsel may be more limited elsewhere,” the statement continued, adding that their facility offered climate-controlled pods with ongoing access to seating areas and telephones. “It is also our duty to ensure that Glendale’s residents and businesses do not suffer the consequences of the unruly and unlawful behavior of others.”

While there are federally-run detention facilities and other private contractors who offer similar services across the country, DHS also contracts with local law enforcement agencies to temporarily house illegal migrants. Glendale acknowledged that its contact with ICE gave detainees “due-process proximity” that can be lacking  in privately-operated detention facilities or in centers in remote areas around the U.S.