() The city of Glendale, California, has canceled a contract it had in place with ICE that allowed for the agency to house detainees within its local jail.
“(T)he City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive,” city officials said in a statement released Sunday. Officials added they did not want to undermine community trust.
ICE’s agreement with the city of Glendale had been in place since 2007. The city stated that it has never enforced immigration law and will not do so in order to remain in compliance with California Senate Bill 54, which prohibits local enforcement from using resources for immigration enforcement.
Ara Najarian, Glendale’s mayor, told that the city began receiving threats that protests would occur due to the standing agreement with ICE. He said without a doubt unrest like what is being seen in Los Angeles would have happened in his city.
“As leaders of this city, our primary duty between myself and my colleagues is to keep the city safe,” Najarian said.
