The Response to ICE

With reports of an upcoming ICE surge in Boston that will mimic what we’re seeing in Minneapolis and the subsequent response by Michelle Wu, I’ve received over a hundred emails that say the following:

In the past year, we have witnessed the Trump administration effectively declaring war on cities that seek to protect their resident immigrants. This has culminated in what can only be described as an unlawful invasion of Minneapolis. Constitutional rights, owed to citizens and non-citizens alike, have been completely violated. Basic human dignities are being attacked, and everyone in the vicinity of these activities has been put in mortal danger. Medford is home to many immigrant communities, some of which have already been directly identified as targets by this authoritarian regime.

As residents of the greater Boston metropolitan footprint, we know that an ICE surge will soon happen here as it has elsewhere. Mayor Michelle Wu and her staff are already taking concrete steps to prepare for an ICE surge. White House Border Czar Tom Homan said months ago, "I'm coming to Boston, I'm bringing hell with me" and, whether it happens now or later, we need to be prepared.

In Medford, despite the successful passage of the Welcoming Ordinance, we still have not seen our city administration offer any concrete plan of action or even commitment beyond the passive, albeit critical, requirements of the Welcoming Ordinance. Meanwhile, when we look around the country, we see preparations for an ICE surge in our very own back yard. It is paramount to the safety of this city's residents that the Medford administration take these rapidly intensifying dangers seriously, that they formulate and communicate a clear plan of action and policy, and that they prioritize the safety and security of those who live in Medford over craven acquiescence to a rogue federal agency.

We, the residents of Medford, demand that:

The Medford Police Department (MPD) and the Mayor's office publicly acknowledge that our city, and cities all across the country, are under attack by an unchecked and unprincipled agency engaged in a consistent pattern of illegal and dangerous behaviors;

The MPD and Mayor's office work with the City Council to create and publish a policy of engagement and intervention that prioritizes the safety and security of the city's residents above all else, including but not limited to rejecting untested, unfounded, unsupported, or entirely made up laws and/or interpretations of laws;

Proactive measures are taken to assuage the fears and concerns of the residents of the city, such as regular, frequent, and clearly communicated updates on the situation in Medford and neighboring communities subjected to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and/or ICE activities; and

Recognizing the particular danger ICE puts students in, Medford Public Schools be given every resource needed in order to continue prioritizing the safety and security of vulnerable students, collaborating with the Community Liaisons in City Hall on family and staff preparedness efforts, and ensuring that all students are able to access the education services and critical mental health resources that are owed to them by right.

On January 20th, in the regular general meeting at 7:00 pm, the City Council will vote on a resolution responsive to the deadly and brutal attacks by ICE and DHS on Minneapolis. This resolution calls for proactive policy-making and more stringent communications requirements from the MPD. We, the residents of the City of Medford, call on you to attend this meeting and voice strong support of the resolution and commit to seeing its goals met.

We further call on you to attend a rally and vigil for the numerous victims of ICE so far, including Renee Good, who was murdered on January 7th by ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, that will be taking place at 5:30 pm before the City Council meeting. We trust that you will be there to commit to these urgent needs of the people of the city you serve and to lend your support and voice in their call.

We are none of us safe until each and every one of us is safe.

I agree with the letter, I plan to support my colleagues’ resolution, and I look forward to attending the vigil. There are three concrete, actionable mechanisms I’ve seen that cities can do in response to ICE (and, yes, some of them are mentioned in the letter). The first is to forbid the police from cooperating with them on non-criminal matters — this is the Sanctuary City, or Welcoming City, ordinance. Council passed that. The second is to require reporting on ICE activities from local police departments. This is hard because the police don’t know where ICE is going to show up. Medford’s Welcoming City Ordinance does contain a clause requiring the MPD report to us the number of ICE detainers that they receive every week (we spent a whole committee meeting trying to convince the Chief of Police to do that, but, unlike in Malden, the police department doesn’t report to the City Council). The third, which was largely pioneered by Michelle Wu, is submitting FOIA requests about detained immigrants to DHS. That would be difficult for Medford to do proactively because we have less staffing than Boston and have had issues retaining a City Solicitor the past few years. I’ve heard other proposals, like requiring ICE agents to identify themselves, but it’s unclear to me whether or not that’s enforceable. Those are the specific legal mechanisms I know of that cities can do, and I’m always open to hearing more.

Softer steps — as the letter references — involve lessening fear and making information more readily available, especially to noncitizens (I worked with the Democratic City Committee last year to distribute red cards). Medford’s outreach office has been working with our community liaisons to distribute information to noncitizens, and they’ve been deliberately under-the-radar about it (you don’t want to publicly advertise the time and place of information sessions to groups of noncitizens). But, as tensions grow, people become more afraid, and under-the-radar tactics are less effective overall than expressing a concrete policy plan and outreach campaign. Elected officials standing up and making statements (like the Mayor of Minneapolis and, again, Michelle Wu, have done) emboldens the general public, which is needed in moments like this.

The most important step that the average person can take is actively connecting with noncitizens who may be most vulnerable. I’ve found that activist circles can be a bit insular, so bringing in noncitizens — particularly those whose natural inclination may be to lay low and stay out of trouble — and connecting them with LUCE, ICE alert resources, or friends involved in organizing, will go a long way in protecting them. Rümeysa Öztürk got so much attention, in part, because she was very connected (the fact that her detention was caught on camera helped, too). Knowledge is power.

Anyhow, come to next week’s City Council meeting to make your voice heard on Council’s resolution condemning the killing of Nicole Renee Good, and to the vigil at 5:30 before that.