A major Los Angeles suburb revoked its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to public backlash to federal agents seeking to carry out the Trump administration’s deportation agenda by detaining illegal immigrants.
The city of Glendale announced the decision to abruptly cancel its ICE detainee holding contract late Sunday evening as riots over ICE activity rocked Los Angeles, leading President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard.
The city said it was canceling the contract, which allows federal authorities to hold suspected illegal immigrants in local jails, after it had been in place for nearly 20 years.
“…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 wrote in a press release. “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.”
“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. Moving forward, the facility will continue to serve local law enforcement needs without participation in federal detention efforts,” the announcement continued.
Glendale City Manager Roubik Golanian made the decision due to “evaluation of legal, operational, and community considerations,” per the press release.
Some families may face greater difficulty visiting family members held by ICE, and access to legal counsel for detainees may be more limited, the city, which is the fourth largest in Los Angeles County, said.
Since roughly the start of the Trump administration, 82 people have been detained by ICE and housed in the Glendale City Jail, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Violent protests broke out in Los Angeles over the weekend as ICE worked to remove illegal immigrants in the area.
Democrats have decried ICE’s activity in the Golden State, while condemning the Trump administration’s efforts this weekend to target demonstrators as unduly harsh.
Top California officials, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, have blamed Trump for the protests. Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) accused ICE of inciting the violence in the area, telling federal agents on Friday evening to “get the f*** out of LA so that order can be restored.”
Republicans have denied that ICE is to blame and rejected claims that the Trump administration’s response to the riots has been unnecessarily heavy-handed.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) compared the unrest to the nationwide riots following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
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“We watched this kind of scene five, six years ago, when there was a takeover in the northwest, around Seattle and Portland, when we watched all that happen, and local law enforcement was being challenged over and over again. It finally took a National Guard presence to be able to bring it down after weeks. What President Trump is trying to do is say ‘This is not going to take weeks this time,’” he said.
“We’re not going to allow this to be able to spiral out of control. This is an American city, and to be able to have an American city where we have people literally flying Mexican flags and saying ‘You cannot arrest us’ cannot be allowed. If someone violates the law, no matter what state that they’re in, they’re in violation of a federal law. They should face consequences for that,” Lankford added.