Hoping to curb deportation fears in the community, the Glendale City Council approved a resolution this week affirming the police chief's recent statement that his officers are sworn to ensure Glendale's public safety, not enforce federal immigration laws. Chief Robert Castro's statement — which said, in part, that Glendale police do not "have the authority nor the responsibility to incarcerate or detain individuals solely based on immigration status" — comes after President Trump's threats to cut off federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. City officials acknowledged, however, that they do have an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which allows the federal agency to rent space in the city jail for ICE detainees. According to a city report, in 2015 and 2016, ICE paid Glendale $7,225 for its jail, using a formula of $85 a day per person. Though one resident called for Glendale to rescind the ICE agreement, City Manager Scott Ochoa warned against it because the police need to maintain good working relationships with a variety of federal agencies other than ICE, such as the FBI.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 01, 2017 15:40 UTC