Berkeley to ICE: Stay off city property

"With federal immigration agencies sending operatives into largely Democrat-controlled cities like Chicago, Portland and Oakland, Berkeley is working to limit their access to city property. The City Council Tuesday ordered the city administration to tighten its grip on who can use city property, like parks and parking lots, and how. The objective is to keep federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement from co-opting city-owned locations in pursuing the Trump administration's deportation agenda."

"There is a potentially major hiccup. The city's recent track record on property management is so poor it completely lost track of a building it owned. As such, the council ordered the city administration to put together an inventory of all city-owned and city-controlled properties. It is unclear whether any such centralized inventory already exists. Spokespeople for the city did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Berkeleyside."

"Nor is it clear whether a city ordinance or policy would actually have any practical effect should Washington dispatch federal agents to Berkeley. In Portland, federal agents have fired tear gas and pepper balls at local law enforcement outside an ICE building, telling cops to help or get out of the way, according to the city's police. Berkeleyside inquired with Mayor Adena Ishii, one of the authors of the item, about the practical applications of the order,"

Berkeley's City Council ordered city administration to tighten control over who can use city property, including parks and parking lots, to prevent federal immigration agencies from using those locations. The action targets agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and aims to block their use of city-owned sites in deportation operations. The council also directed staff to assemble an inventory of all city-owned and city-controlled properties after officials acknowledged lapses in property management, including losing track of a building. City spokespeople did not respond to inquiries. Legal staff and the city manager must define whether any ordinance or policy would withstand federal action.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org