The Bisbee City Council met Tuesday night to discuss a previous request to establish a policy, or directive, prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using city property staging, processing, or operations base for unauthorized civil law enforcement actions, including civil immigration enforcement after voting to remove it from the table a few weeks ago.
During the discussion Tuesday night, the council heard from eight members of the public including Jennifer Druckman who previously presented a petition on the issue in March asking the city to take action, asked the council to have the courage to take a stand against ICE. She along with the other speakers expressed their concerns during call to the public on the agenda expressed concern over ICE actions and the inhumane treatment of people being detained.
Councilmember Karen Schmaucher, who requested the item be on Tuesday nights agenda, said she originally requested the item be placed on the agenda five months ago to address concerns. “I wanted to do something to address constituents’ concerns. If someone is living in stress and fear, I felt their concerns needed to be addressed.” She went on to say, “I think the time for a directive has passed.”