That’s according to Andy Ginther, mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the conference’s sitting president.
Ginther spoke on Thursday at a press conference held at the Tampa Marriott Water Street on the first day of the four-day event. There are 179 mayors from across the country who have gathered for the annual summer meeting, where they will participate in panel discussions on issues such as handling natural disasters, homelessness, and public safety, to name a few.
Resolution
The resolution regarding immigration has three main planks:
- Delineates the appropriate roles of local and federal officials in protest response.
- Calls on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to focus its deportation actions on convicted, serious criminals, and not on undocumented “hard-working individuals who have families and pay taxes and contribute to their local communities.”
- Urges federal officials to notify local authorities in advance of any planned ICE actions, and to conduct those actions in “as orderly and unprovocative way possible.”
Fresno, California, Mayor Jerry Dyer served 40 years in the Fresno Police Department, the last 18 as chief. He said at the press conference that one of the things he’s learned is that for police officers to be effective they must be seen as a welcome presence and not “as an occupying force.”
“Unfortunately, what we are seeing today in many cities across America, including L.A., is an occupying force, and that is federal agents and now our U.S. military,” he said. “And, unfortunately, the Los Angeles Police Department is having to be brought into that situation.”…