City Council Candidate Krystal Lopez Padley is calling for the immediate termination of all ongoing contracts between the Pasadena Police Department and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
The existence of a contract which police said was the renewal of a previous agreement and would not impact the Department’s longstanding policy of declining to assist ICE was made known by Pasadena Now over the weekend.
Lopez Padley said she supports the efforts of Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network and other community advocates to end all current contracts and prevent future contact with the agency.
“The City’s ongoing contractual relationship with ICE serves to undermine the important relationship between our residents and the members of our law enforcement community” Lopez Padley stated. “This is especially true in District 5 which is home to a large immigrant community. Our residents must feel secure in the knowledge that contacting law enforcement in a time of need will not lead to future interactions with federal immigration officials. The current contract with ICE simply does not work for the residents of District 5 or the City of Pasadena.”