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Agenda Report
February 23, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Manager's Office
SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE RESPONSE OF OTHER LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT JURISDICTIONS TO INTERACTIONS WITH
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS ENGAGED IN IMMIGRATION
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY
RECOMMENDATION:
The agenda report is for information only. The City Council may, however, take action relating to this item as it deems appropriate following consideration and discussion of the matter.
BACKGROUND:
Federal immigration enforcement activity throughout the United States has escalated dramatically in recent months. Since June 2025, the Los Angeles region has experienced an increase in federal civil immigration enforcement activity marked by high profile operations that have taken place in neighborhoods, near workplaces and schools, and in public spaces such as parks and city streets. The manner in which these actions have been executed has spread fear and uncertainty among residents, disrupted families and businesses, and damaged community trust in government institutions. Regrettably, these operations have lacked the professionalism, discipline, and due regard for public safety that residents of Pasadena and other cities have come to expect from law enforcement agencies. The federal operations also pose an increased risk of danger to members of the public and officers of the Pasadena Police Department when responding to calls related to immigration enforcement activity. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity also creates tension between local police and residents by putting police, whose job it is to keep the peace, between themselves and local residents in disturbances which ICE has, by its presence and manner of operation, created.
The pace and scale of federal immigration activity is expected to continue to escalate in the coming years as the federal government's funding of ICE rises. On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1 , which allocated $45 billion for new immigration detention centers and nearly $30 billion toward ICE'S enforcement and deportation operations, MEETING OF 2/23/2026AGENDA ITEM NO.14
Report on the response of other local law enforcement jurisdictions to interactions with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement activity
February 23, 2026
nearly tripling ICE'S budget for those operations. Federal immigration enforcement operations in the last year reflect a new emphasis on large-scale enforcement in urban areas such as the operations first seen in Los Angeles, then Chicago, and most recently, Minneapolis.
In response to the federal government's actions, several counties and municipalities within California and across the nation have started taking measures that share the common objectives of ensuring accountability in the enforcement of federal immigration laws and ensuring property under local public agency ownership and control is not used to support civil immigration enforcement operations. The following summarizes recent actions taken by the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles.
City of Chicago
In October 2025, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed Executive Order 2025-8 (Attachment A) which prohibits the use of City owned parking lots, City owned vacant lots, and City owned garages from being used a civil immigration enforcement staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases. This action was taken following receipt of reports of federal immigration agents using City of Chicago owned properties for such purposes.
Executive Order 2025-8 further requires that City staff identify properties that have been, or likely will be, used for civil immigration enforcement purposes; that City Departments ensure such properties have clear signage designating City ownership and listing prohibited purposes; and that any City employee who becomes aware of the attempted or actual use of City property for prohibited purposes must immediately elevate the issue to the Mayor's Office and to counsel.
Executive Order 2025-8 makes clear that the Order does not restrict or interfere with the execution of lawful judicial warrants or criminal law, nor does it limit the rights of any person or entity under state or federal law.
On February 2, 2026, Mayor Johnson signed Executive Order 2026-1 (Attachment B), which, among other things, requires the Chicago Police Department's Incident Commander responding to a scene of a civil immigration enforcement action to identify the federal supervisory officer on scene and attempt to verify, using body-worn camera, the name and badge number of the federal supervisory officer. If no federal supervisor is present, the Incident Commander will request that one report to the scene.
Executive Order 2026-1 requires that any refusal to provide identification be recorded on body-worn camera, that all body-worn camera footage be preserved, that all alleged or perceived violations of state or local law be reported and referred for prosecution at the direction of the Mayor's Office, and that medical aid / emergency services be rendered to any injured persons at the scene. The order also requires that, to the extent permitted by law, the Chicago Police Department publicly report data regarding reports of suspected unlawful conduct by federal agents engaged in civil immigration enforcement.
Report on the response of other local law enforcement jurisdictions to interactions with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement activity
February 23, 2026
City of Los Angeles
On February 10, 2026, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed Executive Directive No. 17 - Protecting Angelenos from Ongoing Dangerous Federal Immigration Operations (Attachment C). Directive 17 mirrors much of what was included in Chicago Executive Orders 2025-8 and 2026-1. It requires that City staff identify City owned or controlled property that might be used as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for immigration enforcement, and post on each such property a sign stating: "This property is owned or controlled by the City of Los Angeles. It may only be used for its intended City purpose and not used for immigration enforcement as a staging area, processing location, or operations base." It further requires that where appropriate, physical barriers such as locked gates and doors are used to limit access to City-owned or controlled parking lots, vacant lots, or garages, and non-public portions of City facilities.
Directive 17 incorporates all of the measures established in Executive Order 2026-1 that are designed to increase transparency and accountability in federal conduct and adds two enhancements - that the Los Angeles Police Department reaffirm its instruction that all officers are to take measures to maintain the peace by using department approved tactics and techniques to de-escalate potential conflicts with members of the public, and that all officers of the department provide clear communication to bystanders, reassuring them of the department's neutral role and explaining that officers are present only to ensure public safety, not to assist with the immigration enforcement action.
Like Executive Order 2026-1, Directive 17 requires that all officers who receive information from the public regarding conduct of an immigration agent that constitutes apparent violation of state or local law notify their supervisor who will ensure a report is taken. Directive 17 instructs the LAPD, to the extent allowed by law, to publicly report aggregated data regarding incidents in which department officers have documented or received reports of suspected unlawful conduct by an immigration enforcement agent, with reports being made to the Board of Police Commissioners and the Office of the Mayor no less than monthly.
Directive 17 includes additional directives related to the posting of policies regarding the use of facial coverings by sworn law enforcement officers, impact fees for property owners who allow their property to be used for the purpose of conducting immigration enforcement activities, and required disclosures by City contractors who have agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, including specificity as to the federal agency within the department, the nature of the work, and the terms of compensation Los Angeles County
On,January 13,2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion initiating the development of an ordinance to establish "Ice-Free Zones" across County-owned and County controlled properties (Attachment D). This motion followed an incident in October 2025 in which federal agents conducted a raid at a County park, arresting three people and threatening to arrest staff from the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation who responded to the scene. The motion Report on the response of other local law enforcement jurisdictions to interactions with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement activity
February 23, 2026
cites the raid as a reason that County residents have avoided the park and been unable to use it for its intended use - recreation.
The proposed ordinance is anticipated to be presented imminently to the Board of Supervisors. If adopted, the proposed ordinance would prohibit County-owned and County-controlled property from being used for unauthorized civil immigration enforcement activities, require clear signage on County properties, establish a permit process for civil enforcement operations, and preserve lawful criminal law enforcement and the execution of valid judicial warrants.
Of note, in December 2025 the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors took a very similar action, electing instead, however, to approve a Board Policy limiting the use of County property to uses that further County purposes via resolution rather than ordinance (Attachment E).
Pasadena
The City of Pasadena is home to a diverse and vibrant community of people representing many races, ethnicities, and national origins. Pasadena's immigrant community contributes significantly to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of the city. Despite the challenges being presented by the federal government's present posture on civil immigration enforcement, the City remains fully committed to the dignity, well-being, and safety of all its residents, regardless of their immigration status. This long-standing commitment is reflected in the City's history of taking actions that align with these values.
In October 2013, the City adopted Resolution 9319 affirming the City's support for humane and comprehensive immigration policy that provides an attainable and affordable pathway to full citizenship for the nation's undocumented immigrants, with family unity, due process, and access to essential services cornerstones of our immigration system.
In 2017, the City Council adopted Resolution 9957 states that the City will not enforce federal immigration laws and directed the City Manager to ensure that City policies, including Pasadena Police Department policies, are consistent with the Resolution, and that no City employee will use City funds or resources to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law or to gather or disseminate information regarding the immigration status of individuals in the City, unless required by law.
Pasadena Police Depari;ment Policy 428 affirms the Department's commitment to equal enforcement of the law and the provision of equal services to the public regardless of immigration status. The Policy states that Department members will not engage in law enforcement activities based solely on someone's immigration status and will not contact, stop, detain, investigate or arrest persons exclusively on their immigration status, with the narrow exception of investigations involving national security concerns such as terrorism or transnational criminal activity (e.g. human, drug or weapons trafficking).The Pasadena Police Department does not use financial or personnel resources to investigate persons for immigration purposes, inquire into an individual's immigration status, detain individuals on the basis of a federal hold request, or provide information regarding a person's release Report on the response of other local law enforcement jurisdictions to interactions with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement activity
February 23, 2026
date, except for limited circumstances which are necessary for the preservation of public safety. Simply stated, the role of the Pasadena Police Department is to enforce the laws of the State of California and the City of Pasadena, and ultimately to preserve public safety and protect the community by investigating crimes. Pasadena Police Officers are not immigration agents.
In 2017, the City established a Standard of Conduct Regarding Confidentiality Policy that applies to all City employees which sets forth the City's commitment to the confidentiality of information gathered for municipal purposes. The policy expressly limits the collection or dissemination of information regarding a person's religion, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, and immigration status.
The aforementioned Resolutions and policies remain in effect in the present day and serve to guide City operations and staff expectations on all matters related to civil immigration enforcement and the preservation of the confidential personal information of the City's residents and all others who utilize City services. Accordingly, throughout the summer and fall of 2025, the City provided training to employees on the subject of employee protocols in the event of immigration enforcement activities occurring in or near the workplace. The training was well attended and well received as 976 attendees participated in the training during the course of four sessions. Additional training is planned to occur in the coming months.
In July 2025, the City filed a motion to intervene in the case ofVasquez Perdomo et al. v.
Noem et al., a lawsuit originating from an incident that occurred in Pasadena which seeks to stop the federal government from engaging in aggressive and dangerous immigration enforcement practices in Pasadena and the Los Angeles area.
To date, the City Council has not approved ordinances or adopted resolutions expressly restricting the use of City owned or controlled property from use for federal immigration enforcement purposes or establishing specific protocols for how Pasadena Police Officers interact with federal immigration agents. However, the City has in practice declined requests for its property to be used to support civil immigration enforcement operations.
Additionally, in the fall of 2025, City staff created standardized signage that clearly identifies and restricts access to the non-public areas of City facilities. The signage is in use in various City facilities and staff have recently redoubled efforts to identify the appropriate locations in which to place such signage so as to ensure optimal utilization.
The use of this signage has been limited to indoor non-public spaces and does not extend to indoor public spaces such as libraries or recreation centers, or open outdoor spaces such as parks, which as traditional public spaces may not tend themselves to selective closure or regulation.
The Pasadena Police Department responds to all reports of potentially unlawful activity, including reports from members of the public who cannot verify the identities of individuals claiming to be law enforcement officers. When responding to such calls, officers will verify identification and confirm that the activity is a legitimate law enforcement operation to maintain public safety. The Department has also responded to a 911 call from an ICE Report on the response of other local law enforcement jurisdictions to interactions with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement activity
February 23, 2026
maintain public safety. The Department has also responded to a 911 call from an ICE agent as is required in order to keep the peace. The Department's response was for the sole purpose of preserving the peace and was done without supporting any immigration enforcement activity itself.
As of June 2025, Department personnel are required to document all immigration enforcement operations occurring within the City that involve a Police Department response with a written police report that includes the names of officers on scene, relevant contact information for the agency conducting the operation, and a summary of any actions taken by Pasadena Police Department Officers. A Watch Commander or Field Supervisor will respond to such incidents.
Lastly, as a matter of existing policy, officers are required to render or call for medical aid to all individuals in need of medical care, and they are required to record their interactions with individuals with whom they come into contact in the performance of their work with vehicle and body worn cameras. This includes interactions with federal immigration enforcement agents.
The City of Pasadena recognizes that establishing trust, mutual respect, and open communication between the City and its residents are essential to the preservation of public safety and the effective delivery of services to all members of the community. The City respects the dignity of every person in our community and holds firmly during times of adversity to the belief that everyone deserves to live safely in their community without fear.
Respectfully submittedI
^M-
if I AL^SO^TO,
Deputy City Manager
Approved by:
^Ay—
MtetfEL MARQUEZ
City Manager
Attachments:
A. City of Chicago Executive Order 2025-8
B. City of Chicago Executive Order 2026-1
C. City of Los Angeles Directive 17
D. County of Los Angeles Motion Creating Ice Free Zones in the County of Los Angeles E. County of Santa Clara Resolution 2025-135 - Limiting the Use of County Property to Uses that Further County Purposes