Bloomington City Council — Transcript
Monday, February 23, 2026
Community Impact of ICE Operations and Distrust in Local Government
Calls for Specific Local Policy Actions Against ICE Tactics
Economic and Human Costs of Immigration Enforcement
Police Accountability and Trust Deficit
Housing and Food Insecurity for Vulnerable Residents
Proposals for Eviction Protections and Virtual Court Options
Votes (6)
Community Impact of ICE Occupation and Policy Recommendations
Paul detailed personal accounts of fear and unlawful detentions due to ICE operations, criticizing tactics described as decades-old and highlighting economic and human costs. He proposed the city publicize these costs, extend pre-eviction notice, support an eviction moratorium, ban DHS from buying detainment warehouses, make visible value statements, address police distrust, and enact a law enforcement mask ban.
Breakdown of the Social Contract and Demand for Police Accountability
Jamie Wagner argued the 'social contract' is broken due to perceived complicity of Bloomington Police Department (BPD) members supporting ICE tactics, including issuing spurious citations and providing backup, without visible reprimands. She emphasized that actions, not just words, are needed to repair trust, warning that continued police support for ICE without consequences would lead to public distrust of all emergency services.
Unmet Promises and Call for Concrete Anti-ICE Ordinances
Cody expressed disappointment over the council's lack of additional action post a previous listening session and the city joining an AG lawsuit, specifically noting the absence of bans on ICE using city property or wearing masks. He clarified that such bans serve to document federal non-compliance and demonstrate community support, irrespective of federal enforceability. He also recounted BPD officers allegedly facilitating ICE actions and criticized the council's focus on 'law and order' while ignoring chaos caused by ICE.
Demand for Leadership and Proactive Combat of Federal Tactics
Will Clark criticized the council for failing to demonstrate leadership through visible actions against ICE, despite repeated community requests for measures like signage restricting federal access, mask bans, and information sharing guarantees. He noted that neighboring cities are implementing such measures. He challenged the Mayor's cautious stance on 'raising the temperature,' arguing that fearful residents already experience extreme distress and would prefer visible pushback.
Urgent Need for Accessible Emergency Funding for Housing and Groceries
Trina STO underscored the critical need for housing and grocery funding for residents unable to leave their homes due to fear of ICE. She noted that public perception of ICE operations winding down reduces donations, exacerbating the issue. She specifically requested emergency funds not tied to stringent reporting requirements, which deter fearful families from accessing assistance from organizations with government-linked funding, despite existing city allocations to groups like VEP.
Additional Policy Recommendations for DHS Property, Virtual Courts, and Eviction Protections
Kendra Roman Weinberg offered swift recommendations for the city to ban the sale of any building or property to DHS within city limits, advocate for virtual court sessions (especially for eviction), and reinforce eviction protections by extending eviction notice times and supporting an eviction moratorium.
Notable Quotes (13)
My friends and neighbors are afraid because of what we and our kids all see with our own eyes.
I want the city, excuse me, to determine and publicize the economic cost of this ICE occupation on Bloomington as well as the opportunity cost and the human cost. We need to know how many human beings were taken from our city. How many legal residents were denied their rights?
And I also ask that the city of Bloomington enact a law enforcement mask ban because there is no trust or system of checks and balances when we are bullied by secret police.
the continued support by members of the Bloomington Police Department in uniform and using city vehicles to issue spurious citations to people attempting to alert their neighbors of danger, of moving to come in in support when ICE calls the Bloomington PD and asks for material or personnel backup... says a lot more about what Bloomington is currently allowing and what this council and you, Mr. Mayor, are endorsing than a press release.
If we continue to see signs that the police department and other city services will act in support of ICE without consequences, we no longer trust them, will not use them. I believe Chief Hodge has already testified that calls to 911 for emergency services are down.
Now you guys haven't done anything additional. Um, we don't have anything banning ICE from using city property. We don't have anything banning ICE from wearing masks.
It is not about whether or not it can be enforced. We all understand that the federal government is not going to follow these if we put them in place. It's about having them in place and documenting the fact that they're not following local law. And it's about showing the members of this community that you're at least going to try whether or not it's going to work.
You've heard us ask for direct visible actions in the streets to send a message to the federal agents that this community does not want them here, isn't hospitable to their escalatory tactics.
Mayor, a few weeks ago, you said, "I'm not going to pound my fist on the desk and risk taking us from a two to a nine." But do we really think putting some signs up and fighting against mask usage will raise the temperature to a nine? Our neighbors that are scared to leave their home are already living at a nine and have been for quite some time now.
Our neighbors are not able to leave their homes to get food for themselves, for their children, for their dogs, for their cats. They're not even letting their dogs and cats outside because they're scared that if they do, they will be taken.
There are many people who are afraid to access organizations that have federal funding or that have government tied funding because as a fundraiser myself, I know that when you have funding like that, you have very high reporting requirements, which means that they have to share a lot of their personal information to get access to those funds. And so, we have very many families who won't even touch any of that because that is terrifying to them.
I'd recommend the city work towards banning the sale of any building or property to DHS.
It's also really important to offer virtual court sessions for every type of option. It's more important now than it was during the pandemic, especially working towards virtual court for eviction and eviction moratorium is really important and expend extending the eviction notice.
Ordinances & Resolutions (10)
Mentioned in context of delayed renewal for a legal permanent resident.
Courts reportedly ruled ICE misapplied them.
A proposed city ordinance to ban masks for law enforcement.
A proposed city action to halt evictions.
A proposed city action to extend the required notice period before eviction.
A proposed city ordinance to prevent DHS from acquiring properties for detainment facilities within city limits.
A philosophical theory discussed in relation to broken trust between government and citizens.
Mentioned in context of funding requirements for non-profits.
A lawsuit the city had previously joined related to federal actions.
Mentioned in relation to staff researching detention center regulations.