Pasadena Moves to Ban ICE From Using City Property as Staging Grounds for Raids

Pasadena is drawing a line in the sand against Trump's immigration crackdown, voting unanimously Monday to codify restrictions on how ICE can use city property for enforcement operations.

The City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit federal immigration agents from using city-owned parking lots, vacant lots, garages, and non-public portions of municipal facilities as staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases. The 7-0 vote elevates what had been a proposed policy recommendation into binding local law.

"Right now residents of our city are in harm's way and I want to do everything I can to protect them," said Councilmember Rick Cole, who made the motion.

The ordinance represents Pasadena's latest effort to limit ICE activity within city limits after nearly a year of high-profile immigration raids that have roiled neighborhoods across the San Gabriel Valley. Armed, masked federal agents have detained immigrants at bus stops, car washes, food stands, hardware stores, and construction sites throughout the region.

While the Trump administration claims the crackdown targets the "worst of the worst" criminal undocumented immigrants, federal officials have acknowledged that many of those detained were not violent criminals. The raids have sparked fear and anger among residents who have watched families lose breadwinners and local economies take significant hits as workers stay home to avoid arrest.

The Limits of Local Resistance

The vote exposed the difficult calculus facing cities trying to resist federal overreach without putting their own employees at legal risk or making them targets of the Trump administration.

City officials are installing signs at city-owned properties declaring that immigration enforcement staging, processing, and operations are not allowed. But when Councilmembers Tyron Hampton and Jason Lyon pressed on what enforcement power those signs would actually carry, the answer was sobering.

"I don't think we're there yet with this signage," Lyon said. "It's a nice message, but it's largely performative."

City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris explained that federal agents conducting enforcement operations have broad legal protections that prevent local officials from intervening without risking federal charges themselves. The intent behind the signage and ordinance, officials said, is to document instances where federal agents violate local statutes, creating a paper trail for future litigation against the federal government.

"I think it's not prudent to really put our folks in a bad position where they could be federally charged and now we're dealing with that set of circumstances," said Police Chief Gene Harris.

City Manager Miguel Marquez urged a strategy of documentation over direct confrontation: "Let's document, let's preserve, let's go later and enforce in court and try to change the rules that way and challenge the rules that way, as opposed to asking our employees to potentially violate federal law."

"ICE Is Not a Law Enforcement Agency"

Several council members didn't mince words about their view of federal immigration enforcement.

Councilmembers Rick Cole and Vice Mayor Jess Rivas both described ICE as not being a legitimate law enforcement agency, citing what they characterized as a pattern of lawlessness and civil rights violations.

During public comment, residents pushed the council to go beyond performative gestures and create enforceable ordinances with real teeth.

Cole's motion included several additional measures beyond the property-use ban:

• Referring an audit of the city's land-use code to the Housing, Homelessness and Planning Committee to close any loopholes that could allow an ICE detention facility to be established in Pasadena
• Revamping the city's immigration resources website to make it more user-friendly
• Asking the Community Police Oversight Commission to hold a public discussion with the police department about new policies related to immigration enforcement
• Distributing know-your-rights materials throughout the city
• Exploring whether local limits on immigration enforcement can be applied to the Pasadena Transit system

The council action builds on a February resolution that proposed limits on federal immigration enforcement in the city and called for increased transparency and documentation of ICE activity. The city has also created a website providing immigration resources and is exploring policies that would require city contractors to disclose any agreements with the Department of Homeland Security.

Last week, Pasadena announced the launch of the Pasadena Emergency Assistance Fund in partnership with the California Community Foundation to support local families impacted by federal immigration enforcement.

The ordinance will return to the City Council for final consideration in the coming weeks.