City Manager is hereby requested to direct the Law Department to draft ordinance language restricting the use of City-owned or City-controlled property, facilities, resources, and personnel for the purposes of federal civil immigration enforcement, and that the Law Department evaluate whether these protections should be adopted as an amendment to the Welcoming Community Ordinance

Across the country we are seeing increased presence and surge in civil immigration enforcement activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Federal Immigration Authorities in municipalities, including actions conducted in and around public spaces; and

Such enforcement activity has a documented chilling effect on immigrant communities, discouraging residents from accessing healthcare, education, emergency services, and other essential City programs, thereby posing risks to public health and public safety; and

The City of Cambridge has long affirmed its commitment to being a Welcoming Community, including through the Welcoming Community Ordinance; and

Municipalities across the nation have restricted the use of municipal property, resources, and personnel for civil immigration enforcement purposes, including peer sanctuary jurisdictions such as Minneapolis, which does not specifically reference ICE in its Separation Ordinance but instead employs function-based definitions applicable to all federal entities engaged in civil immigration enforcement; and

The City has both the authority and responsibility to clarify and strengthen its policies in a manner inconsistent with local law and values; now therefore be it

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the Law Department to draft ordinance language restricting the use of City-owned or City-controlled property, facilities, resources, and personnel for the purposes of federal civil immigration enforcement, including provisions that:

Define "Federal Immigration Authority" to mean any federal department, agency, component, task force, or officer whose primary or secondary function includes the enforcement of civil immigration law, including but not limited to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS), or any successor entity; and be it further

That such ordinance language shall include provisions that: 1. Prohibit City agencies, departments, officers, and employees from collaborating with any Federal Immigration Authority in civil immigration enforcement activities, except where required by law or pursuant to a valid judicial warrant; 2.

Prohibit City agencies from collecting information regarding an individual’s citizenship or immigration status, and from sharing personal or identifying information with ICE or other federal immigration authorities, except where required by law or pursuant to a valid judicial warrant; 3.

Prohibit discrimination or the denial of City services on the basis of actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status, and affirm that access to City programs, services, and benefits shall not be conditioned on immigration status; 4. Prohibit any Federal Immigration Authority from using City-owned or City- controlled property as staging locations or operational bases for civil immigration enforcement actions, including but not limited to raids, arrests, or surveillance activities; 5.

Bar City employees from granting any Federal Immigration Authority access to City-owned or City-controlled spaces – including libraries, shelters, health centers, recreation centers, and other public facilities – absent a valid judicial warrant, and require that any such warrant be reviewed by the Law Department prior to compliance, where practicable; and Affirm that no City resources shall be expended to assist in civil immigration enforcement activities that are inconsistent with the City’s Welcoming Community policies, public health objectives, or applicable local law; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the Law Department to evaluate whether these protections should be adopted as an amendment to the Welcoming Community Ordinance and to review comparable ordinances adopted by peer sanctuary jurisdictions, including but not limited to the Minneapolis Separation Ordinance (Title 2, Chapter 19), to ensure Cambridge's protections are aligned with best practices and cannot be circumvented through jurisdictional semantics and report back to the City Council.

In City Council February 9, 2026. Adopted as Amended by a yea and nay vote:-

Yeas 9; Nays 0; Absent 0. Attest:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk

A true copy; ATTEST:-

Paula M. Crane

Interim City Clerk