An impassioned Cambridge City Council took several actions at its meeting Monday to try and limit the reach of federal immigration enforcement, despite doubts about enforceability raised by the city solicitor’s office.
The council worked to codify an executive order banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from operating on municipal property, to prevent city employees or agencies from collaborating with ICE, and to bar the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) from hiring former ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, or Customs and Border Patrol agents.
The potential hiring ban came via a policy order directing the City Manager’s office to explore the question. It was inspired by legislation proposed in Maryland and Washington state. Councillors agreed that it was a necessary step to keep Cantabrigians safe from aggressive police tactics in the long-term.
“The violence that ICE is perpetrating has nothing to do with law enforcement,” said Councillor Jivan-Sobrinho Wheeler, a co-sponsor of the order. “The goal of this policy order is to protect Cambridge residents, because it’s clear that the training that ICE agents are receiving is deeply at odds with our values in Cambridge.”
The original policy order only banned those who began working for the specified agencies since the beginning of the second Trump Administration. An amendment proposed by Councillor Ayah Al-Zubi changed the order to exclude all former agents.
“There was not a wholesale personnel turnover within DHS or ICE following January 20th, 2025, and many agents who served under previous administrations remain actively involved in these murderous, illegal operations that are currently unfolding in our communities,” Al-Zubi said.
While the order passed unanimously, members of the city solicitor’s office warned that the city might be limited in its options for executing the goals stated by the policy order, given the role state civil service law plays in the hiring process of local police officers.
When looking to hire a new officer, a list of candidates is provided to CPD based on test scores and merit — CPD must then interview candidates in order. It cannot skip over a candidate without receiving approval from the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. “Based on our review… it’s our opinion that it’s very unlikely that they would allow a bypass just because of where someone has been employed in the past,” said Kate Kleimola, who serves as first assistant city solicitor. She said the matter might be taken before the state legislature.
“There are some things we’re limited to doing. I think people have to just understand that the federal government has some authority and we, as a municipality, can’t stop all of it,” Councillor Marc McGovern said in reference to the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportations. “But where we can, we should.”
A policy order that looks to ban city property from being used in immigration raids, prevent city offices and staff from assisting immigration officials, and block city offices from obtaining information about immigration status, among other measures, was also passed unanimously. Many of these measures were already included in an executive order issued last week by City Manager Yi-An Huang, but this new measure starts the process of codifying them into the city’s Welcoming Cities Ordinance.
Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, who co-sponsored the policy order, said conversations on updating the ordinance had been ongoing for weeks. “Ordinances are much harder to change, and so that’s why we want to make sure that we have everything in the ordinance,” said Siddiqui. “I think it’s pretty clear why we need something like this.”
The policy orders require the city manager to draft ordinance language before they can become official.
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