The City of Bloomington pulled out of a planned event regarding immigration issues earlier this month, with Mayor Dan Brady saying he wasn't aware of the event until someone brought a flyer to his attention. The event went on at Wesley United Methodist Church.
“I didn't believe, and after checking with the police department and our chief and others, that we, the Bloomington Police Department, had any type of specialty that was going to lend to [a] talk about ICE and immigration issues and what to do or not to do when you talk about an ICE raid,” said Brady.
The event was similar to one that took place in March. At that time, Bloomington Police said they wanted to reassure the undocumented community it is safe to report crimes.
At that session, police said they believed it also was safe for immigrants to go to the McLean County Law and Justice Center. That did not remain true very long when, a couple weeks later, ICE agents arrested a man right after his court hearing.
Brady said he is concerned this issue is not one the police should be involved in.
“It would be just something that we should certainly leave in the hands of others. That's not the specialty or expertise [of] the Bloomington Police,” said Brady.
Brady said he also had a concern about safety in case of protesters. The move to disengage may complicate police efforts to serve a part of the community that already under-reports crime. Police said in March the department pledged explicitly to exclude asking about immigration status.
Brady also answered a question about how to weigh that goal of promoting confidence in police by saying there are a number of ways to look at the question. Brady said perhaps another entity would be better.
“I think it was very, very important that we know that if the police department is going to be involved in something that there would have been maybe a more in-depth review of what the actual content was and who was presenting," said Brady.
He said immigration is a federal issue, and issue belongs with the Immigration Project or a church alliance.
