Latest news with #GlendalePoliceDepartment
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Glendale scrutinized for housing ICE detainees despite California sanctuary law
Despite California's sanctuary laws, the city of Glendale continues to allow federal immigration detainees to be held in its city jail — a decades-old contract now under new fire. The Glendale Police Department is housing individuals detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, drawing criticism from immigration advocates who say the practice sidesteps SB 54, California's 2018 sanctuary state law that restricts local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Glendale officials argue that their contract with ICE — signed in 2007 — is legally grandfathered in. The agreement allows ICE to place non-criminal immigration detainees at the Glendale City Jail, a 96-bed facility operated by local police. The city reportedly receives $85 per detainee per day, according to the Los Angeles Times. At least two ICE detainees were held at the jail this past week, the Times reports. One immigration attorney told the Glendale City Council her client had gone hours without food or water due to delays during transfers between detention facilities. Advocates from the ACLU of Southern California and other legal groups say this long-standing agreement violates the spirit of sanctuary laws, offering a workaround for ICE amid overcrowded federal detention centers and a surge in arrests. City leaders say detainees are not booked or processed by Glendale police, and that ICE simply uses the jail for temporary holding. Nonetheless, critics insist that local jails should not be used to assist in federal immigration enforcement — especially under increasing pressure from the Trump administration to ramp up arrests. City records show Glendale received more than $6,000 from the federal government in one year under this agreement. While either party can terminate the contract with 60 days' notice, Glendale has not announced any plans to do so. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Glendale jail is holding ICE detainees, an outlier in California, as immigration arrests rise
Immigrants detained by federal agents in Southern California are being housed at the Glendale City Jail, making the Los Angeles suburb one of the few, if not the only, known jurisdiction in the "sanctuary" state to sidestep rules prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration enforcement. It's unclear how many detainees are being held at the 96-bed facility, but The Times confirmed at least two individuals were placed there over the last week by immigration officials. The facility is one of the busiest jails in the state and is staffed by the Glendale Police Department. Glendale City Council members defended the detentions this week, saying that the city had an 18-year-old contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to temporarily house noncriminal detainees. They said the agreement is in compliance with state Senate Bill 54, a landmark law that made California the first in the nation to create a sanctuary state. 'Glendale has a contract with ICE, and yes, on occasion, ICE detainees will be given bed space at our facility,' said Annette Ghazarian, a spokesperson for Glendale. Shortly before President Trump took office, Glendale Police Chief Manuel Cid told the council that the jails hadn't been used frequently for immigrant detainees since the Obama administration. He said that the mass sweeps would be logistically difficult given the capacity of the federal detention centers and that he didn't expect local agencies to fill the gap given state law. Read more: A sanctuary law aimed to 'Trump-proof' California on immigration. What has it accomplished? But advocates fear that is exactly what's happening. They believe that Glendale's arrangement takes advantage of a loophole in state sanctuary laws that omit standing contracts. And it raises questions about the state law amid ramped up enforcement efforts by the Trump administration, which has said it aims to arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants daily. 'It is deeply, deeply troublesome," said Andres Kwon, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. 'This contract very much goes against the principle and value of creating a bright line between local resources and federal immigration enforcement.' At a minimum, Kwon said the contract should end immediately. 'This is where the attorney general has jurisdiction and responsibility to review and oversee how Glendale is acting pursuant to this contract,' he said. The attorney general also has a mandate to review and report on conditions of confinement, which it has yet to do. Other municipalities terminated their contracts after then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 54, which prohibited local and state municipalities from using funds for federal immigration enforcement purposes, including the use of jail facilities. But Glendale's then-Police Chief Robert Castro, who opposed the law, did not. And at the time, the city manager warned against nixing the contract in a bid to maintain a good relationship with federal authorities. Jennie Quinonez-Skinner, a resident of Glendale, said she has been urging council members to abandon the contract since learning about it during the first Trump administration. 'They can end if they want to, they just don't want to,' she said. 'I see no justification for doing it. Under the current administration, with lack of due process, it's harmful.' At the time the contract was signed in 2007, the federal government promised to pay Glendale $85 a day for each detainee. Nearly 10 years later in 2016, the city reported that it received a little more than $6,000 for its services in one year. City documents show the contract terms are indefinite and 'may be terminated by either party with 60 days' written notice.' At the Glendale City Council meeting Tuesday night, immigration lawyer Sarah Houston, whose client had been detained at the jail and been without food for nine hours due to being transferred between multiple facilities, questioned why Glendale was adhering to a decades-old agreement that runs afoul of SB 54. 'We have SB 54 that says very explicitly, local law enforcement cannot provide resources, including cells, to immigration enforcement. California is a sanctuary state,' Houston said at the meeting. 'Do you want Glendale to be one of the only cities that allows local police departments to work with the Department of Homeland Security, so that they can just house and detain a lot of our immigrant sisters and brothers?' Read more: LAPD presence at South L.A. immigration raid sparks questions Glendale Councilmember Elen Asatryan tried to distance the city from immigration operations. 'We do not get involved, we are not even booking them, they are using the cells as a holding place in the city of Glendale,' Asatryan said. She disputed that detainees were not being provided food or water. The use of the Glendale City Jail to hold migrants has come up in recent weeks as the Trump administration pushes to increase the number of immigrant arrests by targeting them as they leave the courtroom. Immigration officials admit the effort has stressed their own resources as they look to increase capacity. ICE has about 7,000 beds in California with six privately owned facilities and has been looking to expand its footprint in the state as its enforcement begins to outstrip its detention space. 'U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's enhanced enforcement operations and routine daily operations have resulted in a significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity,' said Richard Beam, an ICE spokesman. 'While we cannot confirm individual pre-decisional conversations, we can confirm that ICE is exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements.' In Los Angeles, Santa Ana and around the country, masked federal agents in plain clothes have been arresting migrants as they leave their immigration hearings, often after a government lawyer asks that their deportation proceedings be dismissed. Family members who come to support their loved-ones often are left distraught. Read more: Father ripped from family as agents target immigration courts, arresting people after cases dismissed Typically, someone arrested by ICE in public would be transferred to a detention facility, but the rush of detaineesprobably strained the system and forcedofficials to look for other options, said Melissa Shepard, legal services director at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. 'I can imagine it will be an influx for detention centers that probably don't have the resources in place to keep all of these folks,' Shepard said. 'In Southern California, the detention centers were quite unprepared for the number of people being detained.' Times reporters witnessed more than half a dozen arrests at courthouses in downtown Los Angeles and Santa Ana courthouses Monday. In Los Angeles, Jianhui Wu, of China, was detained after the government moved to dismiss his case and seek expedited removal proceedings. The judge granted the man another hearing in August to give him time to find an attorney, telling him 'you need to talk to someone competent' about his case. But as he left the courtroom, a plainclothes ICE agent followed him, while another stopped him in the hallway. One agent took the man's backpack as they handcuffed him and swiftly took him down a service elevator. By Tuesday, he was being held at the Glendale City Jail. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Moms Accused of Leaving 4 Kids in a Car as They Went Drinking — and the Horrified Reactions Were All Caught on Video
Two mothers in Glendale, Ariz., allegedly left their young children alone in a parked car at night while they went drinking at a nearby bar Police waited with the children for about 45 minutes before the mothers returned, claiming they were only gone briefly The women were arrested and face multiple chargesTwo mothers in Arizona are facing multiple charges after police say they left their children alone in a car to go drinking together at a nearby business. Glendale police just released the body cam footage on Thursday, though the incident originally occurred on March 8 in the Westgate Entertainment District, according to an announcement from the Glendale Police Department. On March 8, around 11 p.m., several witnesses called police after they saw a small child running around the parking lot with no adults around, Glendale police said. The witnesses looked around the car and found three more children sitting alone inside a nearby vehicle. When police arrived, they began talking with the children and searching the nearby businesses to try and locate the parents. 40 minutes later, two women walked up and told officers that they were the children's mothers, Glendale police said in a statement. When the mothers showed up, one claimed that she was inside using the restroom. Both mothers said to police in the body cam video footage that they were gone for 10 to 15 minutes. 'That's a lie,' an officer replied. 'We've been standing with these kids for over 45 minutes by themselves.' Police say the mothers smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech. They both allegedly admitted to drinking at a nearby bar. Officers also found a bag of marijuana in the glove box, within easy reach of the children. According to Glendale police, there were children just three or four years old and two younger children in car mothers were arrested. The children were taken by Glendale firefighters to a local hospital to be checked out, according to a police statement. 'We're thankful to the Good Samaritans who stepped in and did the right thing,' Glendale police said in a statement. 'It's a strong reminder: leaving kids alone—especially while under the influence—is not only irresponsible, it's illegal.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Moms Accused of Leaving 4 Kids in a Car as They Went Drinking — and the Horrified Reactions Were All Caught on Video
Two mothers in Glendale, Ariz., allegedly left their young children alone in a parked car at night while they went drinking at a nearby bar Police waited with the children for about 45 minutes before the mothers returned, claiming they were only gone briefly The women were arrested and face multiple chargesTwo mothers in Arizona are facing multiple charges after police say they left their children alone in a car to go drinking together at a nearby business. Glendale police just released the body cam footage on Thursday, though the incident originally occurred on March 8 in the Westgate Entertainment District, according to an announcement from the Glendale Police Department. On March 8, around 11 p.m., several witnesses called police after they saw a small child running around the parking lot with no adults around, Glendale police said. The witnesses looked around the car and found three more children sitting alone inside a nearby vehicle. When police arrived, they began talking with the children and searching the nearby businesses to try and locate the parents. 40 minutes later, two women walked up and told officers that they were the children's mothers, Glendale police said in a statement. When the mothers showed up, one claimed that she was inside using the restroom. Both mothers said to police in the body cam video footage that they were gone for 10 to 15 minutes. 'That's a lie,' an officer replied. 'We've been standing with these kids for over 45 minutes by themselves.' Police say the mothers smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech. They both allegedly admitted to drinking at a nearby bar. Officers also found a bag of marijuana in the glove box, within easy reach of the children. According to Glendale police, there were children just three or four years old and two younger children in car mothers were arrested. The children were taken by Glendale firefighters to a local hospital to be checked out, according to a police statement. 'We're thankful to the Good Samaritans who stepped in and did the right thing,' Glendale police said in a statement. 'It's a strong reminder: leaving kids alone—especially while under the influence—is not only irresponsible, it's illegal.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
3 killed, 5 injured in shooting at Cinco de Mayo celebration
A Sunday night shooting at a restaurant in Glendale, Arizona, left three people dead and five more injured. Authorities said the shooting involved individuals known to one another. Glendale police said a 17-year-old boy and his 21-year-old brother were killed along with a 21-year-old man, per ABC News. According to CNN, Glendale police said there were five additional victims injured in the shooting. Fox reported the victims included two women and three men, ranging in ages 16 to 23. The youngest victim, a 16-year-old boy, was badly hurt and rushed to the hospital for surgery. A spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, Officer Jose Santiago said the boy is set to recover, per ABC News. Officials haven't released the names of the deceased. There were about 200-300 people attending the event at El Camaron Gigante Mariscos & Steakhouse when the shooting shocked the family-friendly event, police said to ABC News. According to CBS, the Cinco de Mayo party was wrapping up when a fight broke out around 7:45 p.m. The individuals involved in the fight were escorted out to the parking lot, and then the dispute escalated into gunfire. Lupe Rodriguez, a bystander during the shooting, told CBS that it was pretty bad and he was grateful he was able to run to safety. El Camaron Gigante Mariscos & Steakhouse is just steps away from the Glendale Police Department's headquarters, which allowed police to offer a quick response. According to the latest briefing from police on Monday morning, as reported by ABC News everyone involved in the incident is believed to have known each other. Santiago said it was an isolated event and there shouldn't be any threats to the public.
