Nation’s Mayors Call for Reform of Federal Immigration Enforcement Procedures and Modernization of Immigration System

Emergency Resolutions acknowledge importance of immigrants to the U.S., call on federal immigration enforcement to model professionalism and standards expected of local police, urge bipartisan effort to fix broken immigration system

Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) is calling for urgent reform of federal immigration enforcement procedures and a modernization of the nation's immigration system. Through two emergency resolutions, which are now official policy of the organization, the Conference recognizes the value of the country's immigrant community and the critical importance of maintaining trust between law enforcement and city residents.

In response to the escalating situation in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of two U.S. citizens, the Conference's Executive Committee came together to address the concerns of mayors across the country. At the direction of USCM President David Holt, Mayor of Oklahoma City, USCM Vice President Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego, and Trustee Daniel Rickenmann, Mayor of Columbia (SC) reviewed the situation, solicited input from mayors and drafted a bipartisan response to the crisis that included the two emergency resolutions.

In the first Emergency Resolution, the nation's mayors call on DHS to immediately require ICE and other federal agents to:

• Cease the use of masks;
• Regulate and standardize the type of uniforms and equipment DHS officers employ during enforcement operations to bring them in line with civil enforcement;
• Always visibly display their agency, ID number and last name on their uniforms;
• Use body-worn and vehicle cameras when interacting with the public and require the storage and access of recorded footage;
• Cease the use of stops, questioning and searches based merely on an individual's presence at certain locations, their job, their spoken language and accent or their race and ethnicity;
• Reinstate ICE's sensitive locations policy to prohibit immigration actions at schools, hospitals, institutions of worship, courts, polling locations on election day, and other such locations;
• Always obtain and present a judicial warrant before entering publicly owned facilities or private property to pursue individuals, thus helping to end indiscriminate arrests.

The Resolution also urges ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies to:

• Adopt an objectively reasonable use of force policy that permits force only when necessary to further a legitimate law enforcement objective, and is proportional to any resistance;
• Expand agent training in the use of force policy;
• Expand agent training of new recruits to be in line with the training recruits receive at local police academies throughout the country;
• Preserve the ability of state and local jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute potential crimes and use of excessive force incidents and require that evidence is preserved and shared with jurisdictions;
• Assure all those detained have access to legal assistance required by law;
• Require all buildings where people are detained to meet local health and safety standards; and
• Obtain appropriate local zoning and building permit approvals to convert warehouses and other buildings to detention or deportation facilities.

In the second Emergency Resolution, the nation's mayors call on Congress and the Administration to begin a bipartisan effort, with input from state and local leaders, to fix the country's broken immigration system by:

• Enacting legislation that sustains genuine border security, supports federal immigration enforcement, and keeps our cities safe by ensuring state and local law enforcement remains focused on community policing and not on enforcing federal immigration laws;
• Reforming the visa system to establish an efficient, less bureaucratic, expedient, and more time-sensitive system with adequate labor protections that allows workers of all types - highly skilled to unskilled - to lawfully come to the United States, either temporarily or permanently, and contribute to our economy and ensures equitable treatment for all applicants, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race or religion;
• Modernizing the visa bureaucracy by replacing antiquated, paper-based systems with an efficient, time sensitive digital framework that allows workers of all skill levels to contribute to the economy without years of unnecessary delay;
• Providing an employment verification system that is enforceable, uniform, accurate, and timely;
• Enabling people who have been in the country for 10 years or more and are leading lawful productive lives to come out of the shadows along with those who are actively pursuing American citizenship and legal status so that they will not face deportation and they and their families can remain in and contribute to their communities;
• Providing Dreamers a pathway to lawful permanent residence status and eventually citizenship;
• Creating a dedicated visa category for law-abiding, enterprising individuals who invest in our cities and their small business districts; and
• Rebuilding and strengthening the United States Refugee Admissions Program, restarting the asylum system so that asylum is accessible to those seeking refuge, and extending Temporary Protected Status for people in the U.S. whose designations were terminated in the last year or who currently have that status and who would have a credible fear of persecution if they are forced to return to their home countries.

To underscore the resolutions, the Conference reiterated the importance of immigrant communities in a new Statement of Values, noting that the organization "has long recognized our cities and our nation have been built, strengthened, and sustained by immigrants; our cities are inclusive, multicultural centers reflecting core American values that foster economic prosperity and opportunity; and that our diversity and inclusion keep us competitive and strong." It goes on to urge the immediate modernization of federal immigration policies, saying that "ICE's recent enforcement tactics are unacceptable and have eroded trust in our communities, leaving mayors to manage civil unrest in our communities and to rebuild trust."

In January during USCM's 94^th Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., mayors spoke out against the current trajectory of federal immigration enforcement in cities, pointing to the dangerous consequences seen recently in Minneapolis. Additionally, following the death of a second protestor in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, USCM released a statement condemning the unnecessary conflict and violence that lead to the tragedy. The Conference also joined the nation's large city police chiefs last month in a joint statement calling for de-escalation by federal law enforcement and civil discourse among protestors.