During its November 25, 2024, meeting, the Chelsea City Council discussed adopting an ordinance based on Ann Arbor’s 2017 guidelines for handling immigration status inquiries by city officials. The proposed measure, spearheaded by Councilmember Kate Mehuron, aims to ensure equitable services and reinforce community values.

Scope and Applicability

The ordinance would prohibit city employees and officials from inquiring about immigration status except under specific circumstances, such as verifying employment eligibility or complying with consular notification obligations.

“It’s a way of saying, ‘Don’t pry and don’t play vigilante,’” said Mehuron. “For me, I think that’s the heart of this proposed ordinance.”

Policing and Immigration

Police Chief Kevin Kazyak emphasized that current policies already limit inquiries into immigration status during routine interactions. “Primarily, we don’t ask immigration status. And this would just, you know, make a unilateral ordinance that says we’re not going to,” he said. “We want everybody to be able to come and talk to us, and we don’t want to have that fear of retribution.”

Aligning with Community Goals

City Manager Marty Colburn reflected on the alignment of the ordinance with Chelsea’s community goals, saying, “One of the things that really resonated, of what I gained out of those meetings, was that you wanted a welcoming and friendly community and that registers, I think, to a large degree of this language because it does provide equal services.”

“It ensures that the public servants are acting consistently with federal law,” he added.

Support for Vulnerable Populations

Councilmember Bill Ruddock emphasized the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment for all residents, acknowledging the sensitive nature of immigration-related discussions.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very political, politically charged question before us,” said Ruddock. “I would say to the public that we as a city, you know, want to have a safe place for people to be able to operate without fear of being singled out because they happen to have a particular immigration status that should not impact how we treat them.”

Next Steps: Drafting a Chelsea-Specific Ordinance

The council unanimously agreed to move forward with drafting a Chelsea-specific ordinance. Mehuron concluded the discussion with a motion to “direct legal counsel and staff to prepare a draft Chelsea ordinance on the model of this Ann Arbor city ordinance for our review to take appropriate steps in that direction.” The motion passed unanimously.