Heated over ICE

Tensions around ICE boiled over at Huntsville's City Council meeting last week, with City Council clearing the chambers during public comment.

Why it matters: Huntsville residents have been increasingly vocal at council meetings, urging the city to not cooperate with escalating federal immigration efforts.

Catch up quick: Progressive grassroots group Indivisible 5th District presented a resolution to City Council in September that would commit the city to not enter an agreement to give city police officers federal immigration enforcement authority or detain immigrants for federal enforcement purposes.

• So far, there's been no indication the council will formally consider the measure, but District 1's Michelle Watkins said at Thursday's meeting she wouldn't support an agreement with ICE.
• The city confirmed to Axios Friday that it has no agreements or partnerships with ICE or any other immigration agency.
• Huntsville has had an agreement for several years with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a component of ICE, allowing for reimbursement for overtime in investigations of crimes against children brought by HIS.

Zoom in: Susan Stewart, a member of Indivisible 5th District's leadership team, told Axios that frustrations are rising over the lack of checks and balances coming from Congress or the Supreme Court, so folks are turning to their local government to be heard.

• "I think it's not hard to see why this would be on people's minds, why it would be important to them," she said, noting events in Minneapolis and Maine.

• "We're all targets now, so we are getting more and more concerned," she said.

Driving the news: Protesters outside the meeting Thursday, not affiliated with Indivisible per Stewart, could be heard chanting in opposition to ICE from inside the chambers.

• Nearly 30 speakers signed up to give comments, mainly asking the city to not cooperate with ICE.
• Council President Jennie Robinson cut one man off after he repeatedly used profanity.
• "If you can't use language appropriately, you're not going to be given the opportunity to speak," Robinson said, eventually asking police to clear the chambers and bringing speakers in one by one for the remainder of the meeting.