ICE unwelcome in Toronto, mayor and city council say

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Olivia Chow says “no ICE in Toronto.” Donald Trump’s man in Hogtown says that was always the plan.

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The mayor of Toronto, backed by city council, is demanding that city employees “avoid actions supporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly during the 2026 World Cup.”

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Chow’s motion, the very last item of a marathon agenda at Thursday’s city council meeting, also asked the province to “oppose” and the federal government to “reject” deployment by ICE in Toronto. The presence of ICE agents is “liable to create fear” in a city that is “rightly proud of our diversity,” the motion said.

Only one dissenting vote

Chow’s motion, which was seconded by Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie, did not take any apparent stance on immigration law.

It passed 21-1 late Thursday night with only Stephen Holyday against it. Four other councillors were present, but while packing up for the night didn’t cast a vote.

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Neither Chow nor any of Toronto’s councillors stood to speak about the idea. Gord Perks announced hours earlier that he would initiate the debate, but changed his mind when the time finally came.

“Given the lateness of the hour, I have no comments at this time,” he told Speaker Frances Nunziata.

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‘Never planned to deploy agents’

A letter from the U.S. Consulate, provided to city council via Councillor James Pasternak, suggested that Chow’s motion was largely hollow.

Baxter Hunt, the U.S. consul general in Toronto, wrote that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “has never planned to deploy agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026.”

However, Hunt added that a component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations “operates in close partnership with Canadian law enforcement to combat transnational crime and protect communities on both sides of the border.” Hunt provided a list of joint operations that got drugs and guns off Canada’s street and led to enforcement against child predators.

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While Chow’s motion specifies that it would push the federal Public Safety Department to “reject” any presence by ICE, a spokesman for that department referred any questions about the proposal to the Canada Border Services Agency.

The federal Global Affairs Department and the provincial Ministry of the Solicitor General, also named in Chow’s motion, did not respond to requests for a comment. Representatives for the consulate couldn’t be reached.

jholmes@postmedia.com

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