Municipal authorities cannot interfere with the work of US federal law enforcement. Ardashes "Ardy" Kassakhian, the Mayor of Glendale, California, USA, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am, referring to the inspections and arrests being carried out by US federal immigration authorities in this densely Armenian-populated city, which have raised concerns among the local Armenian community in recent days.
According to Kassakhian, the city authorities do not collaborate with the US federal government in the implementation of immigration raids, and are not authorized to interfere in them. US federal agents, according to the mayor, have carried out such raids not only in Glendale, but also in some other communities in California and the US, in general, at different times.
According to him, one of the main problems is that residents often cannot understand who they are targeting during immigration raids. The mayor noted that people who are seeking asylum or are in the process of obtaining permanent resident status in the US are also being arrested.
People who witness these actions cannot distinguish who exactly is being arrested, and the lack of transparency is very disturbing and concerning, Kassakhian said. The mayor of Glendale noted that they do not have information on how many Armenians have been arrested in the framework of these immigration raids.
They do not have such data because they do not collaborate with the US federal government, and the latter does not collaborate with them on these matters; this is disappointing, Kassakhian added.