A $4.2 million federal grant for new police vehicles drew pushback Wednesday for immigration enforcement conditions attached to the money, but the City Council voted unanimously to accept it after the city attorney said Tucson isn’t bound by those conditions.
The discussion at the meeting about whether to accept money through a Department of Justice program called Community Oriented Policing Services Technology and Equipment Program, or COPSTEP, shows the tension in city efforts to access federal resources even as community members raise urgent concerns about ongoing immigration arrests.
In the award letter, the federal government says conditions of accepting the grant are that Tucson must allow information sharing about citizenship and immigration status; promise not to operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and comply with presidential executive orders, among others.
But the city attorney says those conditions aren’t binding, and wouldn’t become binding later, because a federal judge has blocked the government from enforcing some of them. A judge ruled this week that the federal government can’t tie immigration enforcement demands to some public safety grants, one of several active lawsuits on the issue.
“Those conditions don’t apply as part of our acceptance,” City Attorney Roi Lusk said. “In order to get a federal injunction, you have to sort of prove your case already.”
On Wednesday night, the grant acceptance was initially on the consent agenda, a part of the regular city council meeting where items are voted on together, rather than individually.
But during public comment, Asa Ramsey raised concerns about the conditions tied to the grant. Ramsey also questioned accepting policing money meant to keep communities safe when those same communities are also being impacted by immigration enforcement.
“We are in an environment that has been devastatingly hostile to many people in our community,” said Ramsey, speaking in-person at Wednesday’s meeting. “I want to propose instead — and keep encouraging us — to make strategic investments in the community.”
At the request of Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, the council pulled the item from the consent agenda for discussion, but it ultimately voted unanimously to accept the funding.
The money will be used for new Tucson Police Department patrol cars and motorcycles, and will also put resources toward a program called Place Network Investigations. The program identifies areas with a high number of shootings and deploys additional police officers to focus on both stopping people who are breaking specific laws, and also on other issues like building-code violations.
The federal money for the grant comes through a channel called member-directed funds. City leadership pitches Arizona congressional members on what they want funded, and then each senator or representative chooses what they support.
The funding for new police vehicles was supported by Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani. Even as final votes are counted, the latest election results show that he is likely to lose his seat to Democrat JoAnna Mendoza.
City Attorney Lusk noted that most federal money the city has received under the Trump administration came with similar conditions, including efforts toward affordable housing.
“There have been… hundreds of millions of dollars and dozens of grants we’ve accepted under these conditions,” said Lusk.
The city is in four separate federal lawsuits about similar conditions involving federal agencies, said Lusk.
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