Framingham Council Subcommittee on Rules, Ethics, and Ordinances Meeting - March 30, 2026

The Rules, Ethics, and Ordinances subcommittee of the Framingham City Council met on the evening of March 30, 2026, to discuss two main agenda items: the designation of special municipal employees and a broad review of the city's welcoming ordinance, including the use of Flock license plate readers and immigration enforcement concerns. The meeting featured extensive public testimony and detailed responses from Police Chief Baker and Deputy Chief Riley. A vote was taken on the special municipal employees item, and the welcoming ordinance discussion will continue at a future meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Priscilla Sousa (State Representative and Framingham resident): Expressed strong support for strengthening the welcoming ordinance. She stated that immigration enforcement is a "Framingham problem," citing that a resident was picked up by ICE on his way to work that morning. She noted school enrollment is down significantly, domestic violence reporting has decreased, and downtown business revenue is down about 40% due to fear in the immigrant community. She urged the council to take action.
• Alicia Goodwin (ESL Department Chair, Framingham Schools): Voiced concerns about Flock cameras, arguing they circumvent the Massachusetts Shield Law and breach privacy, particularly for LGBTQIA+ individuals, those seeking reproductive care, and undocumented immigrants. She stated that families have told her they feel "hunted" by the cameras and questioned Flock's data security practices.
• Kate Merit (Framingham resident): Supported police transparency but raised concerns about insufficient granularity in the reasons for Flock searches (e.g., often listed as "investigative") and noted that names were not redacted in some data releases. She advocated for better data protection.
• Melina Lisp (District 4 resident): Argued Framingham is not doing enough to protect immigrants. She called for keeping ICE away from the courthouse and increasing support for mutual aid organizations.
• Melanie Waldron (Precinct 7): Questioned whether Flock cameras have reduced serious crime enough to justify the loss of privacy. She also criticized the use of city property by ICE for detentions.
• Courtney Varga (Fuller Middle School employee, Holliston resident): Described witnessing an ICE detention at Framingham District Court of a man arrested for a suspended license. She also raised concerns that a Massachusetts bill (H3755) could ban for-profit license plate readers and asked about financial implications.
• Samantha Gary (Framingham resident): Asked about how ICE knew to detain a man at the courthouse (answered: likely due to a detainer notification).
• Sarah McCown (District 7, teacher): Called on city leadership to publicly and visibly support immigrant communities. She described checking on ICE activity at Butterworth Park that morning and emphasized the need for the welcoming ordinance to be fully implemented.
• Phil Wright's (Framingham resident): Voiced frustration that ICE agents can operate with impunity and asked why they cannot be required to wear distinctive markings.
• Laura Beck (18-year resident): Requested access to the Flock contract and fine print. She also discussed alternatives to booking that might avoid ICE notification.
• Lisa (or Skeeter) (30-year resident): Reported witnessing ICE frisking and shackling individuals in a municipal lot and asked if the city could enforce parking violations against ICE vehicles. Deputy Chief Riley responded that confronting armed federal agents over parking would be dangerous.
• Jennifer Welch (District 2, 4-year resident): Expressed support for local police but opposed Flock due to the for-profit company's control. She urged consideration of what would happen if federal mandates demanded access to the data.
• Maven Ice Maller (District 7): Emphasized that laws can change, and future administrations might misuse data. She asked if the city considered owning its own cameras instead of using Flock.
• Diego Lowe (Director of local nonprofit): Recounted two ICE detentions in Framingham, including one in a courthouse hallway. He suggested updating the agreement with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to limit collaboration to major criminal cases only, given HSI's expanded mission under the Trump administration.
• Tatiana Vasconcelos (Director of Downtown Framingham Inc., District 2 resident): Encouraged supporting immigrant-owned downtown businesses, which are struggling due to the climate of fear.

Discussion Items

1. Special Municipal Employees (SME) Designation: Chair John Stefanini introduced a discussion on adopting a state ethics provision that would allow certain appointed board members (e.g., Cultural Council) to also do business with the city without a conflict of interest. The proposed ordinance would designate all appointed multi-member body members except Planning Board, ZBA, and Licensing Board as SMEs.

   • Councilor Tracy Bryant expressed strong opposition, arguing it was too broad and could open the door to insider trading and reduce diversity of appointees. She moved to recommend against adoption.
   • Councilor Mary Kate Feeney seconded the motion.
   • Chair Stefanini voted no, noting he thought the designation was appropriate.
   • The motion passed 2-1 (Bryant and Feeney in favor, Stefanini opposed). The subcommittee will recommend that the full council not adopt the SME ordinance.

2. Welcoming Ordinance Review (including Flock cameras and ICE activity): The subcommittee held an open-ended discussion on the city's welcoming ordinance, policies, and procedures. The conversation quickly focused on two topics: Flock license plate readers and local immigration enforcement.

   • Flock Cameras: Police Chief Baker and Deputy Chief Riley explained that Flock data is not shared with federal agencies, only with Massachusetts police departments (which are bound by the Lund decision prohibiting civil immigration enforcement). They noted that 292,095 vehicles were scanned in the last 30 days, with only 379 searches (0.13%). Data is retained for 30 days unless saved as evidence. They are working with the city solicitor to tighten the contract to prevent Flock from sharing data with other entities. A transparency portal is available on the police website.
   • Public Concerns: Multiple speakers questioned Flock's privacy protections, potential for AI training, and the for-profit nature of the company. Councilor Jack Lewis noted that even if the police are trustworthy, Flock as a private company could misuse data.
   • ICE & Local Police: Chief and Deputy Chief clarified that Framingham police do not cooperate with ICE on civil immigration enforcement. They do not hold individuals for ICE; if someone has an ICE detainer, they are still entitled to bail, and the police do not notify ICE of releases. Officers assigned to federal task forces (HSI, DEA, FBI) work only on criminal matters such as narcotics and child exploitation, and the Lund decision prevents them from enforcing immigration law.
   • Protect Act: Representative Sousa described the Massachusetts House-passed Protect Act, which would prohibit civil immigration enforcement on courthouse property, restrict 287(g) agreements, and require notice before I-9 audits. The bill is now in the Senate.
   • Future Steps: Chair Stefanini acknowledged that many issues raised (e.g., court safety, municipal preparedness) need further exploration. The subcommittee plans to reconvene in late April (date to be confirmed due to a scheduling conflict) to review the Flock contract and other detailed information.

Key Outcomes

• Vote on Special Municipal Employees: The subcommittee voted 2-1 (Bryant, Feeney in favor; Stefanini opposed) to recommend that the full City Council not adopt the proposed ordinance designating certain appointed officials as special municipal employees.
• Continuation of Welcoming Ordinance Discussion: The subcommittee will hold a follow-up meeting in late April (tentatively April 27, but a conflict with another community event noted; new date to be determined) to continue the fact-finding discussion on Flock cameras, data privacy, and additional measures to support the immigrant community. The agenda will include the Flock contract and other background materials.
• No other votes taken. The remaining agenda items (budget process changes and rule updates) were continued to a future meeting.

Note: The exact date of the next meeting will be announced via email, the city portal, and social media.