Mayor LaGrand has refused to meet with Movimiento Cosecha to discuss the six sanctuary policy demands

Since June, when Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand stated during a Grand Rapids City Commission that he was open to meeting with Movimiento Cosecha, the immigrant-led group has made numerous attempts to make such a meeting happen.

In late June Cosecha sent the following message to Mayor LaGrand, which also included the request allow a few members of GR Rapid Response to ICE to participate in a meeting:

We are writing to invite Mayor LaGrand to participate in a public meeting with members of Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapid Response to ICE to discuss the six sanctuary policies that our groups have been advocating for. We believe that a public meeting is important to promote transparency, accountability, and meaningful dialogue between community members and city leadership regarding these policies. We would appreciate it if you could provide several dates and times when Mayor LaGrand may be available to meet. Once a date is identified, we will work to secure an appropriate public venue, such as a church or community center, to host the meeting.

Movimiento Cosecha sent several follow up Emails, but never received a response until August 12, the day after Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE held a Press Conference just prior to the August 11th City Commission meeting. Here is what the Mayor’s Office wrote, which also included some proposed dates:

Mayor LaGrand has asked that I reach out to set up a meeting to take place in the Mayor’s office as requested at the City Commission meeting yesterday. Due to size constraints, we’d be able to host 4-5 guests for this, so please let me know the names of the attendees once decided!

On the same day – August 12 – Movimiento Cosecha replied to the Mayor’s Office with this message:

As we stated in our initial email invitation, we would like Mayor LaGrand to meet with our groups in a public setting to ensure transparency and accountability, but most importantly, to ensure the safety of our members. The Mayor’s office is an enclosed space with heavy surveillance by both security and police officers, and our community does not feel safe meeting there. Thursday, September 3 at 1:30 p.m. works for us. We can work on identifying a venue where members of the immigrant community and our groups feel safe and where everyone can easily attend and fully participate in the meeting. Please let us know if Mayor LaGrand accepts our request. Once the meeting is confirmed, we will let you know the proposed venue and intended agenda.

One week later, on August 19, the Mayor’s Office replied by saying:

Mayor LaGrand would still be happy to meet on September 3^rd at 1:30 pm. We’d like to ask so that we can understand, what the security concerns are? City Hall doesn’t have police on site or guarding the Mayor’s office – we do have the check in desk on the Calder Plaza level, but no security officers beyond that. If there is concern about police being present, we could ask the Chief to ensure that no officers are present on the floor upon arrival. Additionally, the Mayor would like to include Brandon Davis, Director of Oversight and Public Accountability in our meeting as OPA is the primary accountability entity for GRPD in the City. We can also invite additional commissioner(s) provided that we do not have more than three present as that would violate the open meetings act.

On the very next day, August 20th, Cosecha replied with a compromise, stating:

Our initial invitation was for a public setting where the Mayor could hear directly from affected community members about their valuable and traumatic life experiences with family separation by ICE. These experiences would help substantiate the importance of adopting the six sanctuary policies in our city. The trauma and intimidation associated with being around government officials in a closed setting, particularly where police or security may be present, are not conducive to our members being able to fully participate in the discussion. I understand that people who hold power and privilege may not fully understand, even conceptually, our safety concerns, but these concerns are very real for our community.

This weekend, Mayor LaGrand had a conversation with volunteers from GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha, and it was verbally agreed that we would meet with the Mayor at his office, with the understanding that we would be able to document and record the conversation for public accountability. The principles of Movimiento Cosecha that guide our work prevent us from meeting with elected officials behind closed doors. However, we are willing to meet with Mayor LaGrand at his office while honoring our agreement to publicly document the meeting.

We can provide the names of the four or five people who will attend. Based on the space limitations of the Mayor’s office, we declined to have Mr. Brandon Davis or any additional commissioners attend the meeting, since our interest is to speak directly with the Mayor. We would appreciate you honoring your offer for us to have four to five participants from GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha attend.

We are willing to meet with the understanding that the Mayor will instruct the Chief of Police not to have GRPD officers around or on site. We appreciate the opportunity to have a healthy and respectful conversation about an important and pressing matter affecting the immigrant population in our city. At the same time, we want to be clear that these conditions are important to our ability to participate safely and meaningfully.

Sticking to the original proposal to meet on Thursday, September 3rd, Cosecha sent a follow up Email in the hopes of getting the Mayor to agree to the compromised terms and provide an answer by August 27.

The Mayor’s Office did not respond until August 28th, with the following message:

Thank you for your continued correspondence and for outlining your expectations for the proposed meeting with Mayor LaGrand. The Mayor appreciates your interest in discussing these issues and remains committed to hearing from residents and community organizations on matters important to the Grand Rapids community. After reviewing the additional parameters requested for the meeting, we do not believe we are able to move forward with the September 3 meeting under the proposed format. Accordingly, we will release the time currently being held on the Mayor’s calendar. We appreciate your outreach and the perspectives you have shared. Members of your organizations are welcome to continue engaging with the Mayor and City Commission through the City’s established public engagement opportunities, and the Mayor’s office remains open to receiving information or concerns you would like to share in writing.

Despite the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to make a good faith effort by compromising how they operate when meeting with elected officials, Mayor LaGrand refused to meet with them.

However, even with the refusal of Mayor LaGrand to meet with Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE, Cosecha is moving forward with a community meeting on Thursday, September 3rd at 6pm at the Linc Up Gallery space located at 341 Hall St. SE in Grand Rapids. The community is invited to attend and get involved in the efforts of Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get Grand Rapids to adopt the six sanctuary policies, which includes banning the use of Flock cameras in Grand Rapids. Here is the Facebook link for the community assembly.