No on ICE: Norris Chooses Community Over Fear

On Monday night in Norris, Tennessee, a resolution pushing support for ICE’s 287(g) program didn’t just quietly die - it was stopped because people paid attention and showed up.

This resolution would’ve opened the door for local law enforcement (already stretched thin) to start carrying out federal immigration enforcement right here in our own backyard.

This moved fast. One minute, council members realized it was on the agenda. The next, the public found out. And by Monday evening, the Norris Community Center was packed.

The mayor opened the meeting by asking to remove the resolution from the agenda. He pointed out what everyone could see: the room was full of new faces, and something like this doesn’t just get slipped into a council agenda. If the police department wants to pursue it, the right way is a public workshop - with honest-to-God community input.

Other council members backed that up. They voted unanimously to remove it from the agenda. And stressed if it ever comes back, it’ll have to go through the front door.

Later, during public comment, someone asked the mayor where he stood. He didn’t hedge: he said he didn’t support it, didn’t request a workshop, and hadn’t heard from anyone who was for it. Then he turned to the crowd:

“Raise your hand if you want this resolution.”

Not a single hand went up.

And that was that. The council moved on to roads, sidewalks, and gazebos. The kind of meeting you forget even happened. The way local government is supposed to work - calm, quiet, focused on what helps people.

But that only happened because people were paying attention.

We say “democracy dies in darkness”, but the inverse is just as true.
Community stands in public. Or kneels in public. Or speaks up in public.

So if you haven’t been to a city council meeting, school board session, or county commission lately - go. Most of the time it’s boring. That’s the goal.

But when it’s not?
It matters that you’re in the room.

Because this time, the people who showed up got the outcome they came for.

And no one raised their hand.