Residents Demand ICE Mask Ban as Massage Therapists Fight Anti-Trafficking Ordinance

Louisville Metro Council's Feb. 26 meeting became a forum for two passionate community campaigns — residents urging the council to regulate federal immigration agents and licensed massage therapists demanding relief from an ordinance they say punishes their profession — while five zoning cases exposed cracks in the city's planning process and a rare display of bipartisan floor fundraising nearly doubled youth civic engagement funding.

• Three residents urge council to require ICE agents to identify themselves and ban masks; one speaker pushes back, calling the effort "political theater"

• Four licensed massage therapists demand exemption from anti-trafficking ordinance they call a "branding of shame"

• Five zoning cases approved, four unanimously, as council confronts friction in planning commission bypass process

• Live floor pledges from 15+ districts boost License to Vote Art Contest funding from $13,750 to $23,100

• Councilman Lyninger's bid to revive Ordinance 04126 fails narrowly, 11-12

• New business includes search warrant reform ordinance responding directly to the evening's ICE testimony

Seven public speakers commanded the longest stretch of the evening, splitting sharply over whether Louisville should regulate how ICE agents operate in the community. Three speakers urged the council to pass legislation requiring federal immigration agents to identify themselves and prohibiting them from wearing masks — while one speaker forcefully opposed any restrictions.