Mayors Confronting ICE — and Ice

Mayors Confronting ICE — and Ice

From How to Really Run a City powered by Accelerator for America by The Philadelphia Citizen

February 13, 2026 · 34 min · Season 1 · Episode 50

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges mayors face regarding ICE and urban crises.

Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt convened podcast co-hosts former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for a special episode about recent crises plaguing the leaders of prominent cities. "We are in a constitutional crisis," Platt said. "You have federal troops — masked law enforcement — doing these surges. The question is: Who's in charge?" "Folks should remember," Reed said, "almost always, the mayor controls the biggest police department. There is an incentive to make sure the people policing your communities are … people you control, by virtue of you being elected CEO of the city." Join us for a special edition of How To Really Run A City that examines the challenges of dealing with ICE ("To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis," — Minneapolis Mayor John Frey) as well as snow and ice ("[Mayor] Cherelle Parker better not fucking forget about us!" — viral Redditor from North Philly). Mayors Reed and Nutter have weathered crises before, and they don't pull their punches on this episode. Remember to subscribe to the podcast to keep up on all the latest episodes. Watch and follow new episodes on YouTube. As cities go, so goes the nation!

People in this episode

Host: Larry Platt

Guests: Kasim Reed, Michael Nutter

Topics covered

  • ICE
  • city leadership
  • constitutional crisis
  • policing
  • urban challenges

Keywords

  • ICE
  • mayors
  • policing
  • constitutional crisis
  • urban leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Accelerator for America, The Philadelphia Citizen

More episodes of How to Really Run a City powered by Accelerator for America

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How to Really Run a City powered by Accelerator for America podcast page.