Santa Ana takes another look at sanctuary city advisory group
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When Donald Trump first won election as president, Santa Ana responded in 2016 by declaring itself a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants.
With Trump back in office and vowing to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” Santa Ana remains Orange County’s only such city.
On Tuesday, Santa Ana City Council debated what to do next with a sanctuary city law from 2017 already on the books, rumors spreading about Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and protests swelling the streets.
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez asked for a discussion to consider directing City Manager Alvaro Nuñez to reconvene a Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group within a month.
“The question before us is simple,” she said. “Will this council uphold and implement the law that is already in place?”
In her item report, Lopez noted that the group hadn’t met since 2020.
“I believe that technical expertise can be added to the group,” she said. “This is one small way that we can directly have a positive impact on our community.”
San Clemente council members pass on teaming up with Huntington Beach against California’s “sanctuary state” law while asking Customs and Border Protection about cameras to monitor immigrant boat crossings.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua took the opportunity to affirm her support of Santa Ana as a sanctuary city, particularly because an Orange County news site suggested without evidence that she may be collaborating with ICE in violation of the city’s sanctuary law.
“Do I support ICE coming in here and conducting raids in our community? No, I do not,” Amezcua said. “Am I working with them? No, I am not, and I never have.”
Regarding reconvening the advisory group, she asked Nuñez and City Atty. Sonia Carvalho if it ever existed in an official capacity in the first place.
“I could not find an advisory group that had been created,” Amezcua said. “Can somebody please enlighten us? Was there an advisory group?”
Nuñez noted that his office was still researching the question but didn’t have any policy reports to indicate a formal advisory group existed. Carvalho also couldn’t provide an affirmative answer.
Lopez turned to conversations she had with attorneys who were a part of the process.
“Part of the reason why staff can’t find anything is because of all of the turnover in the city manager’s office,” Lopez claimed.
Amezcua argued that the immigrant backgrounds of key city staff rendered an advisory group no longer necessary.
Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez was formerly undocumented. Nuñez is the son of a bracero worker. Newly appointed Assistant City Manager Minh Thai is a Vietnamese refugee.
“This administration does not just advocate for immigrant protections, we embody them,” Amezcua said.
Organizers said they have tracked 250 businesses nationwide that were closed Monday in solidarity with immigrants.
Carvalho cautioned that if council members created a formal advisory group that meets regularly to bolster the city’s sanctuary law, the state’s open meeting laws would be applicable, which could dissuade undocumented immigrants from working with it out of fear.
Councilman Johnathan Hernandez backed forming the advisory group and having it meet every 30 days.
“I want to ensure that we are working across the table and that we’re bringing every single service provider who is vested in protecting immigrant families, whether that be Resilience OC, whether that be [the] ACLU, Orange County Rapid Response Network, VietRise, the Harbor Institute [for Immigrant and Economic Justice], the Public Law Center,” he said. “We need all hands on deck right now.”
But Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan aired questions about outside groups coming in.
“We also don’t know what their policies are for ensuring data collection confidentiality,” she said. “They might not have attorney-client privilege with our city attorney’s office.”
The hourlong deliberation ended with Nuñez affirming to return to council with an approach that ensures the sanctuary law is fully complied with.
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