Two weeks after rejecting (3-2) a “sanctuary city” designation and a motion to draft laws to clarify the city’s policy dealing with federal immigration enforcement, the San Fernando City Council unanimously passed a broad resolution aimed at protecting immigrants.
The decision came after much public pressure, with hours of public testimony over weeks urging the council to adopt sanctuary city status. When the council failed to act, a group of community members even discussed starting a recall.
Vice Mayor Mary Solorio originally put forward the discussion to designate the City of San Fernando a sanctuary city on Feb. 18, but was met with pushback from Mayor Mary Mendoza and Councilmembers Joel Fajardo and Victoria Garcia, who said the designation would make the city a target for President Donald Trump’s administration.
Many cities have passed sanctuary city designations or related ordinances, including the city of Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Francisco, Santa Ana, South Gate and recently Burbank.
Trump’s administration has vowed to go after cities unwilling to cooperate with its immigration and mass deportation policies by withholding federal funding or through lawsuits.
At the previous council meeting on April 7, Solorio and Councilmember Patty Lopez relinquished the title “sanctuary city” and motioned to direct city staff to draft a resolution to limit the city’s involvement with federal immigration enforcement unless legally required to do so. The three opposing councilmembers still rejected the motion, claiming there was no need to pass preventative laws.
“It was a little disappointing that it couldn’t move forward with collaborative work,” said Solorio. “All I was trying to do was to collaborate with the other councilmembers to ensure that their [the community’s] voices were also heard in order to make San Fernando safer for everyone.”
At last Monday’s meeting, the council finally decided to collaborate. Solorio re-presented the resolution as “Safe San Fernando,” and Fajardo presented a resolution “regarding the protection of personal data, use of city facilities and related matters” that was co-signed by Lopez. The passed resolution blends the two councilmembers’ resolutions aimed at creating more safeguards for immigrants.
A Community Voices Their Opinions
For the third city council meeting, community members, teachers, elected officials and immigration rights organizations showed up to voice their support for the sanctuary city designation during public comment.
Joanna Reyes spoke on behalf of Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, the former mayor of the city.
“San Fernando’s strength is rooted in its immigrant communities, families who contribute daily to the economic, cultural and social life of the city. Supporting them is not only just, it’s essential to who we are,” said Reyes. “Proactive governing is responsible governing, and there should be no confusion about that.”
Constituent Destiny Fuentes said she was deeply disappointed with the council’s previous vote to reject the sanctuary city designation despite the overwhelming support from the community.
“It is a shame that those we have entrusted to represent us and our best interests have chosen to ignore the voices of our neighbors, of our families who feel vulnerable and marginalized,” said Fuentes. “I urge you to reconsider your position. The people of San Fernando deserve a city that stands up for justice and compassion, one that leads by example.”
For the first time since the matter has been discussed, several constituents also spoke out against the sanctuary city designation.
“First and foremost, the city of San Fernando follows California law and doesn’t need to declare itself a sanctuary city, because the state is a sanctuary state,” said Angie Ferra-Perez, a lifelong resident of the city. “We’re so concerned with everyone else, we need to start being concerned with the citizens of the City of San Fernando.”
She further purported that undocumented residents who have been victims of crimes could get a non-immigrant U visa. This process, immigration attorneys and advocates noted, can take up to 25 years, during which the applicant may be deported while waiting for visa approval.
Many pointed out that the Trump administration has detained people without due process, including 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, a United States citizen who was detained for 10 days by border patrol agents for being “without the proper immigration documents,” and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national granted court-ordered protection from deportation, who was sent to CECOT, a megaprison in El Salvador.
“Deportation no longer applies to immigrants, but also U.S. citizens,” said Adrian Perez. “The president has been quoted recently to have said that he would like to deport U.S. citizens deemed as criminals. I personally fear for my safety as a law-abiding U.S. citizen in a country that has historically discriminated against people on the basis of their physical features, given names and first languages. The same fear applies to my friends, family and the 92% majority of San Fernando.”
Jesus Ramon, an immigrant from Sinaloa, suggested that the councilmembers have a duty to pass immigrant protections not only for their constituents but for themselves.
“A sanctuary ordinance will get passed,” proclaimed Ramon. “Will you be the ones to do it, or will you have to step aside? Here is your golden opportunity to be the heroes your community needs you to be. Pass a sanctuary ordinance, or however you want to call it, and leave your mark.”
The Resolution
In the city’s quest to add more protections for immigrants and avoid designating the City of San Fernando as a sanctuary, the council approved a lengthy and convoluted resolution titled “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Fernando, California, Regarding the Protection of Personal Data, Use of City Facilities, and Related Matters.”
The resolution affirms existing police policy in line with the California Values Act (Senate Bill 54), prevents city staff from sharing personal information with immigration enforcement, prevents the use of city property or land by immigration enforcement without a warrant and removes voter registration as a requirement for city commissioners. It also directs training of city staff on equal treatment, personal data protection and on identifying the difference between judicial and administrative warrants.
Although both Solorio and Lopez believe there is weight in adopting the sanctuary city title, they said they would rather make the concession and move forward with laws that protect the city’s residents.
“Sometimes politicians are more concerned about the people who vote, and not for the people who are really here, such as immigrants,” said Lopez, who immigrated from Michoacán. “We know all that we bring to this great country. Even here in the City of San Fernando, many of the small businesses are immigrant-owned.”
Lopez added that it has been almost 40 years since the last immigration reform was passed, and encouraged people to pressure their congressman for legislation that provides people a path to citizenship.
Pressure From the Community
Many believe the three previously opposing councilmembers’ change of heart is due to pressure from constituents, bad press and community discussion to wage a recall effort.
In the two weeks between council meetings, over 30 community members gathered at The Midnight Hour Records in San Fernando Mall to discuss a possible recall of Mendoza, Fajardo and Garcia. The councilmembers were criticized not only for their decision but also for their demeanor and disregard for the community’s concerns.
“We’re here for the people, trying to do what’s right and holding the people who are supposed to be our leaders accountable, so they can do what’s right,” said Monico Orozco, whose family has lived in the City of San Fernando for generations.
Fajardo told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol that he was not swayed by outside pressures and the threat of a recall, but rather brought forth the resolution because it was “the right thing to do.” He added that conversations with a former commissioner “provided a fresh perspective and highlighted areas where our policies may not be as clear or protective as they should be.”
Organizers of the recall effort said that the most recent vote doesn’t preclude the three councilmembers from a recall or efforts to replace them when up for re-election. Although Garcia was recently elected, Mendoza and Fajardo have just over a year left in their terms.
“If you’re going to be a government leader, you need to be prepared to be brave,” said Orozco. “If they’re not going to be brave, they need to step down and let brave, intellectual people take their place.”