The Loss of Cindy Montañez and Jess Margarito is Glaring as City of San Fernando Rejects Sanctuary City

There is no doubt. If Cindy Montañez had not succumbed to cancer and still served on the local City Council – San Fernando would be a sanctuary city today. Without question, when she said the community mattered to her most, she meant it. She listened and represented residents with her vote.

She didn’t need to have matters overexplained – especially not about the city’s immigrant community. She knew of a strong will and struggle firsthand. Similar to those you often see selling flowers and fruit on the side of the road – as a young girl, with her immigrant parents, her family sold produce that were “seconds.” With hard work and the grit necessary to make a better life, she and her family did rise with much-noted accomplishment. 

Her passing created an empty seat and big shoes that this current council majority (Victoria Garcia, Joel Fajardo, and Mayor Mary Mendoza) can’t or won’t fill. While they loudly sang her praises upon her passing – they haven’t followed her example to represent the will of the people. Instead, last Monday, despite the unified urging for a “Yes” vote to make San Fernando a sanctuary city, they shut it down.

Even the knowledge and life experience that was shared by fellow council member Patty Lopez, an immigrant herself, and Vice Mayor Mary Solorio, who spoke of the family separation she endured as a child that continues to harm children today – they too were disregarded by their colleagues sitting next to them on the dais.

Some of the city’s undocumented immigrants bravely addressed the council telling them of the fear they face – they were among the large numbers of area residents who’ve lived and worked in the community for generations, who passionately reminded the council that San Fernando has been built on the backs of Latino families who were all immigrants at one time. It was a night of impressive testimony from the offices of two state legislators including San Fernando’s former mayor, academicians from CSUN, health organizations, political and immigrant rights organizations who shared heartfelt personal histories, facts, figures, findings from studies – but yet it all fell on the deaf ears of Garcia, Fajardo and Mendoza, who locked arms and prevented San Fernando from becoming a sanctuary city. 

Garcia’s conservative stance and opposition came as no surprise, as she has echoed Trump’s rhetoric sweepingly equating immigrants as criminals, while Fajardo and Mendoza expressed fear of the potential consequences and repercussions to the city. They also refused a compromise motion to shore up the city policy to add more protections for local immigrants.

The kindest thing that can be said about this council majority is, “They don’t know what they don’t know,” rather than saying they don’t have the courage to oppose Trump’s hard-line immigration stance, daily reports of immigration raids and unlawful arrests that are causing serious anxiety in our community.  It was said clearly why the designation was needed, the message it would send and the reassurance it would give to all of the city’s residents to know they are wanted and valued. 

It was ironic when, after voting “No” and moving on to the next agenda item, they enthusiastically approved a plaque placement at Las Palmas Park for the late Jess Margarito. It was clear they are oblivious to the city’s history of activism that he and others fearlessly led and whose shoulders this council stands upon. Margarito, a lifelong resident of the City of San Fernando, was the first Chicano elected to the City Council and also served as mayor. He championed the community and focused his passion by working with undocumented immigrants, staying right in the heart of this community, which turned into a position at the Immigration Services of Santa Rosa on Maclay. 

If he had survived COVID-19, he would have been at the front of the long line of testimonials to remind the council of their responsibility to publicly offer every protection and safe sanctuary to all of its residents, regardless of status. The council majority thought they honored Margarito by granting permission for a plaque, but simultaneously, the opposite occurred. That vote of refusal just moments earlier eroded the progress and the human rights that both Montañez and Margarito fought for. If still here, they would be standing up to the ignorance and fear that Trump so relishes. They were known to be “Eagle Warriors” on the front lines, spreading their protective wings to represent the voices of the community, especially for those most in need. Now, in their absence there is cowering. And so the city turns…