Costa Mesa could consider providing direct aid to families impacted by the recent deportation efforts – joining Anaheim and Santa Ana.
A city council meeting this week saw a large turnout of people call on city council members to do more for residents impacted by ICE raids, while a handful of others praised the deportation efforts, leading to arguments in the audience.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Andrea Marr said the city is currently looking for an organization to partner up with to provide monetary aid to people impacted by ICE raids.
“We are identifying opportunities for a City of Costa Mesa sponsored financial contribution to one of the organizations that is actively working on behalf of immigrants,” she said at the meeting, addressing resident concerns.
“So in response to all of the requests for actions, I just want to be clear, the city of Costa Mesa is taking action,” she said at the meeting.
Yet there weren’t any concrete proposals put forth by council members.
It comes on the heels of Anaheim and Santa Ana creating specialized funds to provide aid to families affected by the raids.
Costa Mesa Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds asked that the city look into connecting residents with legal defense options.
“Legal defense matters. It can literally save lives. I want to make sure.”
A handful of people showed up Tuesday praising the deportation efforts.
Nicholas Taurus, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, said ICE should be able to act with impunity.
“They should go to every Home Depot, every school, and build the wall and deport every single one of these guys, because they don’t make our country great,” Taurus said at the meeting. “They make it worse.”
His comments drew jeers from many residents.
Taurus and others could be heard heckling public commenters, chanting “ICE” and “We love ICE” – prompting arguments in the audience.
At one point, Mayor John Stephens called for a brief recess in order to regain control of the meeting.
Later, Taurus and one of his allies were escorted out of the meeting chambers by the Costa Mesa police department.
Aid Funds Throughout Orange County
Last month, Anaheim set up a fund that was solely reliant on donations until Tuesday, when the city council voted to add $250,000.
Santa Ana also dedicated money from the city’s budget to a $100,000 temporary financial aid fund to help immigrant families impacted.
On Tuesday, the city also joined a lawsuit led by the ACLU and immigration rights advocates, which accuses federal immigration enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of carrying out unconstitutional arrests.
[Read: Santa Ana Becomes First OC City to Join Federal Lawsuit Against ICE Raids]
Last week, a U.S. District judge issued a temporary injunction against the roving tactics employed by ICE and other federal immigration authorities after the ACLU alleged the practice amounted to racial profiling.
Now, large-scale immigration sweeps are mostly blocked by the temporary order throughout much of Southern California – including Orange County.
While Costa Mesa has a website that provides some legal resources for residents impacted by ICE raids, residents and nearby advocates demanded city officials take more action on the immigration issue.
At the Tuesday meeting, residents called on Costa Mesa City Council members to take more action against the ongoing immigration enforcement in Orange County.
Resident Abril Turner asked the city council to pass a resolution that prohibits ICE agents from wearing masks that cover their faces and requires them to identify their name or badge number.
“These federal officers often appear in unmarked cars wearing masks that conceal their identity and without identifying the agency they represent,” she said at the meeting.
Resident Sean Drexler also urged the city to require agents to identify themselves.
“I call on this council to require that any law enforcement operating in our city clearly be identified, no masks, no anonymity, just like Costa Mesa PD does,” Drexler said at the meeting.
Taurus criticized the idea that federal agents should be required to identify themselves.
“They say you want to know the identities of these ICE officers,” Taurus said during public comment. “We don’t know any of the identities of these murderers coming into our country, these rapists.”
Huntington Park, a city in Los Angeles County, recently passed a resolution requiring the Huntington Park Police Department to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a federal immigration agent operating in the city.
This resolution came after the Huntington Park Police Department arrested a man on June 24 for allegedly attempting to impersonate a border patrol agent.
Councilman Manuel Chavez said parents are afraid to take their kids to school, and families are afraid to go to the grocery store.
“I’m tired of going to community events and seeing the visible lack of our Latino neighbors,” he said at the meeting.
Councilwoman Marr told residents to contact the Costa Mesa police department if they believe they are witnessing a crime.
“If you are unsure about whether or not you are potentially witnessing a kidnapping due to personnel wearing masks or for any other reason, call 911,” she said at the meeting.
Irvine Mayor Larry Agran spoke out last week against masked agents raiding businesses in Irvine.
Agran declared the five residents who were detained “abducted and missing persons”.
“We don’t know who made these arrests, if they were federal agents, contract employees, or even vigilantes,” he said at the July 8 meeting.
City Council Struggles on Proposals
Resident Cynthia McDonald said city officials needed to implement more protections for immigrant residents, like having local law enforcement show up at ICE activity.
“Don’t provide any assistance, law enforcement cannot wear a mask, they must identify themselves, and request the police to be at all activities,” McDonald said at the meeting.
Resident Nancy Young said ICE agents are simply racially profiling based on the color of people’s skin or the language they speak, and asked that councilmembers communicate to the OC Board of Supervisors.
Drexler also called on the city to implement a policy that would alert the public to ICE activity and establish a legal defense fund.
Councilman Mike Buley said there are federal laws overriding the city’s capabilities.
“Nobody likes to hear that we are limited in certain aspects of what we can do … and there are certain things that as a council we can and can’t do,” he said at the meeting.
Buley added private funded charties are important resources for immigrant families.
“I’m supportive of privately funded charities assisting those who are being impacted during this very volatile time that we’re in,” he said.
Councilman Loren Gameros said being undocumented is not a crime, but the city has been backed into a corner.
“Because it’s on a federal level, our hands are simply tied in a lot of different ways,” Gameros said at the meeting.
Mayor Stevens said he was unsure what the right solution is without putting residents in more danger.
“We’ll do the best we can to keep our people safe without putting a target on their backs.”