Officials in two OC cities recently accepted tens of thousands of dollars in federal grant funds from the Department of Homeland Security as part of Operation Stonegarden – a program aimed at enhancing cooperation between Border Patrol and local police.
They aren’t the only ones.
In total, seven OC cities – most of which are on the coast – are getting a combined $990,000 from federal cooperation grants after ICE and Border Patrol kicked off roving deportation sweeps in June last year in Orange County, disquieting the region’s undocumented residents.
[Read: Some OC Cities Consider Federal Grants to Work With Border Patrol on Drug Crackdown]
On the Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website, federal officials describe their grant funding to local communities in general terms, under the umbrella of “responding to and recovering from acts of terrorism and other threats.”
In the section describing Operation Stonegarden, Homeland Security officials say the grant money’s purpose is for cooperating with federal law enforcement “to jointly enhance security along the United States land and water borders.”
The money is trickling down through Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency response office, CalOES, and being doled out across Southern California in a state with a sanctuary law barring local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to conduct immigration enforcement.
CalOES officials – who reflect the same wording about the grant on their website – say they have been receiving the federal dollars since 2010 and administer it in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties, adding the money isn’t for immigration enforcement but rather to protect U.S. borders from drug trafficking.
Last week, Orange officials unanimously voted to accept about $87,000 from the grant for the first time since the program launched in the early aughts while Newport Beach leaders voted unanimously that same night to accept $130,000 from the grant without discussion.
Local police officials in those cities say the grant money is to reimburse overtime pay for police who helped out on operations targeting drug trafficking – noting they still have to abide by the state’s sanctuary law.
“These funds will enhance our ability to combat organized crime and improve public safety without placing an additional burden on the city and taxpayers,” said Orange Police Lt. John Mancini at Tuesday’s Orange City Council meeting.
“These funds do not require our officers to check immigration status, communicate immigration information to other agencies, or perform any other action that would violate the California Values Act.”
Still, immigrant advocates question how officials could accept the grants after the rampant widespread deportation efforts in OC over the past year and question whether the money will make local law enforcement beholden to the Department of Homeland Security.
Sandra De Anda, director of policy for the Orange County Rapid Response Network, said officials in Orange County don’t understand immigration issues or enforcement well and cities need to cut ties with the Department of Homeland Security.
“These cities need to cut ties with DHS. We’re still seeing DHS pretty much in the community every day, whether they’re surveilling or detaining people,” De Anda, who is running for Santa Ana City Council, said in a Monday interview
“Border Patrol really hasn’t been helping us out on the issue of public safety because they’re part of the roving patrols.”
De Anda isn’t the only one raising concerns.
In Orange last week, the money sparked questions ahead of the November election from two councilwomen who unsuccessfully pushed to have their council colleagues back posting immigrant rights resources on the city website last year in a town that has long struggled to quell a structural budget deficit.
Councilwomen Arianna Barrios, who is running for mayor, and Ana Gutierrez questioned how exactly the money would be used and what type of information would be shared with federal and outside agencies with police leaders saying it wouldn’t be used for immigration enforcement.
“It’s no secret about how I feel about some of the departments with which we’re working with, and the takes of those federal operations,” Barrios said at Tuesday’s city council meeting. “It was not clear to me at all what operations you would actually be doing or would be done under the auspices of this grant.”
Councilwoman Kathy Tavoularis criticized her colleagues for questioning the grant and raising concerns about who was giving it out – calling the inquiries “political” and “ridiculous.”
“When we go out and ask for money, grants specifically for public safety, are we in the habit of questioning the methods in which they were given or who gives it?” Tavoularis said.
“For you to come up here and spout your political beliefs and then tell us we can’t accept money because of who the president is pretty pompous. If they’re giving us money, take it. Let’s fight crime.”
Gutierrez said her questions weren’t political and pointed to Border Patrol shooting and killing Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, in Minneapolis earlier this year as a reason for her concerns.
“We know exactly what happened with individuals in Minnesota, and that was (U.S. Customs and Border Protection). That was my alarm,” she said. “I have 100% faith in our Orange PD, and so all I wanted is clarification on this because that is alarming to me, and it’s insulting to me as well.”
Orange Police Chief Adam Jevec said the city’s police department pursued the grant in Orange because elected officials told them to look for new ways to fund their priorities as they struggled to adopt a balanced budget this year.
“There was a statement from the council to look in the couch cushions for money. We are constantly looking at grants to ensure we are able to meet all of our priorities,” he said.
“We would not enter into an agreement that would put us into a position where we would knowingly break the law just to receive funding.”
Mancini said they only share statistical data on how many arrests were made or how much drugs were seized with other agencies, not immigration information.
Ultimately, Gutierrez and Barrios voted to accept the money.
Operation Stonegarden in OC
It’s not just Orange and Newport Beach.
Officials in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Seal Beach and La Habra are also receiving the grant funds – which they say will be used mainly for overtime reimbursements and equipment.
Huntington Beach City Council members voted earlier this month without discussion to accept $324,500 from the grant mainly for overtime as well as a boat radar and coastal monitoring system.
Huntington Beach Police Lt. Thoby Archer said in a Thursday email this is the sixth year they have received the grant and the department will share activity logs for overtime patrol shifts funded by the money with Border Patrol.
He added the department’s role in Operation Stonegarden is to coordinate intelligence operations within the city and its coastline and conduct harbor and coastal patrols in an effort to prevent or detect human and drug trafficking, not immigration enforcement.
“At no time will HBPD violate SB 54 or assist in any immigration enforcement operations with federal entities,” Archer wrote.
On Aug. 10, Seal Beach city officials accepted $168,318 in funds from the grant to help support increased law enforcement and special operations throughout the city’s mile-and- a-half coastline.
Costa Mesa City Council members accepted $170,000 from the grant last year.
Costa Mesa Police Spokesperson Roxi Fyad said the city has been accepting the grant for about three years and funds will be used to support the police department in deterring and investigating narcotics trafficking.
She also said Costa Mesa police will not be participating in any activities related to federal immigration and will not assist with enforcement of immigration laws.
“Plainly put, Costa Mesa police officers cannot and do not ask or check immigration status of anyone they contact as a witness, victim, suspect or arrestee. We continue to build on the strong community bond with our residents and visitors to the city,” Fyad wrote in a Thursday email.
Fyad said they are collaborating with federal agencies on fighting drug trafficking.
“The collaboration that has occurred with other law enforcement agencies and might occur again has to do with drug interdiction investigations only and is decided on a case-by-case investigation with what jurisdictions are involved,” she wrote.
La Habra City Council members accepted $70,000 in grant funding earlier this month to be used by May 31, 2028. According to La Habra Spokesperson Breanna Hurt, the money will be used to cover related overtime costs.
Hurt also added no information will be shared with Border Patrol and there will be no collaboration between the city and federal agencies.
La Habra has been accepting the grant since 2024.
The Laguna Beach Police Department is expected to receive $60,000 this year with police officials saying they have been receiving funds from the grant since 2022 and are using it for buying equipment for coastal patrols as well as overtime pay.
Police Lt. Jesse Schmidt said in an Aug 26 email that all communication and collaboration between the city and federal agencies are in compliance with Senate Bill 54 guidelines.
There is no set date to bring the discussion of accepting the grant money to the Laguna Beach City Council, but Schmidt said that it will happen sometime before the end of the year.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
Lauren Contreras is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach her at laurencontreras615@gmail.com.
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach her at sleon7903@gmail.com.
