A host of OC cities – mainly on the coast – are accepting tens of thousands of federal grant dollars as part of a program aimed at enhancing cooperation and coordination between their police departments and the Department of Homeland Security for drug crackdowns.
The money is rolling through the Governor’s emergency response office.
It comes after California’s sanctuary law went into effect in 2018 that bars local and state agencies from using their resources to conduct federal immigration enforcement.
Still, seven OC cities are receiving money from the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Stonegarden” grant that is regionally being administered by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department as part of a collaboration to protect U.S. borders.
The Operation Stonegarden funds also come after ICE and Border Patrol agents kicked off roving immigration enforcement sweeps last June – unsettling large swaths of Orange County’s immigrant communities.
Local police officials say the money will reimburse overtime pay for officers who helped out in joint enforcement operations focused on drug trafficking as well as enhancing intelligence and information gathering between law enforcement agencies, not immigration enforcement.
Newport Beach Police officials said the grant would help secure the coastline border.
“The California coastline is a border-crime target for maritime drug and human smuggling that often results in other criminal activities such as kidnappings, assaults, murders, money laundering and cross-border weapons trafficking, and can involve a wider range of crimes,” the Newport Beach staff report reads.
Sandra De Anda, director of policy for the Orange County Rapid Response Network, said the grants are concerning and local cities need to cut ties with the Department of Homeland Security, adding UC San Diego Police left the grant program after concerns from students.
She also said Border Patrol has been part of the roving immigration patrols that have rocked OC and the grant doesn’t foster trust with residents.
“Why are cities working with with (Department of Homeland Security) when they just have such a poor reputation in the county?” De Anda, who is running for Santa Ana City Council, said in a Monday phone interview.
“It just seems like really there is apathy and really negligence of our elected leaders understanding the implications of what a contract like that would lead to.”
Spokespeople for the Governor’s emergency response office known as CalOES and the state Attorney General’s office did not respond to emailed questions.
At their Tuesday meetings, officials in Orange are expected to accept roughly $87,000 in Operation Stonegarden funds while leaders in Newport Beach are slated to accept $130,000 in the same grant dollars with both cities using the money towards overtime.
On both meeting agendas, acceptance of the federal grant dollars is part of the consent calendar – a portion of the agenda where officials typically approve a block of items without debate unless pulled for discussion.
Orange City councilmembers Arianna Barrios and Ana Gutierrez – who unsuccessfully pushed to list immigration resources on the city website last year – expressed deep concern for the grant.
“We have been assured by our city manager and our police chief that this grant for the city of Orange will be in no way indicating that the city will be enforcing immigration law or will be directly coordinating with DHS or border patrol,” said Barrios and Gutierrez in a joint statement.
“This grant, as far as we have been told, is specifically for anti drug trafficking and drug prevention. Yet even with that, we both feel so strongly about some of the departments that we’re talking about that are ostensibly funding this grant that we will still have some very pointed questions to ask our city management.”
The rest of the Orange City Council did not respond for comment.
Orange Police officials said the grant would reimburse overtime costs for specific multi-agency operations to interrupt the illegal drug trade.
“These operations will focus on disrupting organized narcotics trafficking, identifying and dismantling drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, and enhancing intelligence gathering and information sharing among local, state, and federal law enforcement partners,” an Orange staff report reads.
Orange Police Spokesperson Trevor Cullen wrote in an email he would not be able to provide additional information on the grant until Wednesday.
De Anda said the El Modena neighborhood in the City of Orange has been deeply impacted by the widespread deportation raids.
“This seems like a disservice to those in Orange that are suffering from what the Trump administration is doing and they’re suffering that here at home,” she said. “The city may feel beholden to DHS in terms of cooperating more and I think that’s really dangerous.”
Newport Beach spokeswoman Georgia Rios said the grant would reimburse personal overtime and costs for equipment like safety cameras and “narcotics identification devices.”
“Operation Stonegarden funds are used for allowable grant activities such as overtime, equipment and other approved public safety costs. For the City of Newport Beach, the funding would directly support staff overtime and the purchase of new equipment,” she said.
Councilmember Robyn Grant said the grant will be used to protect the coastline.
“This is an opportunity to leverage federal grant funding to enhance our Police Department and strengthen public safety in our community, specifically adding officer hours to protect our coastline, harbor, residents, and visitors,” Grant said in a Friday email.
The rest of the Newport City Council members did not respond for comment.
Tuesday’s meetings come more than a year since widespread deportation sweeps ramped up in OC, leading officials in a handful of cities to launch aid and legal funds for impacted residents and promising local law enforcement would follow the state sanctuary law.
[Read: Many Orange County Cities Stay Silent on ICE Raids]
SB 54, also known as the California Values Act or the state sanctuary law, prevents law enforcement agencies from working with immigration officials, specifically with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents through immigration detainers unless that person has been convicted of a violent felony.
According to the agreement for the funds, recipient cities will still abide by state law while increasing police presence to support border patrol agencies to improve border security in the region.
“PARTIES will enforce local and state laws within their designated jurisdiction subject to the California Values Act (SB 54; Chapter 495) and shall not enforce or aid in the enforcement of immigration laws on behalf of U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U. S. Border Patrol (BP). This Agreement does not provide Federal authority to PARTIES to enforce immigration laws,” the agreement reads.
It’s not the first time local officials have coordinated with federal immigration agencies.
At the beginning of the year, San Clemente officials entered a 20-year-lease agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to allow them to install cameras on a ridge above the town to monitor the shoreline to watch for panga boats.
[Read: Border Patrol Cameras Coming to an Iconic Coastal OC Town]
Meanwhile, Newport Beach and Orange are not the only cities in Orange County receiving money from the grant.
Regionally, the Riverside Sheriff Department, helmed by MAGA Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco who had a failed bid for governor, applied for the grant and was awarded $2.7 million which they are doling out to 11 partner agencies – most of which are in OC.
Seal Beach, Laguna Beach and La Habra are also receiving Operation Stonegarden funds along with Huntington Beach – where officials firmly supported immigration enforcement, declaring the city a “non-sanctuary city” and saying they will help ICE if they come to town.
At the same time, officials in Costa Mesa – who have launched both an aid fund and legal defense fund for residents impacted by the federal immigration crackdown last year – are also accepting money from the grant.
A Costa Mesa staff report from last year about accepting Operation Stonegarden dollars never mentioned border patrol once and stated there was a need to stop drug trafficking cartels.
“These organizations have become increasingly sophisticated and use counter surveillance, diversionary tactics, night vision devices, and secure communications while conducting operations,” the report reads.
“These narcotics are plaguing the streets of Costa Mesa, causing addiction and death to members of our community.”
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.
