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Council ratifies letter supporting county training and endorses Ventura County's neighbor-support coalition after supervisors split on funding
Summary
Port Hueneme's City Council on Sept. 2 ratified a letter to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, endorsed the Ventura County Community Foundation's Neighbor Support Coalition and instructed staff to coordinate county training materials after the Board split on monetary aid for immigration-related services.
The Port Hueneme City Council on Sept. 2 voted to ratify a letter to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors urging resources for people impacted by immigration-enforcement operations, to endorse the Ventura County Community Foundation's (VCCF) Neighbor Support Coalition and to direct staff to coordinate with the county on training and informational materials.
City staff said the actions follow an August Board of Supervisors meeting in which supervisors approved some non-monetary items (including development of staff training on encounters with federal immigration enforcement) but declined by a 3'2 vote to approve two monetary items: a $250,000 county contribution to a legal-defense fund and $1.3 million annually for seven public-defender positions. Staff described fiscal concerns and a position that federal authorities bear responsibility for immigration enforcement as reasons given at the supervisors' meetings.
The city manager's office explained that an initial draft letter was prepared after the council asked staff at a prior meeting to place the issue on a subsequent agenda; because the county vote occurred before this meeting, the council was asked to ratify the letter retroactively and to indicate whether the city would endorse the VCCF effort. Vanessa Bektell of VCCF explained the fund (now framed as a coalition) is intended as a humanitarian resource for urgent needs countywide and has previously been used to deliver cash assistance to residents following storms.
Public commenters, including organizers with the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network and UndocuFund, urged the council to allocate city funding for immigrant legal services and humanitarian aid and to host training and community workshops. Several speakers said local immigrant families have been directly affected by enforcement actions and that local government support for legal services and rapid humanitarian aid is needed.
Council members voted unanimously to ratify the letter to the Board of Supervisors, to endorse the VCCF neighbor-support coalition and to direct city staff to coordinate with Ventura County on training and informational materials for staff and the public. City staff said there is no immediate city funding commitment but noted council could consider future allocations, including from existing community benefit funds.
