Board signs Human Rights Commission statement reaffirming support for immigrants; adds Measure K affirmation
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Summary
The Board of Supervisors adopted, with edits, a Human Rights Commission statement reaffirming support for immigrant residents and existing state and local legal protections; the board added an explicit reaffirmation of Measure K and asked staff to distribute the statement.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 agreed to a board statement drafted by the Human Rights Commission reaffirming county support for immigrant residents and existing state and local legal protections. The board approved a modified version of the Human Rights Commission’s letter, authorized release of a statement and asked staff to issue a press release.
The statement’s purpose, Human Rights Commission Chair Jim Glover said, is to publicly reaffirm the commitments of local agencies and elected officials to protect all residents and to ensure transparency around immigration enforcement actions. The Human Rights Commission circulated a draft that listed state laws (SB 54/California Values Act, the Truth Act, the Trust Act) and local protections and called for continued community outreach. The commission said its intent was to show community support and to encourage other agencies and elected officials to sign on.
Supervisors discussed wording changes during the meeting. The board and the commission agreed to replace the phrase “local agencies” with “county” in one sentence addressing cooperation with ICE to avoid excluding county signatories; they removed a specific paragraph referencing the California Education Code because school policy is set by independent school boards, and they added an explicit reaffirmation of Measure K, the county’s voter-approved sanctuary ordinance. Staff confirmed that the revised text will be issued as a public statement from the board; the board also authorized the chair to sign the statement.
Public comment included statements of support from Centro del Pueblo, English Express, League of Women Voters and First 5 Humboldt. Speakers urged multilingual outreach, clarity around what departmental policies mean in practice, and stronger community information so residents feel safe accessing schools, hospitals and other services.
The board voted to approve the amended statement and to authorize staff to distribute it (vote recorded as unanimous in the meeting). The County Administrative Office said staff will prepare and distribute a press release and will coordinate with community groups on translated versions.
