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Taft residents urge council to condemn ICE tactics and seek safeguards after weekend enforcement activity
Summary
Multiple Taft residents and community leaders told the City Council that recent immigration enforcement in ZIP code 93268 caused fear, school absences and business closures and urged the council to issue a public statement, decline routine cooperation without warrants and provide interpretation services for Spanish speakers.
Dozens of residents and community leaders at the Taft City Council meeting on a February 2025 Tuesday urged the council to condemn recent immigration enforcement actions they said swept through ZIP code 93268 and to take steps to protect residents, students and workers.
The comments were delivered during the meeting’s public-comment period and centered on alleged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity the prior Sunday. Duane Klotz told the council the operation targeted people on their way to work and described confrontations he said he witnessed: “They were pulled over. They were sworn at, cursed, and questioned and finally when they couldn't find anything to probable cause they just got mad and slammed the door and let them go.”
Community leaders asked the council to use its influence, stop assisting enforcement actions that lack judicial authorization and make…
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