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Community presses Monrovia council for permanent memorial and answers after Home Depot ICE raid death
Summary
Multiple speakers urged the Monrovia City Council to support a permanent memorial and demand investigation materials after the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez during an ICE action near Monrovia Home Depot; city leaders said they are seeking information and discussed contacting state investigators.
Community members used the Oct. 7 public comment period at the Monrovia City Council meeting to press for a permanent memorial and transparency after the Aug. 14 death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez in connection with an immigration enforcement action at the Monrovia Home Depot.
Organizers and residents described Montoya as a day laborer and community member, and called for the city to publicly recognize his life and to seek the full investigative record. “We would like to see a permanent memorial for Roberto Carlos Montoya so that he can be remembered with dignity and respect that he deserves,” said organizer Marcello (public commenter).
Several speakers said they witnessed or documented recent enforcement activity at the Home Depot and expressed concern about tactics and lack of accountability. Sherry Lochner, a longtime Monrovia resident, said activists had reinstalled a memorial multiple times after it was removed and said, “We were unable to accurately document. And as a result, we cannot confirm how many men were in fact kidnapped.”
The Immigration Resource Center of the San Gabriel Valley (IRC) also spoke. Anna (IRC) described partnerships the IRC has formed with neighboring cities to provide legal services and said the IRC “continue[s] to support a permanent memorial for Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez” and is “eager to collaborate and partner in order to make this a reality.”
Why it matters: Commenters framed the event as both a human-rights concern and a public-safety/transparency issue. Several speakers asked the council to denounce ICE raids locally, secure a permanent memorial at an appropriate site and press investigators for a public report into Montoya’s death.
City and council reaction: City Manager Dylan Feek said the city is communicating with neighboring jurisdictions and law-enforcement partners and noted that the California Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation. Councilmember Edward Belden asked for a letter to the governor and attorney general requesting the status of the investigation and an estimated timeline for a final report. “If they have no information, can they please give us also an a possible timeline as to when we might be getting some information?” Belden asked.
Next steps: Several community groups announced a vigil for Oct. 10 at the Monrovia Home Depot. Council members expressed general sympathy and asked staff to follow up with law-enforcement partners about the status of the CHP investigation and the possibility of a permanent memorial; no binding action to create a memorial was taken at the meeting.
Ending: The council heard multiple public appeals for memorialization and transparency; staffers said they would seek updates from the investigating agency and the council indicated support for follow-up. Community organizers said they will continue to press for a permanent site and a public accounting of the circumstances that led to Montoya’s death.
