Monrovia residents demand investigation after death during immigration enforcement; council outlines legal limits and next steps

Public comment at Monrovia City Council on Sept. 2 centered on the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez following an Aug. 14 immigration enforcement action near the Home Depot parking lot. Community members and faith leaders urged the council to seek accountability, ask for a memorial, and take local steps to protect immigrant residents.

"Carlos Montoya was not an unknown pedestrian. He was a beloved father and a grandfather and a member of our community," said Ally Ceja, who identified herself as a Duarte resident who shops and participates in downtown Monrovia. Ceja and other speakers said federal accounts dehumanized Montoya by calling him an "unknown pedestrian" and called for an immediate investigation and a memorial at the Home Depot site.

Jean Grant, who identified herself as affiliated with the Immigration Resource Center of the San Gabriel Valley, said the community held a vigil attended by clergy and more than 1,000 people and warned against letting the incident "go by." Reverend Francisco Garcia, speaking for a coalition of faith leaders, urged the council to recognize human dignity in city policy and to pursue state-level investigation and memorialization of Montoya's death.

Several public speakers also raised concerns about automated license-plate readers…