Anonymous student’s letter prompts commissioners to discuss immigrant safety, outreach and sanctuary‑style protections

Vice Chair Wright read a letter on behalf of an anonymous third‑year college student in Costa Mesa who described fear of immigration enforcement and urged the city to adopt measures that would reduce fear in immigrant communities.

The letter, read aloud by Wright, said the writer and family had fled violence in El Salvador and that “we’re scared to go to Hispanic grocery stores, scared to go to work, to school, to live,” urging the city to “make Costa Mesa a stronger sanctuary city, protect schools and city facilities as safe zones, support nonprofits and churches that offer rapid response and legal aid, please educate local businesses on how they can protect workers and customers, improve outreach in Spanish … and please ban racial profiling.”

Several commissioners responded to the reading by thanking the writer and noting ways to make their own outreach more accessible. Director Gruner and commissioners discussed steps the city can take administratively, including improving Spanish‑language outreach, notifying the public about enforcement actions when permissible, and partnering with nonprofits that provide legal and rapid‑response services. Vice Chair Wright said staff outreach and rapid‑response support would be particularly important for park programs whose staff and teen employees reported anecdotal declines in attendance when raids were prominent.

The commission did not adopt policy changes at the meeting; commissioners encouraged staff to consider language access and community‑partner referrals when planning programs and communications.