Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press West Covina council to bar ICE operations on city property; city manager says no local collaboration
Summary
Dozens of residents urged the City Council to prevent federal immigration enforcement from using city facilities after reports of raids in the region. Acting City Manager told the council and residents that city staff and police have not collaborated with ICE and that staff will report back if legal changes or further action are requested.
A wave of public-comment speakers at the June 17 West Covina City Council meeting urged elected officials to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using city facilities and to limit local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
Ernesto Garcia, one of several speakers during a lengthy oral‑communications period, asked the council to “direct our city manager to create a list of all city‑owned properties for the purposes of disseminating that list along with instructions expressing the city's wishes to not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement” to stage operations on municipal property.
Other speakers related personal or neighborhood incidents they attributed to regional enforcement operations and called the council to protect residents’ access to public spaces. Josh Guerrero said raids had left community members “afraid to leave their homes,” and Shahzad and others described fear of detention and urged the city to refuse cooperation.
Acting City Manager responded at length that he had no evidence of local collaboration with federal agencies. “I can assure the community and the persons in this audience is there's been no collaboration between, West Covina City Hall staff, our police department or any other entity of the city to collaborate with any federal agencies,” he said, adding that police have “a very clear and definitive process and policy as far as immigration and working with other agencies and it's a hands off. They are not involved in any way.”
Council members also spoke. Mayor Pro Tem Letty Lopez Villarro said the city was not working with ICE and reiterated that local police would still enforce crimes regardless of immigration status. Councilmember Cantos told residents that the city’s police department does not have a 287(g) agreement with ICE — the formal tool that authorizes local agencies to work directly with federal immigration enforcement.
Several speakers asked the council to produce legal guidance and administrative direction, including a list of city properties and an explicit policy restricting use of city facilities for federal enforcement. Acting City Manager said he would provide information and that staff had received no federal requests; he also said he would await council direction if the body wanted staff to pursue legal options.
There was no formal vote. Council members and staff agreed to further review the issue and to post information about the city’s existing policies. The meeting record shows repeated community concern about enforcement operations in neighboring areas and a strong call for explicit local protections.
