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Family members and advocates call on San Bernardino to protect day laborers after ICE arrests; speakers ask council to pass sanctuary protections
Summary
Speakers described recent ICE detentions of local day laborers near Home Depot and urged the council to pass a sanctuary ordinance and create a protected day‑labor hiring site; organizers said arrests have continued despite requests for city action.
Several public commenters at the Aug. 6 meeting described recent immigration‑enforcement actions that they said targeted day laborers who gather near the Home Depot on West 20th Street and asked the council to pass sanctuary protections and take immediate administrative steps to reduce harassment.
Alexis Teodoro, worker‑rights director for the Pomona Day Labor Center, told the council she submitted a formal letter and asked the city to stop collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE, and to permit day laborers with trucks to park on 20th Street so they can seek work without being ticketed. Teodoro told the meeting she had provided copies of the letter to the city clerk.
Organizers and family members reported multiple detentions. A public commenter said a day laborer, Hector Martinez, was detained and deported shortly after speaking at a previous council meeting; other speakers said several workers were detained over successive weekends and that the detentions were coordinated within minutes after traffic or parking enforcement actions. Michael Garcia, a resident, said his father was detained by ICE and asked the council to show support for affected families.
Speakers asked the council to adopt a sanctuary ordinance to limit local cooperation with ICE and to create a formal hiring site for day laborers (a staffed labor center or designated parking area) to reduce street‑level enforcement and protect workers from wage theft and deportation threats.
City staff took the comments for the record. Organizers said they will return to the council if no action is taken and asked the mayor and city manager to respond with concrete protections. Council did not adopt a sanctuary ordinance at the meeting but received the testimony and moved other future items on the agenda.
