Several residents and community organizations used the June 18 public comment period at the San Bernardino City Council meeting to demand action on alleged harassment of day laborers near the Home Depot on First Street and to raise broader concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement in the region.

Speakers representing day‑laborer advocacy groups and neighborhood residents said officers have been ticketing and harassing workers who gather informally in the lot, and they pressed the city to create an organized day‑labor hiring center on a nearby commercial parcel and to meet with police leadership to stop enforcement practices they described as discriminatory.

"When we asked for their badge number and identification, they said verbatim, they don't need to give us that information," said Angel Lyra, organizer with the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, describing an episode in which officers attempted to tow a day laborer's car. Lyra urged the council to stop police harassment and to support a day‑labor center on a nearby parcel (parcel ID referenced by advocates: 014404265) that advocates said is commercially suitable, paved and already active as an auto dealership.

Alexis Deloto, worker rights director for the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, said the group had prepared a memo proposing solutions and asked the council to place the item on a future agenda and to arrange a meeting with the police chief. "We would like a temporary moratorium" on citations while the parties meet to pursue a solution, Deloto said.

Speakers also raised fear of ICE enforcement and impersonation: KR, a resident who described immigrant population figures for the Inland Empire, said raids and ICE tactics cause families to stay home, hurt local commerce and traumatize children. "Family separations are traumatizing kids throughout our city," KR said, and added that fear causes people to avoid schools and medical care.

Multiple neighborhood and community representatives requested formal city support and a structured hiring zone so day laborers can safely seek work without fear of harassment or abduction; Vina Salfarro of the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, echoed the request for a day‑labor center and cited success in Pomona as a model.

City staff and council members acknowledged the requests during the meeting; Deloto said she would email the memo to council members after the clerk did not distribute copies at the dais. Several council members indicated staff had previously met with advocates about temporary measures but Deloto said advocates had not yet heard back from the city manager about proposed temporary solutions discussed in earlier meetings.

Advocates asked the council to set a date for a meeting with the police chief and to place the day‑labor center proposal on a future agenda so the city, police and community groups can explore an enforceable, long‑term plan.

(Reporting in this article is based on public comment and statements recorded at the June 18, 2025 City Council meeting.)