El Cajon council fails to adopt resolution on cooperating with federal immigration enforcement after marathon public comment

The El Cajon City Council on Jan. 28 considered a staff‑drafted resolution aimed at clarifying whether the city would cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and how that intent squared with California’s SB 54 (the California Values Act). After more than 100 members of the public spoke for and against the proposal and council members debated alternate language, council members declined to adopt the measure when two competing motions both failed on 3–2 votes.

City Manager Grama Mitchell, who introduced the item to the council, said staff had reworked the language after the council’s earlier direction and the office of the California attorney general had replied to the city’s questions. “The revised version says the City of El Cajon declares its intent to comply with the enforcement of federal immigration law to the legal extent permissible under SB 54,” Mitchell told the council, adding staff had prepared the draft to request clarification and to make the city’s public‑safety goals explicit.

The proposal touched off a sustained public comment period: attendees delivered sharply divergent views on whether local police should assist ICE in locating people who illegally re‑entered the country or whether…