Indio council weighs requests for federal-detention records after resident reports of ICE activity

Councilmember Oscar Ortiz told Indio City Council on Nov. 5 that residents reported frequent detentions by federal authorities on Monroe and Avenue 111 and asked the council to direct staff to file a Freedom of Information Act request to document who is being detained and why.

"I'd like to ask our council if we could direct staff to do a Freedom of Information Act request for these records that should include: 1, who is being taken and when; 2, what are the charges; and 3, if anyone detained turned out to be a legal resident or U.S. citizen," Ortiz said.

Several council members and staff questioned the city’s authority to compel federal agencies to act. "The city has no jurisdiction over federal agencies," Mayor Miller said, noting such matters are generally civil and outside municipal powers. City Attorney Steven Grama pointed out the item was not on the published agenda and recommended returning it as a future agenda item for formal consideration.

Councilmember Ben Gutron suggested learning from Cathedral City’s experience and said individual council members can file FOIA requests; City Manager Montgomery and others recommended council members could initiate requests themselves and then bring any findings back to the city for possible future action. "Any individual council member may want to make that request and perhaps have others sign on," Montgomery said.

The council did not vote to file a city-sponsored FOIA request that evening. Instead members agreed to continue the discussion: Ortiz and Gutron will pursue initial outreach and information-gathering, staff will advise on the process and the mayor may agendize the matter for a later meeting if the council wishes to consider a formal city action.

The discussion underscored council interest in documenting federal activity affecting vulnerable community members while also noting legal limits on municipal authority over federal immigration enforcement.