Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tustin residents press council for transparency after reported ICE activity
Summary
At the Tustin City Council meeting, residents urged transparency and protections after reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Southwest Tustin; the council heard requests for transit protections, a ban on ICE courtesy calls and an audit of police ICE-related activities but took no formal action.
At a regular Tustin City Council meeting, residents raised concerns about immigration enforcement activity and urged the council to increase transparency and protections for residents.
Priscilla, a lifelong Tustin resident, told the council that Southwest Tustin residents are "too afraid to go to work, to school, to the grocery store" and said that people from her community "make up 40% of the city." She urged the council to protect public-transit users regardless of immigration status in coordination with OCTA, to stop ICE courtesy calls in Tustin and to commission an audit of the Tustin Police Department’s ICE-related activities to ensure legality and transparency.
Alicia of the Fair Housing Foundation, who addressed the council online, described the nonprofit’s services — confidential counseling for landlord-tenant disputes, investigations of housing-discrimination complaints and free educational workshops for Tustin residents — and thanked the council for past support.
Councilmember Fink acknowledged the community’s concerns, praised the Tustin Police Department’s handling of recent protests and told the chamber, "there are no ICE contracts that the city of Tustin has with ICE." He said Tustin PD follows the California Values Act and encouraged residents seeking immigration help to consult resources linked on Supervisor Sarmiento’s county website, which he said lists pro bono legal services and related support.
The council did not take formal action on the requests during the meeting. The public-comment speakers framed their requests as policy directions: protective measures in coordination with OCTA; a local prohibition on ICE courtesy calls; and an audit of TPD’s interactions with federal immigration authorities. Councilmembers responded with assurances they were monitoring the situation and pointed the public to county resources for legal assistance.
The council recorded the public comments and moved on to agenda business; no staff report, vote or directive to prepare an audit was made during the meeting.
