Long Beach council to draft resolution calling for federal immigration accountability, seeks DHS leadership removal
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Summary
The council voted to draft and transmit a resolution urging federal accountability for Department of Homeland Security actions and calling for the resignation or impeachment of DHS Secretary; public comment focused on ICE raids, alleged local collaboration, and demands for concrete local protections and notifications.
The Long Beach City Council voted to instruct the city attorney to draft a resolution calling for federal immigration accountability — including language that could request the resignation or impeachment of the Department of Homeland Security secretary — and to transmit the city's position to California's congressional delegation and other federal officials.
Council members framed the resolution as an emergency response to recent immigration‑enforcement actions that residents say have terrorized neighborhoods. "This action is essentially, the city council in Long Beach, casting a vote of no confidence in the leadership," a council member told the chamber during debate.
Public comment that preceded the vote filled multiple hours of the meeting. Speakers described neighborhood arrests and alleged misconduct, urged immediate local steps (city notification when raids occur, public emergency declarations, penalties for hotels housing federal agents), and called for a complete end to cooperation with ICE. Several commenters chanted or urged the council to support "Abolish ICE," and others called for concrete local measures such as community rapid‑response resources.
City staff responded to repeated public questions about local cooperation with federal enforcement. The city manager stated that Long Beach policy and state law (SB 54) prohibit use of city resources for immigration enforcement and that the city has updated contract language to prevent contractors from sharing information that would assist federal immigration actions. The city attorney said resident emails asking legal questions are being answered through the City Attorney's mailbox.
The council approved the motion to draft the resolution; the transcript records "Motion is carried." The documentation made clear that the action directs the drafting and transmission of a resolution and does not itself implement federal removals or new local criminal sanctions. Staff and community advocates said further direct actions and legal strategies (including litigation or congressional pressure) were likely to follow the council's symbolic and diplomatic step.
Next procedural steps: the city attorney will prepare the draft resolution for future consideration and council final approval; the council also directed that copies be transmitted to federal and state elected officials upon adoption of the final resolution.
