Residents urge Santa Maria council to form immigration ad hoc committee; council agrees to re‑agenda item
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Summary
Dozens of residents and advocates urged the Santa Maria City Council to establish an immigration ad hoc committee, criticizing a recent resolution as inadequate and urging clearer council support for immigrant families. Council voted to take the item off the table and return it for discussion in March.
Dozens of residents told the Santa Maria City Council on Feb. 17 that the city must do more to address immigration enforcement and its local effects, pressing elected officials to form an immigration ad hoc committee and to be more vocal on behalf of immigrant families.
Speakers including Robert Gibson of the In‑Home Supportive Services caregivers union, Danny Mogg of Indivisible, Cliff Solomon of Indivisible Santa Maria and community attorneys described a wave of local concern following the council’s Feb. 3 meeting. Gibson asked the council to create an ad hoc committee to address integration and short‑term worker programs, saying “as a labor union… 25% of our members are immigrants themselves.” Danny Mogg said the council’s recent resolution was “woefully inadequate” and noted social media attention, saying one clip from Feb. 3 has “over 100,000 views.”
Several speakers directly criticized remarks attributed to the mayor at a prior meeting. Community organizer Wendy Piodoro told the council the mayor’s comments were “racist” and dangerous; student speaker Lorena described a family member taken by ICE and urged immediate action. Attorney Maria Saliero, who identified herself as a senior immigration attorney at the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, said she could not discuss client‑confidential details but said community members report serious allegations of mistreatment in ICE custody and stressed that “immigration law is civil, it is administrative,” urging the council to provide clearer local support.
Mayor Lisonbee Pitino responded in the meeting, saying she has never characterized immigrants as criminals: "I have never ever, ever characterized the immigrants as being criminals," the mayor said during a clarification exchange.
Following the public comment period and council discussion, Council member Sotto moved to take the previously tabled immigration ad hoc committee item off the table and request that staff return it in its prior form for consideration in March. The motion passed on a roll‑call vote with all members present voting in the affirmative. Council directed staff to bring the item back in the same form that was previously tabled so the council can again consider whether to form an ad hoc committee.
What happens next: The council’s action does not itself create a committee; it only returns the previously tabled agenda item for a future meeting so the council can consider formal action. Speakers at the meeting said they plan additional community organizing and a March 28 demonstration that they said could draw about 2,000 participants.
