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Public commenters press San Diego mayor and council to denounce ICE and protect immigrant residents
Summary
Multiple public commenters at a San Diego City Council special meeting urged Mayor Todd Gloria and the council to take concrete steps to protect immigrant communities from ICE enforcement, criticized local law-enforcement cooperation, and said words alone are insufficient without policy directives and active city protection.
Public commenters at a San Diego City Council special meeting on Jan. 15 urged Mayor Todd Gloria and council members to condemn recent federal immigration-enforcement actions and to take immediate steps to protect immigrant residents.
Jean Wong, introduced for public comment by the city clerk, said federal agents recently shot a legal observer and named others she said were killed, adding, “They’re going to kill us. Here in San Diego, our residents are terrified.” Wong urged the mayor to meet community members “where San Diego Police Department has not” and demanded “clear policy directives and protections before Monday.”
Nancy Francis, identifying herself as a District 3 resident, told the council “words mean nothing. We need action,” and said information was coming in that ICE agents could arrive in the city in the coming weeks. Simon Andres and Grace Victoria Rojas Jimenez, both with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, asked the mayor to denounce what they called ICE brutality and pressed for city steps to protect residents when federal agents operate in San Diego.
Nancy, who identified herself as with San Diego Families for Justice, asked the council and mayor to direct the San Diego Police Department to protect immigrant neighbors and to condemn past cooperation between SDPD and ICE. “Please take action on this,” she said, linking protection for Somali neighbors and other immigrant communities to broader concerns about public safety and sweeps of people experiencing homelessness.
Speakers requested specific outcomes — policy directives to SDPD, visible mayoral engagement on the streets, and stronger local protections — but the meeting record shows no formal response or council action recorded during the public-comment period. The council recessed to reconvene later for the mayor’s State of the City address.
The public comments combined personal testimony, policy requests and allegations about federal enforcement actions; the council did not take immediate formal action during the session on those requests.
