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Public commenter says ICE and bounty hunters detained a man and a city vehicle; council heard testimony but offered no direct response
Summary
At the public-comment period, Yasmine Espinosa described witnessing ICE agents and individuals she called "bounty hunters" detain a vehicle and an individual in Cathedral City earlier that day, alleged the man was beaten and called for documentation of the incident; city staff did not provide a substantive response during the meeting.
During public comment at the May 13 Cathedral City council meeting, Yasmine Espinosa recounted an incident earlier that day in which she said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and people she described as "bounty hunters" detained a city vehicle and one person.
Espinosa told the council the detained man was denied access to documents and said two women who were dropping off children at a high school intervened to provide assistance. "If it wasn't for these women standing up and getting involved, blocking their cars, getting in there... they wouldn't even let him get his documents," she said. Espinosa said the man was beaten and urged that he make a police report; she suggested members of the public document such encounters and provided a phone number she said could be used to report ICE activity.
Espinosa said she and others staged a small protest in Palm Springs that day and said County Supervisor Perez joined the action. She expressed fear for community safety and urged the council to help but acknowledged limits to the city's authority: "I know you can't do anything," she said, "Your city managers aren't doing anything." City staff thanked her for speaking but did not provide a substantive response on the record during the meeting.
The comments were recorded as public comment; no city action was taken on the matter during the meeting. The council did not open a formal discussion or directive to staff on the record in response to this public comment.
