Sunnyvale council reports it joined amicus brief opposing proposed Gilroy ICE facility

The Sunnyvale City Council reported June 23 that it met in closed session and voted to join an amicus brief in County of Santa Clara and the State of California v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging proposals to develop and operate an immigration detention facility near Gilroy.

Vice Mayor Melinger announced the closed-session action during the council’s 7 p.m. reconvened meeting, saying the council voted to join the brief supporting the plaintiffs. The council’s closed-session conference was held under Government Code section 54956.9(d), the reporting line said.

Public commenters had urged the council to take that step earlier in the meeting. Ashley Ortiz, a Sunnyvale resident who said members of her family are applying for citizenship or are DACA recipients, urged council to “join the amicus brief” and said a new ICE facility would bring fear to immigrant families and harm local businesses and workforce stability. Another remote commenter, Akimi, told the council that adding Sunnyvale to a regional coalition of local governments would strengthen the legal challenge and better reflect the regional impact of expanded immigration enforcement.

The closed-session report announced the council’s decision but did not disclose the vote tally or the legal advice provided in closed session. Council members did not debate the closed-session report when it was read aloud. The city’s public materials identify the court case as case number 526-CV-05604 in the Northern District of California.

Next steps: joining an amicus brief typically requires staff to finalize filings and coordinate with the lead counsel (in this case, the county and state teams). The council did not specify a public timeline for any subsequent filings or public statements on the matter.