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Public callers urge Ontario to create immigrant "compassion fund" after alleged ICE/CBP actions
Summary
Several public speakers urged the city to establish a fund to help families affected by ICE and CBP enforcement, described alleged abductions and terrorizing tactics in Ontario, and asked the council to act despite the issue not being on the agenda.
Several residents urged the Ontario City Council on Nov. 12 to create an "immigrant compassion fund" and to take more visible action after what they described as increased ICE and CBP enforcement in the city.
Tina Silva, who opened public comment, said she was requesting that the city fund assistance for families affected by recent enforcement actions and cited what she described as more than 200 incidents in the community and "30 abductions so far." "Just last Thursday, a gentleman was taken from the corner of Holt and Euclid at a bus stop," Silva said, and urged the council to consider programs other Southern California cities have enacted to support affected families.
Robert Vivar said the situation was worsening and used forceful language to describe enforcement tactics, alleging masked armed abductions and asserting the city was in a "state of emergency." "We can't allow these thugs to continue to terrorize community members and violate our constitutional rights without consequence," Vivar said. A public commenter, Roxanne Bautista, read a poem that framed the human effects of enforcement and detention on immigrant families.
The speakers sought city action to provide legal and emergency assistance to affected households and asked that the council treat the matter with urgency even though it was raised during public comment rather than as a scheduled agenda item.
Why it matters: Commenters described a pattern of enforcement events they characterized as a public-safety and community-trust crisis. City staff and elected leaders did not make new commitments or adopt emergency measures during the meeting; the matter was raised for council consideration by speakers but was not referred to a specific staff follow-up in the meeting record.
What’s next: Speakers requested concrete supports including immediate financial assistance, legal resources and public health supports; they asked the council to put the matter on a future agenda. No formal council action on the request was recorded at the meeting.
Sources: Public comments recorded Nov. 12 by Tina Silva, Robert Vivar and Roxanne Bautista.
