City of San José and Monterey County Advance Protections Preventing ICE Facility Construction
San José, CA – Today, several members of Congress representing our region– U.S. Representatives Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), and Jimmy Panetta(CA-19)– congratulated the City of San José and Monterey County for adopting interim ordinances that temporarily restrict the development of ICE detention facilities within their jurisdiction.
“Local communities cannot control ICE rogue agents, but federal courts have upheld the authority of cities and towns to determine how and where DHS can build the infrastructure that enables this cruelty and chaos, namely ICE detention centers and processing facilities,” said Liccardo. “With a federal judge blocking a potential ICE facility at Gilroy, we expect the Department of Homeland Security will accelerate its search for new sites. By advancing these ordinances, the City of San José and Monterey County will make it far more difficult for DHS to convert large industrial and commercial sites for ICE detention centers, supporting our communities’ safety and public health. Thank you to Mayor Matt Mahan and the San José City Council in San José, along with Supervisor Luis Alejo, Board Chair Wendy Root Askew, and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors for leading by example, and for expanding this regional effort to protect our communities.”
Liccardo, who represents portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, released a toolkit in August to help local governments use zoning laws and building regulations to mitigate the expansion of ICE detention facilities and safeguard community health and safety. San Mateo County, and Napa County have already advanced such ordinances. Several other city councils have now directed their staff to begin this process, and several more ordinance changes are in the pipeline.
“The Administration’s overreaching mass deportation policy has led to chaos in many communities and pain in our local economies,” said Rep. Panetta. “Detention centers are an extension of that cruel policy, and I applaud Monterey County and the City of San José for their leadership in moving to temporarily block this Administration from establishing these types of facilities. We must continue to work together at every level of government to take these types of bold actions to restore accountability, ensure our economic vitality, and keep our communities safe.”
"Earlier this year, I introduced amendments that would block funding for the construction of new ICE detention facilities, but Republicans voted no and wrote a blank check. I’m thankful that our local leaders in San José and Monterey County have stepped up and implemented these temporary moratoriums on new detention centers,” said Rep. Lofgren. “I'm also thankful for Sam Liccardo's leadership on this issue, which he understands well as a former Mayor. We need to continue overseeing conditions at the existing facilities, and we need to keep fighting against this Administration’s mass deportation agenda, which is wreaking havoc on our communities."
“We’re grabbing the bull by its horns,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “These facilities don’t exist in our region – and we’re not going to wait until after they are built to understand the impacts. I want to thank my Council colleagues for joining me in pushing this moratorium forward and Congressmember Liccardo for leaning in and helping unite each city in the pursuit of public safety and health.”
“An ICE detention center in our region would intimidate immigrant workers and their families, spreading fear and anxiety far beyond its walls. It would threaten the dignity of our communities and the values we share across the Central Coast and Bay Area. Our immigrant neighbors are our family members, coworkers, and friends. We will stand up for them,” said Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. "On May 19, Monterey County became the first county government to vote unanimously to join the County of Santa Clara in opposing the proposed ICE detention facility in Gilroy. We knew then that the fear it would spread would not stop at the county line. We later led an effort to file an amicus brief in that federal litigation with 25 other local governments.”
Because county ordinances only govern unincorporated land, Liccardo encourages cities and towns throughout the region to adopt their own protections. Local leaders interested in introducing protections can utilize Liccardo’s ordinance toolkit call his office at 408-245-2339 with questions.
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