ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) — The Encinitas City Council is expected to rescind emergency actions it took last month following the arrest of a father by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arrest that happened a few blocks away from an elementary school.
The council's August 20th emergency agenda item came in response to community outrage after ICE arrested a man near Park Dale Elementary School.
That night, protesters gathered outside city hall, prompting the council to unanimously approve several actions, including launching a "know your rights" campaign, filing a Freedom of Information Act request to document ICE operations in the city, and exploring the establishment of safe zones.
However, Cardiff resident Garvin Walsh has challenged those actions in a letter to the city council, arguing the emergency vote violated the Brown Act — California's law governing open public meetings.
"It should have been noticed. We all should have had a chance to be present to speak about it, and we didn't have that," Walsh said.
Walsh contends the circumstances did not constitute an emergency that would justify bypassing the Brown Act's 24-hour notice requirement for agenda items.
"The circumstances associated with that evening did not constitute an emergency and therefore shouldn't have been given an exception," Walsh said.
The Brown Act does allow emergency items to be added to agendas without 24-hour notice in critical situations that severely impact public health or safety. The city maintains it complied with state law and even hired an outside law firm to review the matter. The outside attorney noted that people were "panicking and fearful" after the ICE arrest.
Despite the legal review, the council is expected to rescind its actions during Wednesday night's meeting and seek new public input on the matter.
Community activists who supported the original emergency actions are planning another rally before the meeting. Jeremy Ross, who attended the August meeting, believes city leaders acted appropriately.
"We as a community do not support rescinding this resolution," Ross said.
"I'm gonna continue to insist and the community's gonna continue to insist to stand by humanity, stand by compassion, and protect our community," Ross said.
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