ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — At a meeting Wednesday night, Escondido City Councilmembers voted to approve sending a letter to San Diego's Congressional leaders calling for immigration reform and clarity on the deportation process.
You can view the letter below on pages 133-137 in the agenda packet:
Escondido letter on immigration reform by mgheisman2
"I think everybody is kind of frustrated one way or the other, and I think there needs to absolutely be something that's being done about it," said District Three Councilmember Christian Garcia, who first introduced the letter in July.
He said there's been a lot of confusion and fear in the community after sightings of federal immigration agents, and what he calls, an overall "lack of guidelines" and "clearer standards" when it comes to deportations.
"Unfortunately, this problem is is older than I am," Garcia said. "What we're seeing is, every four years, we have — immigration is always a topic of political debate. I think both parties unfortunately use it as a club to use against their opponents, as opposed to actually addressing it."
While the council positions are technically nonpartisan, Garcia is a Republican. However, he said the well-being of his constituents comes before his party.
The letter lists several demands, including updated immigration laws and better border security.
"We need stability and we need consistency," said Escondido Mayor Dane White. "That will not happen unless Congress acts."
There are 150,000 residents in the City of Escondido, and a majority of then — 51.7% — are Hispanic and Latino American.
The letter points out how much the local economy depends heavily on immigrant workers in fields such as agriculture, construction, hospitality and more.
"We must build an environment in Escondido where every individual, no matter their background, feels valued and empowered," said Natalie Martinez, who was born and raised in Escondido.
She was one of several people who spoke during Wednesday's City Council meeting, all of whom supported the letter.
However, some questioned its ability to deliver true change.
"It's an ineffectual approach to stop the moral outrages that are going in our cities and our country every single day," said Stephen Wheeler, an Escondido resident for 25 years.
Others wanted to see it taken a step further, and requested the addition of three lines:
- Limit collaboration between local law enforcement and federal agents
- Require all enforcement officers to refrain from racial profiling
- Demand all officers and agents be unmasked and display clear identification
“This feels like this city’s moral moment," said Greg Oliver, representing Escondido Neighbors for Solutions, a group that submitted a letter with similar intentions to Councilmembers in July.
Before the vote, Mayor White spoke to those amendments proposed from residents. He said it would only distract from the intent of this letter, but is open to addressing them in a separate letter in the future.
In the end, only one line was added, asking Congress "to establish protections for current legal pathways" to citizenship.
To clarify, the agenda item was not a resolution. Instead, it was only a formal request to gain approval to send the letter to Congress.
District Four Councilmember Judy Fitzgerald abstained from submitting a vote.
All three other councilmembers, along with Mayor White, voted yes.
That means the request passed, and the letter will be sent.
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