The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved $100,000 to give to a third-party organization to support children and families impacted by immigration enforcement in the Central Coast in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday.
The board also passed an agreement to adopt policy that would require a federal judicial warrant to enter non-public county spaces and prevent federal government agencies like ICE from taking over county facilities.
“To think that we think everything is okay out there and that, you know, ICE roaming around like thugs is something that we welcome is not accurate,” said Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg at the meeting, who voted in favor of the allocated money.
The $100,000 will come from the county’s general fund.
The board created an ad hoc immigration task force after hosting a special forum in January about the Sheriff’s Office cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year. The forum drew hundreds of community members.
The task force presented its findings on Tuesday about how to support families impacted by federal immigration enforcement in the county, as well as how to manage federal agents’ access into county facilities.
The $100,000 from the county’s general fund will go to SLO County Children’s Fund within the “Fueling a Vibrant Immigrant Future” grant through the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County.
Supervisor John Peschong voted against the allocation from the general fund saying he did not see the need for giving out money as the county is in a “tough budget year.” Supervisor Heather Moreno also voted against the proposal on Tuesday.
Board votes in favor of putting money toward children and families affected by ICE
The Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of $100,000 on Tuesday as well as a review of the Sheriff’s Office online database that outlines inmates who were released to ICE with qualifying convictions based on SB 54, otherwise known as the California Values Act.
The board also passed an agreement to adopt policies on required judicial warrants and anti-commandeering of non-public spaces by ICE.
“I think that this board would be wise to simply clarify through a policy and or operational protocol that we don’t want the federal government using our resources or accessing our spaces,” said Supervisor Jimmy Paulding at the meeting.
Commandeering refers to the act of taking over county property by a federal government agency through force or authority, according to someone from the County Counsel’s Office who spoke at the meeting.
While the federal government has no authority to commandeer a space in the county, the board passed to create a formal statement that would demonstrate their opposition.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson supported the statement condemning the federal government from commandeering county property, as well as the allocation of $100,000. He said the fear from the local immigrant community is large despite the scale of ICE activity not being the same as in other larger cities.
“That fear has its own impacts, that fear affects daily lives, that fear limits families’ abilities to provide for their children, that fear puts families at risk,” Gibson said. “And all of that, to me, is unacceptable.”
Immigration task force finds increased fear, anxiety among students
The immigration task force worked with various departments in the county to understand the local impact of immigration enforcement. The county’s behavioral health department found that there had been an increase in student anxiety, fear and absenteeism, according to Robert Reyes, assistant chief executive officer for the county.
During public comment, former Atascadero Middle School teacher Jehan Mirzaei said he had resigned due to the school’s inability to address issues around ICE that were deemed too political by the principal for students.
A student told Mirzaei that he was taking up duties around the house like laundry and paying for rent in case his parents were taken by ICE, the former teacher said at the meeting.
Mirzaei said the principal had denied him the opportunity to speak to students about bullying on the basis of race and immigration status, and for clarity on the school’s policy on ICE.
While students were among those in the county with increased fear over ICE, the ad hoc committee found no increase in unaccompanied minors due to immigration enforcement.
Supervisor Paulding said at the meeting that the immigration task force found no reports to the county’s child welfare services of kids being left behind due to ICE arresting caregivers in an operation.
Another piece of feedback from departments in the county to the immigration task force was a need for ongoing outreach to immigrant communities. In partnership with The Community Foundation, the task force conducted a survey to figure out the needs of immigrant-serving organizations in the county.
The survey collected responses from 55 organizations that advocate for immigrant communities. One of the largest gaps for these groups to do work included funding, according to the survey results. The survey also found trust between county institutions and immigrant communities to be somewhat weak.
Reyes of the county Executive Office said that while the ad hoc committee did not directly survey immigrant communities, the information gathered from the organizations working with them was sufficient enough to provide direction.
Update: This headline was edited at 4 p.m. on April 10 to better reflect the content of the article.
