Supervisors begin addressing immigration issues

At their Jan. 28, the Board of Supervisors had a major discussion about immigration and the role Riverside County can possibly assume in the future for both Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program participants and law-abiding undocumented immigrants.

Board Chair V. Manuel Perez (4th District) and Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez (5th District) submitted the proposal. More than 70 people spoke for and against the idea.

Perez made it clear that this was not a resolution taking a stand on immigration and federal laws. Many speakers were misinterpreting the intent of this action, he stressed.

“I thought it is important to move forward with this type of measure and we are not asking for a resolution yet,” he emphasized. “We’re asking that we recognize that as a County that has always been on the right side of history, in my opinion, when it comes to inclusion. We’re following the law and will continue to follow the laws.”

Perez and Gutierrez asked their colleagues to agree with them to direct the County Executive Office to take several steps, all of which are essentially data collection and information sharing.

The first action would be an evaluation of how the County collects, manages and stores data for DACA program participants and law-abiding undocumented immigrants.

Secondly, they ask the CEO to report on existing and potential funding sources to support law-abiding undocumented immigrants who face deportation proceedings. These two reports are to be to the Board by Feb. 25.

The third step would be drafting a resolution affirming that the County is a “vibrant, compassionate, and inclusionary county for all law-abiding immigrants and refugees.” This draft resolution will be ready for the Feb. 4 session.

Fourth action for the County staff would be the creation of a webpage with information and resources related to immigration.

Representative of those opposed to the proposal, Kenneth Prado began, “It’s the wrong policy. In the 2024 Presidential Election, voters overwhelming voted for security, legal immigration and protection of their families. . . a clear majority do not support sanctuary policies. . . If you approve this you’re disregarding the voice of the people.”

Although County Sheriff Chad Bianco was in Washington, D.C. during the meeting, he asked Under Sheriff Don Sharp to deliver his views to the Board.

“It is not a matter of ‘if’, it is when something bad will happen in our county. A sanctuary state policy is a threat to all county residents,” Sharp said for Bianco.

Many public speakers encouraged the Supervisors to go forward with this action. “We need to demonstrate as a community, immigrants are welcome here,” said Jeff Greene, the first speaker.

When the supervisors began their discussion, Chuck Washington (3^(rd) District) expressed some reservations, He viewed it as two competing and important positions. One perspective emphasizes the importance of individuals and helping other people and the opposing position emphasizes the potential effects on Riverside County.

In particular, he was concerned that items two and four could potentially create a significant legal quagmire for the County. But Gutierrez assured Washington, with support from County Counsel Minh Tran, that these steps were not creating a “sanctuary policy” and were “. . . consistent with State and Federal laws.”

Before the final vote, Washington and Sharp had another discussion about the role of the County Sheriff. The Supervisor noted that the fear of law enforcement by some county residents is that law enforcement is targeting them or they’re part of a targeted group.

“No deputy is driving down the road assessing somebody’s immigration status, they’re assessing their driving habits,” Sharp replied. “The belief or the assumption that our deputies are out there with immigration being the first and foremost thing their doing is not true.”

The Board then voted 4-0 to move forward. Supervisor Karen Spiegel was absent.

The next step will be a resolution entitled, “Affirming Riverside County to be a Vibrant, Compassionate, and Welcoming County for all Law-abiding Immigrants and Refugees,” which is on the Board’s Feb. 4 agenda.