Chicago and the State of Illinois are being sued by the DOJ for obstruction of Justice. Both agencies have decided to use tax dollars and government resources to protect drug dealers, rapists, murderers, domestic violence perpetrators and more. They have decided to represent criminals from foreign countries, in order to make Americans victims of crime.
“Mayor Matt Mahan and the San Jose City Council today faced down threats from the Trump Administration and doubled down on their support for renewed protections of undocumented immigrants in the city, citing rising anxiety and a climate of fear among immigrant families.
After hearing 90 minutes of comments by more than 100 city residents, business owners, teachers, clergy and social service workers about what one speaker called “ the terrifying reality that many in our city live through every day,” a unanimous council reaffirmed its more than 20-year commitment to constitutional rights of immigrants, and pledged an undetermined amount of new financial support for the Rapid Response Network.”
The mayor and City Council have declared San Jose a safe city for criminals—and a landscape for crime against honest citizens. American are no longer safe in San Jose. I expect at some point they will also be sued. I would prefer arrests—that might force this crime syndicate, calling itself a city council, to return to honest government.
San Jose City Rebuffs Trump Threats, Doubles Down on Immigrant Protections
By Barry Holtzclaw, Inside San Jose, 2/4/25 https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/san-jose-city-rebuffs-trump-threats-doubles-down-on-immigrant-protections/
Mayor Matt Mahan and the San Jose City Council today faced down threats from the Trump Administration and doubled down on their support for renewed protections of undocumented immigrants in the city, citing rising anxiety and a climate of fear among immigrant families.
After hearing 90 minutes of comments by more than 100 city residents, business owners, teachers, clergy and social service workers about what one speaker called “ the terrifying reality that many in our city live through every day,” a unanimous council reaffirmed its more than 20-year commitment to constitutional rights of immigrants, and pledged an undetermined amount of new financial support for the Rapid Response Network.
The network, co-founded by the city in 2016 in response to anticipated immigration enforcement policies of the first Trump Administration, tracks actions by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, providing on-the-spot counseling and legal assistance to undocumented immigrants. The city has provided $50,000 annually to the network since its inception. The resolution voted on today didn’t have a dollar amount associated with it.
The network, which has received a $5 million contribution from Santa Clara County supervisors, is one of several in the Bay Area.
After Sheriff Bob Jonsen and San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph last month joined other California law enforcement agencies and jails in stating they would comply with a new state law that strictly limited any cooperation with or assistance to ICE in local immigration raids or investigations, President Trump directed Department of Justice attorneys to prosecute any local officials and police across the country that didn’t cooperate with ICE.
Business owners told council members at today’s City Council meeting that their employees and customers were staying home, daycare services and health services reported declines in client visits and agencies that provide direct services to immigrants reported hundreds of calls from families fearful of ICE raids.
Mahan said there had been no reports so far of stepped up ICE enforcement in the city, but said the entire council agreed on acting now to ease fears and pledge renewed support for the rights of undocumented immigrants.
Mahan said he was mindful of the fact that 40% of the city’s residents are foreign-born, and that 75% of these have been in San Jose for more than a decade. He said half of the city’s 60,000 businesses are owned by immigrants.
It has been estimated that Santa Clara County is home to more than 134,000 undocumented immigrants.
“There is incredible fear out in the community,” Mahan said.
The council today agreed to:
- “Reaffirm the longstanding San José Police Department’s policy that its officers will not arrest persons merely for their unlawful presence in the United States; that no undocumented immigrants should fear arrest or deportation for coming forward to report a crime as a victim or a witness; and that no undocumented immigrants should fear arrest or deportation by contacting any employee of the City of San José to express concerns or to ask questions.
- “Affirm that no city employee will voluntarily support immigration enforcement actions that target San José residents solely based on their immigration status.
- “Affirm its commitment to preserving the safety and integrity of all its residents, regardless of national origin or legal status.”
The council stopped short of using the term “sanctuary city.”
The City Council also pledged to provide new funds and other support for the Rapid Response Network “and possible actions to expand its reach into the most vulnerable communities in the city.”
In today’s resolution, the council said, “Proposals from the incoming presidential administration, including a promised mass deportation program, pose an existential threat to many residents of the city, waves of fear have already swept through immigrant communities across the country and within the City of San José and widespread fear of indiscriminate deportation decreases cooperation with law enforcement, withdrawal from public spaces such as schools, and worsening public health outcomes.”
The four City Council members who had initiated the plan for renewed protection for undocumented immigrant protections – Councilmembers Pamela Campos, Domingo Candelas, David Cohen and Peter Ortiz – had announced the plan at a rally last month.
Their colleagues today told the City Hall audience that only Brown Act limitations on the number of council members who can discuss actions outside of a scheduled meeting prevented an announcement at the time of unanimous council support.
None of the voices from the crowded City Hall audience voiced opposition to the plan.
Mahan said he and the police chief will host a town-hall-style meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 12, to answer questions about the city’s immigration stance.
The Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network and hotline is a collaborative project led by several organizations, including: Sacred Heart Community Service, Pangea Legal Services, PACT, SOMOS Mayfair, LUNA, SIREN, South Bay Labor Council, CARAS, Diocese of San José, Consulate of Mexico, Human Agenda, San Jose’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and Santa Clara County’s Office of Immigrant Relations.
To reach the Rapid Response Hotline – if you see ICE agents – call 408-290-1144.
Public officials who interfere and harbor illegals should be arrested and jailed and made to pay for the cost of incarceration if found guilty. Incarceration should take place at least 500 miles from their political office seat so that they cannot intimidate any of the guards.