San Jose officials rally to fund immigrant protection groups

Officials in San Jose took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the State and nation.  Many of them lied.  Instead of enforcing laws, they want to use your tax dollars to break the law and to protect rapists, murderers, drug dealers and pimps.  This is a disgrace.

““We need to act now to protect and strengthen the Rapid Response Network to prepare for any legal battles and reaffirm our commitment that no city employee, including our police department, will inquire about legal status or cooperate with immigrant enforcement,” Ortiz said Wednesday.

The Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to accept the proposal, and a resolution will come back to the full council at the end of January.

Immigrant rights groups such as SOMOS Mayfair, Amigos de Guadalupe, LUNA and Working Partnerships USA joined councilmembers to rally in support of the proposal outside City Hall ahead of the meeting.

I would hope the IRS would take away the tax exempt status of these criminal organizations.

San Jose officials rally to fund immigrant protection groups

by Vicente Vera, San Jose Spotlight,  1/15/25   https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-officials-rally-to-fund-immigrant-protection-groups/?utm_campaign=Daily%20Spotlight%20-%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ppngyiJHxiCQGpk2bnXRLMv9zSbAOcsXFXtXue0BXVP38AOzG8NmOJxeB66B_Xaz2kEPe-UGfB4Qw4-OmP2l7PFVL-AtoRW5pv0kiCRj24rOM9Yw&_hsmi=342735742&utm_content=342735742&utm_source=hs_email

Latino members of the San Jose City Council are calling for more funding for undocumented immigrant protections as the incoming presidential administration threatens to ramp up deportations.

Councilmembers Pamela Campos, Domingo Candelas, David Cohen and Peter Ortiz want the city to follow up on past funding from Santa Clara County officials and give more financial support to the Rapid Response Network — a coalition of community-run organizations that protect immigrants and their families from deportation raids. Though new San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said officers won’t detain, question or arrest people solely because of their immigration status, incoming President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to conduct mass deportations nationwide. Santa Clara County is home to more than 134,000 undocumented immigrants.

“We need to act now to protect and strengthen the Rapid Response Network to prepare for any legal battles and reaffirm our commitment that no city employee, including our police department, will inquire about legal status or cooperate with immigrant enforcement,” Ortiz said Wednesday.

The Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to accept the proposal, and a resolution will come back to the full council at the end of January.

Immigrant rights groups such as SOMOS Mayfair, Amigos de Guadalupe, LUNA and Working Partnerships USA joined councilmembers to rally in support of the proposal outside City Hall ahead of the meeting.

Dozens of advocates for undocumented immigrants stood shoulder-to-shoulder with city officials and Latino community leaders to describe threats posed by the Trump administration.

Bibiana del Pilar Cruz, community navigator for the Rapid Response Network, said now is the best time for city officials to start giving funding to the coalition. Money from the city means the network can hire more lawyers to fight deportations and administrative staff to run the help hotline, along with providing the community with legal services.

“We can’t expand the network without more sources of funding,” she told San José Spotlight in Spanish. “In addition to legal assistance from activists organizations and social justice groups, we work to accompany people so that they have access to adequate defense and the resources that they need.”

The request to fund anti-deportation efforts follows Trump indicating he wants to declare a national emergency and use the military for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants when he takes office on Jan. 20 — although questions surround the plan’s legality.

The Rapid Response Network was founded during the first Trump administration in 2016 to double down on San Jose’s commitment as a sanctuary city. Organizations within the network remained active during President Joe Biden’s administration, helping with immigrant rights and rental assistance among other community support efforts.
Trump’s election in November reignited fears in the immigrant community, leading to proposals like the one put forth by Campos, Candelas, Cohen and Ortiz — as well as a state bill protecting undocumented students and their families from ICE raids.

Secure Justice representative Sameena Usman said Muslim residents have also been the focus of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“We want to make sure that the council is going to reaffirm their support for immigrants and their commitments to protecting all residents, regardless of immigration status or faith,” she said at the rally.