HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 01 2026 - Item 7.9 - Kelley Ketchmark1
Stefan Mercer
From:Kelley Ketchmark <kelleyketchmark@gmail.com>
Sent:Sunday, May 31, 2026 3:53 PM
To:Public Comments; Mayor Greg Bozzo; Council Member Dion Bracco; Council Member
Tom Cline; Council Member Terence Fugazzi; Council Member Zachary Hilton; Council
Member Carol Marques; Council Member Kelly Ramirez
Subject:EXTERNAL - Agenda Item 7.9 - Support
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Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
I am an acƟve member of Blue Turn Indivisible and a resident of Mountain View. I strongly support the proposed
resoluƟon to oppose the possible ICE facility in Gilroy. I also urge you to agendize a “No staging zone” policy for your nex t
City Council meeƟng on June 15 to provide concrete protecƟons for the community by prohibiƟng the use of city
property for civil immigraƟon enforcement. This simply means City property should be used for City purposes.
The Bay Area has not seen a high level of ICE terror so far because we don’t have a detenƟon center nearby for ICE to
cage human beings in.
If ICE succeeds in building a facility in Gilroy, they will fill it, and we will see increased enforcement ac Ɵvity and higher
rates of family separaƟons all over the Bay Area.
With the threats of proposed ICE faciliƟes in Gilroy and Dublin, the community needs strong leadership from the City
Council and City administraƟon to both oppose those faciliƟes and establish concrete protecƟons. Our City should
oppose this possible detenƟon facility because we must combat this anƟ-immigrant agenda that destabilizes our
communiƟes and tears families apart. In this dire crisis, we greatly appreciate your brave local leadership in taking a
public stand, together with all our communiƟes, to oppose any detenƟon facility in our City.
ICE faciliƟes and increased immigraƟon enforcement are bad for business. Businesses that Gilroy counts on will be
challenged and even shut down if they lose workers and customers due to fear and detenƟon. A March 2026 report from
the Bay Area Council Economic InsƟtute states that mass deportaƟon could reduce regional economic output by as much
as $67 billion annually. We need to protect our people and our economy.
I further urge you to agendize a “No-Staging” policy for June 15 because I do not want any City-owned or City-controlled
property, such as public parks and public parking lots, to be used as a staging ground for immigraƟon enforcement
acƟvity. Our tax-funded public property belongs to the people who live here, not to the agents terrorizing them. Our tax
dollars should strengthen schools, hospitals, and safe neighborhoods - not tear our families apart. I do not want to see
my Gilroy controlled by untrained, armed ICE agents.
Gilroy should join the CiƟes of Campbell, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose, and VTA, as well as Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,
San Mateo, San Francisco and Alameda CounƟes to adopt a “No Staging Zone” policy. It has been developed with
thorough review by County Counsel and the City AƩorneys, so you can be assured that the policy has solid legal standing
and minimizes risk.
As the City has been built by our diverse immigrant and farmworker communiƟes, we must pass and implement all
protecƟons to make our City truly safe from the harms of immigraƟon enforcement. Thank you for your courage in
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creaƟng this powerful resoluƟon to publicly oppose any immigraƟon detenƟon facility in Gilroy and for your bold
leadership in prioriƟzing the safety of our people.
Thank you,
Kelley Ketchmark