HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 01 2026 - Item 7.9 - Janice L.1
Stefan Mercer
From:J <jjlu0522@pm.me>
Sent:Monday, June 1, 2026 12:59 PM
To:Public Comments
Subject:EXTERNAL - Agenda Item 7.9 - Support
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
I am a part of Silicon Valley DSA and I strongly support the proposed resolution to oppose the possible ICE
facility in Gilroy. I also urge you to agendize a “No
staging zone” policy for your next City Council meeting on June 15 to provide concrete protections for
the community by prohibiting the use of city property for civil immigration enforcement. This simply
means
City property should be used for City purposes. My family immigrated here in the 90s and have since
become lawful citizens and green cardholders of the United States, but the initial process to gain
citizenship was difficult. They are loved community members that represent the best of the United
States. Building an ICE facility in Gilroy will only encourage hostility towards well-meaning, hardworking
folk who come here to seek a better life.
With the threats of proposed ICE facilities in Gilroy and Dublin, the community needs strong leadership
from the City Council and City administration to both oppose those facilities and establish concrete
protections. Our City should oppose this possible detention facility because we must combat this
anti-immigrant agenda that destabilizes our communities and tears families apart. In this dire crisis, we
greatly appreciate your brave local leadership in taking a public stand, together with all our communities,
to oppose any detention facility in our City.
ICE facilities and increased immigration 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 detention.
A
March 2026 report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute states that mass deportation could
3reduce regional economic output by as much as $67 billion annually. We need to protect our people
and
our economy.
That is why I am urging you to agendize a “No-Staging Zone” policy for June 15. City-owned or
City-controlled property, such as public parks and public parking lots, should not to be used as a staging
ground for immigration enforcement activity. 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 Cities of Campbell, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose, and VTA, as well as Santa
Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco and Alameda Counties to adopt a “No Staging Zone” policy.
It has been developed with thorough review by County Counsel and the City Attorneys, so you can be
assured that the policy has solid legal standing and minimizes risk.
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As the City has been built by our diverse immigrant and farmworker communities, we must pass and
implement all protections to make our City truly safe from the harms of immigration enforcement. Thank
you for your courage in creating this powerful resolution to publicly oppose any immigration detention
facility in Gilroy and for your bold leadership in prioritizing the safety of our people.
Thank you,
Janice