HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 01 2026 - Item 7.9 - Elisabeth McKeon1
Stefan Mercer
From:Elisabeth McKeon <elisabeth@drewspearsproductions.com>
Sent:Monday, June 1, 2026 1:18 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
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
My name is Elisabeth, I am a concerned citizen 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.
Do not allow yet another detention facility to be created where due process has been denied to detainees (who
were most likely brought in after being racially profiled and kidnapped by faceless, unidentified thugs) medical
care is being withheld, and psychological and physical abuse is taking place with no repercussions. The
system is broken. Do not allow the human rights violations that are being committed in our state and across the
country to continue. Do not be complicit.
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 reduce 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.
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,
Elisabeth McKeon, concerned citizen
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