HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 15 2026 - Item 9.4 - Marjorie Siegel1
Stefan Mercer
From:marjoriesiegel@proton.me
Sent:Sunday, June 14, 2026 10:22 PM
To:Public Comments; Mayor Greg Bozzo; Council Member Dion Bracco; Council Member
Tom Cline; Council Member Terence Fugazzi; zacharyhilton@cityofgilroy.org; Council
Member Carol Marques; Council Member Kelly Ramirez
Cc:Kim Mancera; Matt Morley
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public Comment:Amicus Brief, No Staging policy, Emergency Plan
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Temper, And City Councilmembers,
My name is Marjorie Siegel and I am a Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network volunteer. Thank-you for
unanimously approving the resolution opposing the proposed ICE facility in Gilroy. I'm writing to ask you to build on
your resolution with three actions to provide concrete protections.
1. Before the end of June, join the amicus brief being filed by the County of Monterey with the Public rights
Project. This brief supports the lawsuit filed jointly by Santa Clara County and the California Attorney
General on June 10. The counties of Monterey and Alameda and the cities of San Jose and Alameda have
already signed on, with more in process. Gilroy belongs in this coalition.
2. Agendize a "No-Staging Zone" policy for your next Council meeting, prohibiting the use of City property --
parking lots, parks, and other City-owned or City-controlled land---for civil immigration enforcement staging
and operations. City property should be used for City and community purposes. Gilroy can move quickly, as
Campbell, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View did, by adapting the policies adopted by San Jose (1/13/26) and
Santa Clara (2/3/26). These were developed with thorough review by City Counsel and the City Attorney,
and have also been adopted by the VTA and the Counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San
Francisco, and Alameda. Gilroy benefits from that legal groundwork.
3. Establish an emergency response plan so the City is prepared to protect public safety and support
residents in the event of a large-scale enforcement operation. Models from the City of San Jose and Santa
Clara County can be utilized to strengthen Gilroy's existing protocols.
This matters greatly to me both as a member of the community and a Rapid Responder who accompanies people to
their ICE check-ins. I have witnessed community members attending these check-ins, as they have done for years,
suddenly in handcuffs and being shoved into a van destined for an ICE prison. I have been asked by neighbors to
notify their relative if they are detained, so that their children do not come home from school to find an empty home,
parents vanished. To me, Gilroy is a welcoming, multi-cultural city with a uniquely appealing mix of farmland and
gourmet restaurants, shopping and wine-tasting, rich in history and future promise. An ICE facility would irrevocably
damage that. Please protect it.
Beyond the immense human cost --- families torn apart, children losing parents, neighbors living in fear --- these
protections matter for our community as well as our safety. A March 2026 report from the Bay Area Council
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Economic Institute found that mass deportation could reduce regional economic output by as much as $67 billion
annually. Gilroy's businesses depend on workers and customers who will be driven away by fear and detention.
Gilroy has been built by diverse immigrant and farmworker communities. Thank-you for your leadership, and for
taking these next steps for the safety and well-being of our community.
Respectfully,
Marjorie Siegel
Volunteer, Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network