HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 15 2026 - Item 9.4 - Julie Klein1
Stefan Mercer
From:Julee Klein <julee.klein.7156@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, June 15, 2026 10:46 AM
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
Cc:Kim Mancera; Matt Morley
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public Comment for 6/15/26 City Council Meeting
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
My name is Julee Klein, and I am a long-time resident of South County (Morgan Hill since 2004) and a small
business owner serving other small businesses in Gilroy, San Martin, Morgan Hill, and the surrounding area. Thank
you for unanimously approving the resolution opposing the proposed ICE facility in Gilroy. City property should
be used for City purposes — and I'm writing to ask you to build on your resolution with three concrete protections.
1. Before the end of June, join the amicus brief being filed by the County of Monterey with the Public Rights
Project. The 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. 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 County
Counsel and the San Jose City Attorney, and have also been adopted by VT A 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, using the San Jose and Santa Clara County models to strengthen
Gilroy's existing protocols.
This matters to me because my beautiful, talented daughter-in-law is a current legal green card holder. But I am
afraid that is not enough to protect her from ICE's illegal actions of kidnapping, detaining, and terrorizing
immigrants in our community. It took her 10 long, stressful months to legally renew her green card, and during that
time, we were deeply concerned about her safety and that of others like her. She was put in a precarious situation
where she could do nothing to speed the process, but for 10 long months, she was made bureaucratically "illegal"
through no fault of her own. As long as there are for-profit concentration camps in our communities, our
family members, friends, and neighbors will be targeted and stripped of due process, detained, and
tortured. Allowing these for-profit camps to continue means that every immigrant in our community -
legal or not - will have a price on their head and a team of ICE bounty hunters after them. It's cruel. It's
inhumane. It is unconstitutional. I urge you to please do what is in your power to stop this reign of terror in our
community.
Beyond the immense human cost — families torn apart, children losing parents, neighbors living in fear — these
protections matter for our economy 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 up to $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.
With respect and gratitude,
Julee Klein
Resident of Morgan Hill, CA
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julee klein
mobile: 408.205.7156
twitter: @JuleeAKlein | @JKMktg
instagram: @JKMktg
linkedin: linkedin.com/juleeklein
website: https://www.juleekleinmarketing.com/