HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 15 2026 - Item 9.4 - Kim Guptill1
Stefan Mercer
From:Kim Guptill <kimguptill@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, June 15, 2026 10:43 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:Matt Morley; Kim Mancera
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public Comment: Amicus Brief, No Staging Policy, Emergency Plan
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
My name is Kim Guptill, and I am a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara
County, and a trained Rapid Responder with the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara
County since 2017. Thank you for unanimously approving the resolution opposing the
proposed ICE facility on unincorporated County land near 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. 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. 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 County Counsel and the San Jose City Attorney, and
have also been adopted by 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, using the models
from the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County to strengthen Gilroy's existing protocols.
This matters to me because I believe everyone is welcome in the United States. Immigrants
deserve dignity and respect. The measures suggested here amount to basic human decency.
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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 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. As the daughter of a
farmer, I thank you for your leadership, and for taking these next steps for the safety and well-
being of our community.
Respectfully,
Kim Guptill