HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 15 2026 - Public Comment - Michelle Cosgrove1
Stefan Mercer
From:Michelle Cosgrove <michelleocosgrove@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, June 15, 2026 12:56 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
Cc:Kim Mancera; Matt Morley
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public Comment: Amicus Brief, No Staging Policy, Emergency Plan
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, and City Councilmembers,
My name is Michelle Cosgrove, and I am an organizer with Indivisible and a personal friend of many
Gilroy residents. 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 my family has lived in the southern Bay Area for over 30 years. We love
our immigrant friends and neighbors. Right now we are focused on our long time personal friends in
Gilroy and their neighbors. We want them to be safe and protected from ICE harassment and violence.
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. Thank you for your leadership,
and for taking these next steps for the safety and well-being of our community.
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Respectfully,
Michelle Cosgrove
Indivisible organizer and personal friend of many Gilroy residents