SUPPORTERS of a “Harmony and Safety” resolution at Tuesday’s Garden Grove City Council meeting display signs (Orange County Tribune photo).
By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune
After three hours of public comments and discussion on the dais, the Garden Grove City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday night to indefinitely table a proposed controversial “harmony and safety” resolution centering on the immigration crackdown in the city.
The councilmembers voting against tabling the resolution were Yesenia Muneton (District 5) and Ariana Arestegui (District 6).
The near-capacity crowd in the council chamber overwhelmingly backed the resolution authored by Arestegui and some displayed signs of support.
Of the 26 people who spoke on the issue, 20 were in favor with six opposed.
Some considered the resolution a necessary response to offer solace to members of the Hispanic community who may feel targeted by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Crystal Cervantes spoke of the “panic and fear” that she saw among her neighbors.
Others saw it – at part – in political terms. Tony Flores began his remarks by saying, “God bless law enforcement; God bless Donald Trump; God bless ICE.”
But the sentiment that seemed to sway the council was the feeling that the proposed resolution was an echo of an earlier resolution approved by the council years ago, and in the new proposed resolution was in need of rewording.
The resolution would have said “the City Council of the City of Garden Grove fully supports the chief of police and the Garden Grove Police Department in not requiring officers to check, request, and/or verbally obtain proof of legal status in the execution of their duties, unless a suspect’s legal status is directly related to the incident leading to law enforcement intervention.”
Additionally, the proposed resolution stated that the GGPD “does not participate in or assist with immigration enforcement activities subject to well-established California law.”
The resolution, according to Arestegui, was in prompted by “the fear and concerns expressed by many members of the community in response to the increased federal law enforcement presence in our city.”
The next meeting of the Garden Grove City Council will be on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
