A small group of like-minded women, all 10+ year residents of Upland, California, found one another for the first time on April 23rd, 2018. Among them was Irmalinda Osuna, who, unknowingly at the time, would run for Upland City Council in the November 2018 midterm elections. On this night, the city of Upland held its monthly City Council Meeting at City Hall. On the meeting’s agenda was the issue of supporting Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ lawsuit against the California Values Act, or California’s Sanctuary State Bill, Senate Bill 54 (SB 54). SB 54, signed by governor Jerry Brown in October of 2017, ensures that no state or local resources are diverted to fuel any attempt by the federal government to carry out mass deportations, and that schools, hospitals, and courthouses are safe spaces for everyone. The law took effect in January 2018.
In accordance with SB 54, Chief Douglas Millmore of the the Upland Police Department (UPD) authorized a Chapter in January stating that “all personnel make professional commitments to equal enforcement of the law and service to the public,” and assures that the role of the UPD is “serving the entire community and recognizing the dignity of all persons, regardless of their immigration status.” The Chapter declared that “the primary jurisdiction for enforcing federal immigration laws concerning unlawful entry into the United States remains with ICE and not with the Upland Police Department or other local or municipal law-enforcement agencies.” Under this statement, the UPD shall not suspect a person is undocumented, shall not ask a person their immigration status, and shall not provide ICE with confidential information unless the information is available to the public.
In March 2018, Sessions sued the state of California for passing SB 54, alleging that this California law is unconstitutional. Cities across the state began to discuss supporting the lawsuit in various ways. Los Alamitos’ City Council adopted an ordinance that would exempt itself from SB 54, while Yorba Linda’s City Council filed a brief stating its support of the federal lawsuit. In April, the Huntington Beach City Council, as a charter city with its own independent authority, voted to separately sue the state itself. This ruling made Huntington Beach and all 121 of California’s charter cities exempt from complying with SB 54.
On April 23rd, Upland City Hall was packed with people. Forty eight people spoke in favor of joining the lawsuit against SB 54, stating that the bill would perpetuate criminal activity associated with undocumented immigrants and create confusion for local law enforcement. During the five hours of public testimony, many emphasized that it is against the law for people to come to the United States without going through the formal immigration process. Many shared anecdotal stories of unpleasant encounters they had with people they perceived to be undocumented immigrants or stories they had heard about undocumented immigrants on the news. Of the forty-eight who spoke against SB 54 just sixteen of them identified as residents of Upland.
In contrast, twenty-four of the thirty-five people who spoke in support of SB 54, including Irmalinda and her new compadres, identified as long-term residents of Upland. Another six identified as residents of the bordering cities of Ontario, Claremont, or Montclair. During her two minute window to speak, Irmalinda stated, “I came with some other Upland residents to deliver some facts, some research-backed data that I provided for you over the weekend to read, and hopefully this will help you make an informed decision. Not on the fear, the hate, all this stuff you heard tonight because honestly, what kind of democracy is this if you are going to make a decision based on this stuff?”
“ICE Out of Upland” Profile Picture on Facebook. The groups’ description is “A coalition of Upland Residents and local Immigrants’ Rights Organizations who defend California’s Sanctuary Senate Bill 54 and fight back against hate. #ICEoutUpland”
Irmalinda, had made an “ICE Out of Upland” Facebook page and met up with fellow constituents in favor of SB 54 to prepare for the meeting. They were prepared with data to dispute the claims that undocumented immigrants carry out high levels of criminal activity and benefit from public funds, emphasizing that immigrants actually contribute to the economy and are unable to receive public benefits without their citizen status. Additionally, they argued that SB 54 is outside of the scope of municipal politics and the duties of the Upland Police Department. They warned that filing a lawsuit against SB 54 would incite fear in the immigrant community, threaten people with undocumented family members, and contribute to an overall culture of hate and divisiveness in Upland. Irmalinda concludes, “Enough of this fear and this hate, this vicious fear and hate, because that is dividing our country, dividing our communities, and your job is to keep us together. No matter what, keep us together. And listen to the local community. I beg you.”
In the end, Upland’s City Council decided to file a brief in support of Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against SB 54. The decision was made based off of the Council’s desire for clarification in the Upland Police Department, claiming that SB 54 puts new limits on state and local law enforcement’s ability to help the federal government enforce immigration law. They claimed that SB 54 confuses the role and duties of the Upland Police Department. Mayor Debbie Stone concluded, “our police force needs our support more than ever.”
Watch the SB 54 discussion here:
Watch the entire April 23rd, 2018 City Council meeting here:
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