Long Beach City Council OKs resolution calling for federal immigration accountability – Press Telegram

Long Beach city officials this week maintained its stance against ICE agents in the city, for federal immigration accountability and in favor of impeaching Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

Residents and local immigrant rights organizations also continued their advocacy for city leaders to take more action to protect the city’s immigrant communities.

The City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 17, unanimously adopted a resolution calling for federal immigration accountability and supporting Noem’s impeachment – joining other cities, state legislatures and members of Congress nationwide with the demand. This resolution was proposed earlier this month by the council to urge an end to federal policies and enforcement operations that the staff report described as subjecting local communities, such as Long Beach, to violence and harm. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials, however, have pushed back against that assessment, saying instead that ICE agents are removing violent criminals from the streets.

Mayor Rex Richardson and councilmembers expressed their concerns with federal immigration enforcement locally, such as destabilizing families, weakening neighborhoods and making communities feel less safe.

“What this does is this allows Long Beach to add its voice in calling for accountability at the highest levels of DHS, including the removal of Secretary Kristi Noem,” Richardson said during this week’s meeting, “based on the devastating impacts that ongoing federal immigration enforcement actions continue to have on our diverse and immigrant communities, like Long Beach.”

The resolution also affirms the city’s commitment to protecting civil rights, community trust and the dignity of all residents, according to the staff report.

“Long Beach stands with our immigrant communities,” the mayor added. “We must hold all those accountable for the harms and horrors committed over the last few months in Minneapolis and around the nation, including here in Long Beach, which has senselessly torn families apart, caused deep fears in the community, and undermined public safety. The direction of this federal administration does not reflect our values, and we urge other cities to join us in this important call for accountability.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment about Long Beach’s resolution or potential impeachment proceedings for Noem.

But the Trump administration has repeatedly defended the operations, saying they are necessary to make the nation safe, characterizing the people ICE arrests as dangerous criminals.

“The Department of Homeland Security is focused on enforcing the law and keeping America safe,” Noem said on X, formerly Twitter, on Feb. 1. “That’s our mission. We are deporting criminal illegal aliens across the country, improving the most secure border in American history and keeping the American people safe and secure from terror threats and natural disasters.”

But immigration advocates and officials across Los Angeles County have decried such characterizations, saying ICE is detaining hard-working members of the community — and, in some cases, U.S. citizens.

Many residents said that the resolution was a small, but good, first step to stop the ongoing federal enforcement in Long Beach. But some residents and local immigrant rights organizations continue putting pressure on the city, asking the mayor, councilmembers and city take more actions to protect Long Beach’s immigrant communities.

“We need change now,” said Ellie, a Long Beach resident who did not disclose her surname during the council meeting. “I can’t stand to see my neighbors taken, my neighbors struggling to eat, my neighbors getting evicted due to substantial remodel, which you will not get rid of.”

As for the resolution, it will be sent to members of the California congressional delegation, California’s U.S. senators, and other appropriate federal, state and local entities, according to the staff report.

A day after the council adopted the resolution, officials hung a banner that stated “ICE Out of Long Beach” from the balcony of the mayor’s office at City Hall. Richardson made a statement on social media about the banner that said Long Beach stands in solidarity with its immigrant families.

“We stand with our immigrant families,” the mayor’s statement said, “and we believe public safety must be rooted in trust, not fear. Our work to ensure every family in Long Beach feels safe and protected will continue.”

While the banner received positive responses from community members online, others said it was the “bare minimum.” Local immigrant rights organizations, such as Órale, have continually demanded more from elected officials and stated that stronger policies and more money for the Long Beach Justice Fund are needed for immigrant families — not a banner.

In Richardson’s statement, he said the banner was not produced at taxpayer expense, and that it would hang for the “next few days, be pulled up at night due to wind, and be placed back out in the morning.” The mayor said that the banner would then be donated to a Long Beach community-based organization or institution.