The city of Delano could be the next California city to ban immigration authorities from using city property and create a notification system to alert residents when immigration agents are in the area.
“I believe at this moment in time our fundamental principles and ideals in America are under threat,” Delano Mayor Salvador Solorio-Ruiz said.
“Latinos are being hunted in the streets of America and this administration is going after our neighbors without upholding the rule of law.”
Solorio-Ruiz said the Delano City Council will debate and vote Monday on a proposed ordinance limiting federal immigration authorities from using city property unless backed by a judicial warrant or court order.
In the wake of the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement, cities across the state and nation have passed additional legislation to try to limit federal authorities’ ability to operate.
State law has prohibited local law enforcement from participating with federal immigration agents in most circumstances since 2018 but many jurisdictions have taken further steps to prohibit immigration officials from operating on their properties.
Even with state laws limiting local interaction, Solorio-Ruiz said the city needs to be ready.
“If we do not prepare, we fail our community in case something occurs,” Solorio-Ruiz said.
The proposed ordinance would prohibit federal immigration authorities from using city property such as parking lots for staging, surveillance or interviews, among other activity, unless authorized by a court.
The ordinance would allow the city manager or a designee to lawfully request immigration authorities to cease and desist their operation on city property, absent a court order.
The proposal would also require all city departments to be notified of such a request, and that notices also be sent to the Delano community “through all reasonable means of communication.”
A federal judge blocked certain kinds of immigration enforcement tactics in the Central Valley following a January 2025 raid by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which arrested nearly 80 people.
In a subsequent lawsuit on behalf of those arrested, the court noted the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, acknowledged agents were not currently trained on obligations under the Forth Amendment and said it would retrain roughly 900 California-based agents.
Solorio-Ruiz said he wasn’t aware of any recent enforcement actions.
The council’s meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Monday.