Garden Grove became a flashpoint this week in Orange County’s ongoing immigration debate – raising concerns that city council members could be prosecuted for aiding undocumented immigrants by posting a resource page, along with who’s to blame for the ICE raids.
It kicked off during a debate about whether or not city council members should direct staff to post a resource page for residents impacted by the deportation sweeps – a proposal that a majority of elected officials eventually voted to bring back.
“This is a preventative measure to make sure many of our residents are prepared and make sure they know what their rights are,” Councilwoman Arianna Arestegui said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Arestegui, who spearheaded the proposal, said the whole community needs to know their civil rights because it’s not just undocumented residents being impacted.
“A lot of these provisions are things that are being enacted by other cities in our region that are major stakeholders in this issue as well and Garden Grove is the third largest Hispanic community in Orange County,” she said.
From left, Garden Grove City Council Members Yesenia Muñeton and Ariana Arestegui listen to a public speaker during the July 8, 2025 meeting. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
It comes amid rising concerns from immigration advocates that roving deportation raids could be coming back to Orange County.
[Read: Are Large ICE Raids Coming Back to Orange County?]
Councilman George Brietigam warned such Arestegui’s proposal could put he and his colleagues on the Department of Justice’s radar – even landing them in jail – and cited a letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to Gov. Gavin Newsom sent earlier this week.
“This was written last week to Newsom and every city got a copy of it. The Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute any state and local official who violates these federal statutes or directs or conspires with others to violate them,” Brietigam said.
Council members ultimately voted 5-1-1 to direct city staff to come back with an amended resolution that would provide a resource landing page on the city’s website. Brietigam voted no and Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein abstained.
Scores of concerns were raised by Brietigam and others – including who’s being targeted in the deportation raids and what the potential consequences are if city officials roll out a resource page.
Could a Resource Page Mean Prison Time?
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on March 28, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
While Brietigam said Arestegui’s proposal has good intentions, he warned it could have serious consequences.
“We’re opening ourselves up for a lot of issues. I don’t want to go to prison,” said Brietigam, a former officer with the LAPD. “I just can’t get behind this in any kind of way. Does that mean I’m anti-immigrant? No, I am the most pro-immigrant person in this dias. I am the most adamant anti-illegal immigrant and that is a fact.”
He also criticized people who haven’t gone through the naturalization process.
“Some of these folks have been here 20, 30 years and they haven’t even done anything to go through the process to put their hand up and swear allegiance. Nothing. I’m sorry but I don’t have any sympathy for that kind of behavior,” Brietigam said.
Garden Grove City Councilman George Brietigam on July 8, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Arestegui said Brietigam was playing to his voters.
“I appreciate you saying that with your full chest which means you stood by your beliefs and I do earnestly and genuinely think that George is trying to express his beliefs and the beliefs of his constituents,” she said.
She also said her proposal’s not too different from other cities.
It’s not just happening in Garden Grove, it’s in Santa Ana, it’s in Anaheim,” Arestegui said. “Other cities have kind of been beating us to the punch on this issue.”
Councilwoman Yesenia Muneton said the council should support the Garden Grove Unified School District, which has rolled out a resource page and helped other relief efforts for families impacted by the deportation sweeps.
“We need to stand in solidarity with our school district, with our nonprofits that are already working hard every single day to provide these resources,” Muneton said.
She later said the move is “in solidarity of families that have grown over 30 years – including myself – that we want to provide resources … in solidarity with our diverse community, where my generation comes from, where Ariannia’s generation comes from.”
Brietigam warned President Donald Trump’s administration is serious about the warning letter.
“You are technically aiding and abetting in that process and if we’re going down that road. If you don’t think the Trump administration is going to come down on you, you’re full of yourself because they will. You’re looking at fines and prison – and it’s federal time,” he said.
Brietigam told his colleagues to not expect the Department of Justice to change its approach anytime soon.
“You think his DOJ’s messing around? I think it’s going to go much longer than that. I mean we’re looking probably at least 11, 12 years because after Trump – let’s face it, what’s going on in this country, no one’s going to vote for another Democrat president for the next 20 years.”
Councilman Joe DoVinh, who offered a series of language amendments on the proposal, pushed back against Brietigam’s claims.
“There’s nothing here that mentioned we’re aiding and abetting illegals. And it is a very serious concern and i know it’s a risk,” DoVinh said, adding that the city attorney will review the proposal before he and his colleagues vote on it again.
“If I feel the risk is too much, I will vote against it. But I do want to bring it back for a vote,” he said.
Citing legal liability and funding cut concerns, DoVinh took issue with certain aspects of the resolution – like a section that stated the city doesn’t have legal authority to assist in immigration enforcement.
‘That’s for the state government and the federal government to duke it out in court,” DoVinh said.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, DoVinh said he doesn’t support ICE in Garden Grove.
“I don’t want ICE in my city, no! You heard that loud and clear!” DoVinh exclaimed.
Earlier, Mayor Klopfenstein raised concerns the proposal could lead to federal funding cuts.
“Is it moving the needle, is it stopping ICE enforcement in those communities or is it perhaps putting a greater target, perhaps risking a deeper level involvement from the federal government?” Klopfenstein said.
Instead, the mayor urged her colleagues to use their offices and resources to help residents in their respective districts.
“I don’t want to have to look somebody in the face and say your rental assistance has been taken from you,” she said.
Councilwoman Cindy Ngoc Tran, who earlier voted with Brietigam and Klopfenstein on a failed motion to nix the resource page proposal, cast doubt on the effectiveness of such a move.
“We have a lot of different nonprofit groups here that their mission is to do things like that,” said Tran, who ultimately voted to bring back the revised proposal.
Councilman Phillip Tran said the move is needed.
“It should be a priority to the Garden Grove city council. Keep in mind this resolution does not provide any kind of protection for the residents from ICE,” he said. “We have to follow the federal law whether we like it or not, so we can’t protect you. But I like this revised resolution because it will provide information.”
Who’s Being Targeted?
A day laborer sits in a lawn chair outside a Home Depot in Orange County waiting to be approached with work. He has resided in the U.S. for 28 years. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Arestegui said she’s been hearing from numerous residents that the immigration raids have been impacting US citizens and people with no criminal records.
“This isn’t made up stuff that’s kind of coming out of nowhere. Folks are approaching us with their anecdotes, with their experiences,” she said. “This is an issue that has reached the point where it’s been affecting our legal residents that have no criminal records as well as our citizens.”
Local immigration advocates and legal observers also say that citizens have been detained by federal immigration officers.
In an Oct. 23 phone interview, Jody Vallejo – a USC professor who specializes in immigration – said federal officials are unconstitutionally racially profiling people.
“What does an undocumented person look like? There are no outward indicators. You have then this very militarized police force that is essentially going rogue in our communities and it is like nothing like we have never seen,” said Vallejo, who also volunteers with the OC Rapid Response network.
“There’s always been raids, there’s always been workplace raids,” she added. “But the current scale and the tactics are very different.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Bretigam blamed California’s sanctuary law that limits police cooperation with ICE for the current iteration of immigration raids.
“The sanctuary state laws made it so ICE has to go out in the community and chase people down. And it looks terrible, it scares people. It scares kids. This is what the state created,” Brietigam said.
He also said federal officials are going after criminals.
“A lot of people don’t realize they’re going after targeted criminal aliens,” Brietigam said. “That’s their main focus, the rapists, the murders, the robbers. That’s what ICE is looking for. The border patrol, they’re the ones that come through and do the random grabs that everybody’s talking about.”
He also said if people complied with federal officials, the situation would be more peaceful and dismissed concerns that citizens are being caught up in the sweeps.
“You know who else does that? The police, and the FBI … detention is a part of all law enforcement,” Brietigam said. “If they have enough evidence they’re going to take you to jail, that’s the way it works. American citizens get detained every day.”
In a phone interview last week, Bethany Anderson, head of the nonprofit Camino Immigration Services, said two citizens were detained and released at a Euclid Car Wash raid in Anaheim earlier this month – where she was serving as a legal observer.
“Officers were coming from literally every direction – like a siege. It was very surreal, like a movie – a military operation,” she said, adding that nobody got arrested.
According to federal detention data as of Sept. 15 – the latest available as of Wednesday – there were 3,801 people detained in ICE facilities throughout California.
An overwhelming majority were classified as “no ICE threat” – 85% of detainees, or 3,242 people.
Just 15% were considered a threat – 559 people.
Anderson said federal revisions to immigration policy are making people into undocumented immigrants.
“It’s not criminals, it’s the most vulnerable of the immigrant population that are being made undocumented. Immigration has their information because they’re applying, they’re trying to do it the right way and they’re being targeted.”
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.
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