Garden Grove officials are eyeing the creation of an immigration resource hub on their website in response to the ICE sweeps ramping up once again in Orange County.

[Read: Are Large ICE Raids Coming Back to Orange County?]

Since the summer, dozens of residents and activists have shown up to several city council meetings demanding elected officials take a stance against the immigration crackdown and launch an immigrant aid fund to support Garden Grove families impacted by the raids.

For months a majority of city council members have avoided adopting any resolution in response to the federal immigration crackdown or starting a fund to help immigrants with rent, food or utility bills like in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and potentially in Fullerton.

That might change at Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. Garden Grove City Council meeting where officials are expected to consider adopting a resolution that calls on law enforcement agencies to respect civil liberties and would create an online resource hub on the city website.

To read the resolution, click here.

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

Councilwoman Ariana Arestegui, who requested the resolution, said it has been an “uphill battle” to get a majority of her colleagues on the dais to respond to the immigration sweeps impacting local families.

“Garden Grove is not unique in what it’s facing, but what has been unique is that we’ve been so slow to respond to an issue that so many of our regional partners are doing their best to address,” she said in a Monday phone interview.

“We’ve had so many residents come to us since the beginning of the federal law enforcement presence in our area, and the message is resoundingly clear – our residents want us to keep them informed.”

In August, Arestegui brought forth a resolution reaffirming that local police officers do not participate in immigration enforcement and recognizing the fear felt by residents amid an increased federal law enforcement presence but a majority of her colleagues voted to table it.

[Read: Garden Grove Leaders Back Off From Responding to ICE Raids]

Arestegui said the resource hub would help provide important information to immigrant families as well as businesses owners impacted by the raids.

She also said whether Garden Grove launches a legal aid fund or rent assistance program for immigrants will be up to her colleagues on the council.

“Our community has expressed that that is an interest. My question to the other folks on my council is that an action that you are also willing to take? I cannot do this on my own, and I would need further conversations with my colleagues and my city staff to even see if that is a capability for us as a city,” Arestegui said.

Other elected officials in Orange County have called on local police to cooperate and work with federal immigration agents – a move that would violate California’s Sanctuary State law.

Garden Grove City Councilman Joe DoVinh recently received backlash for comments he made in Vietnamese on a radio show calling on police to cooperate with immigration enforcement officers and threatening to fire the police chief himself.

[Read: As Immigration Aid Expands in OC, A Westminster Official Wants Police Working With ICE]

Arestegui said no council member has the power to individually fire the police chief.

In a news release after the nationwide No King protests earlier this month, DoVinh said there has been a politicization of Trump’s policies on immigration in Garden Grove and the millions that joined the protests do not speak for all Americans.

“While we strongly support law enforcement, we also call for the Equal Protection of all immigrants, documented or not– this is basic human rights that need to be respected in a civil society like US,” reads the Oct. 19 news release 

DoVinh said in an email Monday he would speak to the issue at Tuesday’s meeting.

Garden Grove City Council meeting on July 8, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

The proposed resolution reiterates that Garden Grove police officers do not conduct immigration enforcement.

In Garden Grove, about 49% of residents or roughly 84,000 people are foreign born. Of that, about 31,000 of residents are not U.S. citizens and 53,000 are naturalized citizens, according to the census. 

Over 42% of the population in Garden Grove is Asian and 37% is Latino.

According to the USC Equity Research Institute, over 210,000 people in Orange County are undocumented.

Under the proposed resolution, city staff would be directed to identify immigration aid services and programs like legal aid and know your rights information and maintain a list of them on the city’s website.

Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana and Stanton have all launched similar informational hubs on their websites.

Staff would also be directed to create emergency preparedness packets for families impacted by the raids and city officials would commit to working with nonprofits and community organizations to identify ways to better support residents amid the immigration crackdown.

Arestegui said as immigration enforcement sweeps spread in the city, the pressure from residents on elected officials in Garden Grove to respond amplifies.

She adds she is optimistic that the majority of city council members will support her resolution this time.

“The evidence that our community needs help is becoming incontrovertible,” Arestegui said. 

“To turn the other way would be irresponsible for us.”

Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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