SAN JOSE CONTINUES to strengthen protections for its immigrant communities by prohibiting federal immigration agents from hiding their identity and advancing plans to prevent ICE from using city-owned properties for enforcement.
The San Jose City Council voted unanimously for both policies on Tuesday. The city attorney created an unmasking policy that prohibits all law enforcement from wearing face masks except to prevent transmitting disease or to protect from fire and toxins. It also requires them to wear visible identification. In addition, federal immigration agents must give the San Jose Police Department advanced notice if they conduct operations in the city that require masking.
SJPD will be required to inform the city manager when officers respond to incidents involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The department will also establish protocols to look into incidents where people impersonate law enforcement officers and create a specialized unit to investigate. This follows an ICE agent impersonating a police officer to remove a man from the day worker center in September.
Should federal immigration agents fail to comply, the city may seek a court injunction, work with federal agencies to ensure compliance or take additional measures. People impersonating law enforcement may be prosecuted.
“In San Jose, our police officers almost never wear masks because they don’t need to,” Mayor Matt Mahan said at the meeting. “They work for and with the community, with a lot of support from the community. I firmly believe that’s why we are, once again, the safest big city in the country. The foundation of public safety is trust, and when there’s a trusted relationship built up between law enforcement officials and the community, the people they serve, you get better outcomes.”
Councilmembers directed staff to identify all city-owned properties and work with the city attorney to develop a policy to prohibit federal immigration activity on them. This comes on the heels of a similar Santa Clara County plan to lock ICE agents out of county property.
District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz has taken the lead on bringing six ICE-related proposals to the dais this year.
“These policies will reflect San Jose’s commitment to community safety, accountability and the protection of immigrant and working-class families across the city,” Ortiz said at the meeting.
Dozens of federal immigration agents were expected to arrive at the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda last week, but the deployment was called off at the last minute. Immigration advocates still expressed skepticism that there couldn’t another deployment in the future.
“Watching ICE terrorize my neighbors has changed me,” Deb St. Julien, a volunteer with the Rapid Response Network which protects immigrants from ICE activity, said at the meeting. “We should do everything we can to stand with our neighbors against this brutish, thuggish activity in our city.”
San Jose invested $1 million to bolster immigrant defense organizations such as Amigos de Guadalupe earlier this year. The city’s population of nearly 1 million residents is made up of 41% immigrants. San Jose leaders put together a plan to improve employer education and increase public safety. This includes working with sports venues including SAP Center, PayPal Park and Levi’s Stadium to enhance immigrant safety during the Super Bowl and World Cup next year.
Councilmembers have also directed staff to do an analysis of San Jose’s investments in order to divest from corporations with potential ties to ICE. City workers will report back in March.
“We are in the most horrible times that we’ve ever been in, and… supporting the immigrant community is important for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough,” Vice Mayor Pam Foley said at the meeting. “We support our immigrant community and support those around us, and we speak for them when they cannot speak for themselves.”
Contact Joyce Chu at joyce@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X.