{"id":482829,"date":"2026-10-02T14:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/482829\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T14:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:46:09","slug":"opinion-when-neighbors-are-taken-away-sanctuary-cities-fight-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/482829\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: When neighbors are taken away, sanctuary cities fight back"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sweltering sun beat down on our sweat-stained backs as we marched through the streets. With the chants of hundreds of people reaching every crevice of the city, the pavement glinted with an unforgiving heat. Large homemade signs fluttered, many of them holding up symbols of workers, demanding justice for immigrants.<\/p>\n

It was a mood of solidarity\u2014but also one of apprehension.<\/p>\n

On Fourth Street in Santa Ana, a calm protest took place yards away from the Orange County School of the Arts. Though this specific demonstration was peaceful and not met with violence, a palpable sense of tension and fear permeated the air.<\/p>\n

At recent protests in Santa Ana, immigrant rights protesters were met with rubber bullets, tear gas and ID checks. These protests and the events leading up to them raised some essential questions:<\/p>\n

What does \u201csanctuary\u201d truly mean in a city that claims to be protecting its immigrant population?<\/p>\n

Being one of the first in the nation to promote non-citizen voting in local elections, launch an immigration defense fund and allow undocumented residents to be on city commissions, Santa Ana is Orange County\u2019s only sanctuary city. Not only have these policies traditionally created an environment for many diasporic communities to thrive, the city has positioned itself as a staunch defender of immigrants\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

However, recent protests and their resulting violent police responses make it alarmingly clear that Santa Ana is not the same city as it once was.<\/p>\n

Santa Ana, a city where more than 75% identify as Latino and about 41% foreign-born<\/a>, is also one of the most lethal in Orange County when it comes to police\u2019s use of lethal force. The jarring truth raises disturbing questions about who receives protection \u2014 and who receives punishment.<\/p>\n

In a interview with Councilmember Jonathan Hernandez, the city\u2019s sanctuary city designation is threatened by a police department \u201ccomfortable with shooting at the public.\u201d Unfortunately, Councilmember Hernandez himself is not a stranger in the case of police violence.<\/p>\n

Only nine months into office as the youngest councilmember in the history of Santa Ana, his cousin, Brandon Lopez, was murdered by the Anaheim PD. Hernandez\u2019s struggle for justice and advocacy for immigrants is still driven by this unmeasurable loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why I\u2019m on the front lines,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cBecause I fear that one day, demonstrators could be killed by ICE as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

This type of activity from the Santa Ana Police Department is the polar opposite of sanctuary values that the city claims to believe in. Rather than being a place of safety for marginalized communities, the department\u2019s activities have caused a climate of repression and fear.<\/p>\n

Specifically, ICE enforcement continues to target immigrants in the corners of normal everyday life. Individuals are arrested at bus stops and at work. Parents are taken from homes in front of their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour school lunch lady. Your neighborhood counselor,\u201d said Hernandez. \u201cThose are the people they\u2019re going after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporters of ICE enforcement usually argue that the agency sends dangerous criminals back to their countries. However, the majority of those detained are not criminals. Many have no criminal record whatsoever. The actual safety threats, Hernandez contends, are not immigrants, but elites who enact policies based on fear.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the Capitol attackers on January 6\u2014most of whom violently assaulted police officers and trespassed on sacred government buildings\u2014have been pardoned and publicly defended. These contrasts guarantee that the word \u201ccriminal\u201d has an uneven and unfair double definition.<\/p>\n

When asked what his vision for a safer, more just Santa Ana was, Councilmember Hernandez revealed that he hopes for \u201cA city where immigrants feel safe. Where children aren\u2019t terrorized for protesting human rights violations. A city that looks out for its neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

That vision is both a challenge and a guide. Creating a city truly safe and welcoming requires more than words in policy statements. It requires taking responsibility, being transparent and a serious commitment to the values of sanctuary\u2014not only in words, but in actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is a city,\u201d Hernandez asks with a steady yet emotionally charged voice, \u201cif it doesn\u2019t care about their neighbors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sweltering sun beat down on our sweat-stained backs as we marched through the streets. With the chants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-482829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}