The Chula Vista City Council voted Tuesday night not to call itself a sanctuary city, fearing that it would create a false sense of security for anyone in Chula Vista.
Instead, the council — made up of three Democrats and two Republicans — unanimously supported bringing back several items for an April 25 vote, including a resolution in support of the Chula Vista Police Department’s current policy of not asking for people’s immigration status, and to present specific proposals to communicate that policy widely to Chula Vista residents. They also want to support making Chula Vista a welcoming city.
“The goal was to let people know that we respect different cultures, that we understand the sensitivity of the immigration issue and that if you’re a criminal we are going to deal with that…,” said District 4 Councilman Mike Diaz. “We didn’t go to sanctuary city or welcoming city and I think that’s good for a lot of reasons.”
Diaz, a Republican who was endorsed by the fire department in his 2018 council race, said he opposed sanctuary city status because he did not want to put Chula Vista in a position where they can possibly lose millions of dollars in federal grant funding.
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promising to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that label themselves a sanctuary city.
However, the term sanctuary city is not clearly defined.
Trump’s executive order leaves it to the secretary of Homeland Security’s discretion to define a sanctuary city based on whether they allow cities to share people’s immigration status with the federal government.
Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, the city’s first Latina mayor, opposed Chula Vista being a sanctuary city, saying it causes a false sense of security and unnecessary divisiveness.
Although Casillas Salas disagrees with a sanctuary city, she favors Chula Vista adopting itself as a welcoming city.
“A welcoming city does not speak to immigration law,” she said. “It just means that we are inclusive and accepting of all immigrants and refugees in Chula Vista.”
As cities throughout the nation discuss immigration policy there has been confusion between the difference between a sanctuary city and a welcoming city.
A sanctuary city is not a legal term and usually local law enforcement will not enforce immigration law. Although a city is deemed as a sanctuary city it does not prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from entering that specific city and searching for illegal immigrants.
A welcoming city is based on the Welcoming America initiative set by the Obama Administration. The initiative is more symbolic by encouraging cities to be welcoming to immigrants and refugees.
District 3 Councilman Steve Padilla supported a sanctuary city designation and said the police’s policy towards immigration resembles that of a sanctuary city.
“What matters is our policy,” he said. “That policy very closely aligns with welcoming and sanctuary cities policies in terms of really restricting the condition under which we would go out and proactively report and inquire about people’s immigration status. So sometimes it doesn’t really matter what you call yourself.”
Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy said the department’s focus is on public safety, not immigration. She said Chula Vista police officers do not enforce immigration laws and that criminals will be arrested regardless of immigration status.
“If you are living in Chula Vista and you are obeying the law you have nothing to worry about,” Kennedy said.
The council gave direction to staff to agendize filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed by Santa Clara County and the city of San Francisco challenging President Trump’s executive order that would strip federal funding from sanctuary cities.
