Watsonville City Council Passes Immigration Ordinance
Police Told To Not Follow Federal Immigration Laws

POSTED: 5:01 pm PDT May 9, 2007
UPDATED: 6:45 am PDT May 10, 2007

WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- Watsonville is the latest city to declare itself a sanctuary for undocumented workers, city officials said.

In a 4-3 vote, city officials decided that they will direct Watsonville police to not cooperate with federal immigration officials.

Some activists said they think police should go even further and notify the community when federal immigration officers are in town. Police said they could not do that.

Watsonville Police Chief Terry Medina said he's bound by ethical and safety considerations from releasing confidential information provided by other law enforcement agencies.

The Watsonville City Council said its decision is a symbolic action. It cannot prevent federal agents from rounding up illegal immigrants, but the decision comes on the heels of last September's incident in which more than 100 immigrants were rounded up and deported.

It's because of that raid that city leaders voted to end immigration raids, officials said.

Migrawatch, a network of groups supporting immigrant rights formed after the federal raids that occurred in September, said it plans to set up a text messaging system to warn the community.

Migrawatch said it is also holding forums throughout the central coast to provide information and assistance to those who may want it.

Last month, Santa Cruz passed a symbolic measure similar to Watsonville's decision.

Salinas' city leaders said they have not passed any recent ordinance, nor have they directed its police department to ignore federal agents when they're in town to conduct raids.

Watsonville City Councilmember Dale Skillicorn said he doesn't support the resolution because it breached his oath of office to support the U.S. Constitution.

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