ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council will consider rescinding its emergency response to federal immigration arrests last month near a local school, following a formal complaint alleging the city violated California’s open-meeting law.
On Sept. 17, the council will rehear the matter and consider formally reversing the actions it adopted Aug. 20 after residents protested Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests near Park Dale Lane Elementary School.
The agenda recommendation directs the council to “rescind any and all actions” from that emergency item in response to a “cure and correct” letter from Cardiff resident Garvin Walsh, who accused the council of improperly invoking the Brown Act’s “immediate need” exception and failing to provide proper notice, unlawfully depriving residents of the opportunity to weigh in.
Walsh, a county Republican Party official, argued that public outcry did not constitute a legally defined emergency. In a Sept. 9 letter, he warned the council must undo its decision by Sept. 26 to avoid potential litigation.
Special counsel Leslie Devaney, responding to the complaint on behalf of the city, defended the council’s actions, saying the ICE arrests near Park Dale Lane Elementary School last month created “panic and fear” in the community that met the legal threshold for an emergency designation.
But Devaney also advised the council to re-notice the issue to address the Brown Act claims. Walsh rejected the city’s position as “ambiguous” and “contradictory” in a Sept. 9 response.
“Ms. Devaney’s formulation is not helpful,” Walsh previously told The Coast News. “The city will be better off if the council recognizes they made a mistake, reverses that, and then starts over. This is an opportunity to well and truly learn a lesson, without incurring great costs.”
The controversy stemmed from a video that circulated on social media depicting ICE agents arresting the parent of an Encinitas student on Aug. 20. The arrest drew sharp criticism from officials, including County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who described the arrests as an “ambush,” and state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), who called them “inhumane, barbaric and lawless.”
Protesters later gathered at City Hall, carrying signs and chanting against deportations. The council, in response, unanimously approved eight actions as part of an emergency agenda item during an Aug. 20 meeting, including launching a bilingual “know your rights” campaign, requesting federal records of ICE activity and exploring legal challenges.
Two days later, agents arrested two more men working for a landscaping company near the same location in front of a group of protesters. The arrests were confirmed as “targeted enforcement operations” of individuals under final orders of removal, according to ICE officials.
Since the council’s emergency item was rescheduled for further public input, some residents have submitted written comments urging the council not to back down.
Brett Stoner-Osborne, who lives in District 1, wrote that “this community needs guidance and support around how to handle these terrifying ICE raids, especially BIPOC residents who are more likely to be approached by ICE. Nobody should live in fear that they could get taken off the street or while dropping their kids off at school.”
Another resident, Amica Graber, whose child attends Park Dale Lane Elementary, said ICE’s tactics “directly endangered children” by staging operations without notifying school officials.
“School zones are meant to be safe places, not sites of high-conflict enforcement,” Graber wrote. “Rescinding [the declaration] would send a troubling message: that our children’s safety can be pushed aside in favor of procedural technicalities or political showboating.”
ICE officials pushed back against criticism of the Encinitas arrests, saying agents do not target schools.
“The truth of the matter is that ICE San Diego has not conducted enforcement at schools, and suggestions to the contrary mislead the public and create unnecessary fear,” said Patrick Divver, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in San Diego. “ICE San Diego remains committed to enforcing federal immigration law while ensuring the safety of the community and our officers.”
The Sept. 17 hearing is expected to draw strong public participation as Encinitas leaders weigh whether to stand by their earlier action or rescind the vote to avoid potential litigation.
Encinitas resident and community activist Mali Woods-Drake, who protested the ICE arrests at City Hall and plans to attend Wednesday’s meeting, previously told The Coast News that the council’s decision to revisit the matter provides an opening for advocates to push for stronger safeguards.
“While I disagree with Walsh’s decision to risk frivolous lawsuits against our city, community activists and allies view the re-agendizing as an opportunity. It allows the City to strengthen its stance and explore even stricter protections to safeguard our residents — particularly children near our schools — from ICE activity,” Woods-Drake said.
Walsh said he hopes the council acknowledges what he views as a misuse of emergency powers.
“The City of Encinitas has had a history in recent years of declaring emergencies somewhat frivolously, taking the power to do things that shouldn’t or couldn’t be done otherwise. We must stop doing that,” Walsh said.
Garvin Walsh submits unpaid op-ed submissions to The Coast News and has no employment or financial relationship with the publication.
1 comment
The action was ridiculous and an over reach. It sounded like it was written by AOC.
We voted that nonsense out, the current Council should not react to The Loud Crowd as if they represent Encinitas. They do not.