Encinitas parent Farhad Mahmoudi tells the council how he witnessed the arrest and how he calmed the upset kids afterward.

Last night the true character of Encinitas showed itself as hundreds of residents jammed into City Hall to demand that our city council respond to yesterday morning’s shocking ICE arrest of an Encinitas parent in front of children walking to Park Dale Lane Elementary School.

Amidst a boisterous overflow crowd, nearly 40 Encinitans signed up to insist upon action from the city council. After Mayor Ehlers opted not to expand public speaking time beyond 30 minutes, Deputy Mayor Lyndes moved to add an emergency item to the agenda to address the ICE detention and discuss what could be done to protect our community.

Deputy Mayor Lyndes makes her successful emergency motion to address the ICE debacle.

That motion passed unanimously, and the public was allowed to be heard. After hearing from all the public speakers about the trauma ICE actions have on our community, especially the children who witnessed the violent detention, Deputy Mayor Lyndes moved to direct staff to take the following actions:

To launch a “Know Your Rights” campaign in both English and Spanish, organized by community groups and the Sheriff.
To submit a Freedom Of Information Act request to document ICE operations in the City of Encinitas to ensure transparency.
To explore establishing safe zones such as schools and churches, citywide, or other options.
To direct staff to explore joining lawsuits from other California cities, such Long Beach and Santa Ana, challenging ICE operations.

Sheriff’s Captain Shane Watts explains that deputies can arrive on the scene of ICE arrests and request to see warrants, but the law does not allow them to interfere with the federal officers. He also said his department receives no advance notice of ICE arrests or their locations.

Mayor Ehlers added direction to investigate the ability of the city to limit mask wearing by ICE officials, and accepted Captain Watts’ suggested action to request federal partners come and respond to community questions in council chambers.

The final motion with all of these actions included passed unanimously, and Mayor Ehlers promised more to come.

After months of council focus on protecting land, parking spots and cars, it was refreshing to witness Deputy Mayor Lyndes successfully initiate immediate action to protect people from the public safety threat of illegal ICE activity.

Encinitas residents will be watching to ensure that our city staff moves quickly on the action items demanded by the council last night.

Thanks for your engagement in our community, especially those who were able to make it to City Hall last night. Together, we continue to make a difference!

—Encinitas Action

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