City Council — February 17, 2026

I would like to call this meeting to order for the City Council meeting of February 17th, 2026. Madam Clerk could you please call the roll?

Yes, once the public comment period has commenced no further comments will be accepted just as a reminder to the public. Speakers may provide public comments on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council each speaker will be limited to three minutes maximum 15 minutes for public comment period unless majority of the council objects the mayor may provide speakers more or less time to speak all comments or queries shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any specific member thereof pursuant to government code section 54954 Thank you. I have one request to speak that's right Mark Rocklin is that right thank you good evening.

I timed this at about less than four minutes. Interactive machine gun war games should be prohibited in the Guadalupe Branch Library. They are currently permitted without parental knowledge or consent. The last five years have seen a rise in national firearms fatalities and K-12 school shooting incidents. 48,204 people died from firearms in the US in 2022. There were 308 K-12 shooting incidents with 273 killed or wounded.

The following year there were 352 incidents. We are the only country in the world where guns are the leading cause of death for children. Interactive machine gun war games Train children to pursue, shoot and kill from the first-person point of view. The Guadalupe branch is located across the street from Kermit McKenzie Middle School. Interactive machine gun war games are not permitted at McKenzie. However, upon dismissal bell children almost exclusively boys proceed directly to the Guadalupe branch fill the bank of computers and machine gun until 15 minutes to closing when the computers turn off.

This has been a long standing circumstance to the point that years ago the former Santa Maria head librarian said well at least it gets them into the library. This is misguided policy in the library children playing Machine gun war games are not reading, doing homework, studying, socializing or even sitting quietly. They are disruptive. Predictably often with gruesome conversation discouraging other students and other patrons from using the library properly.

The policy demonstrates disdain for parents and children. Guadalupe youths are well behaved In general, intelligent enjoy reading writing studying doing homework playing chess during puzzles socializing receiving approval and praise from their families in contrast to the former head librarians comments they do not require violent murderous imagery to enter a library.

Add to that The content is disastrous. Studies show that children who play a video game that included violence with guns were more likely to touch a real disabled handgun, handle it longer and pull the trigger more times including at themselves or their partners Reported habitual exposure to violent media was also a risk factor for dangerous behavior around firearms.

Santa Maria library policy undermines the Guadalupe School District's efforts. Library employees supported the petition and expressed their frustration with attempting to supervise children playing these games. Over the years, many of those that have worked in the branch say they would prefer these games not be allowed Turnover is high. I'm about another 30-40 seconds. Sure, go ahead. Thank you.

Over the years many of those that have worked in the branch say they would prefer these games not be allowed. Turnover is high, pay is near minimum wage and no travel expenses are reimbursed. Only one employee supervises the branch, no volunteers are permitted This as opposed to for example Orchid, I believe there's three or the main branch which includes a guard and often city rangers all wearing bulletproof vests.

There are numerous easily accomplished measures that can be taken to remedy this situation once the council agrees to do so. This petition reads At the Guadalupe Branch Library, children should be encouraged to check out books to do homework and study. Children should not be using the library computers to play interactive machine gun war games much more so without parental knowledge and permission.

Thank you very much. The City Council will now recess to a closed session and we'll reconvene to the regular portion of the agenda at 5.30 p.m. Madam Clerk, can you please read the title of the closed session items?

3A Conference with Real Property Negotiators pursuant to California Government Code 54956.8. 3B Conference with Real Property Negotiators pursuant to California Government Code 54956.8 Thank You

We will reconvene at 5 30 I would like to note that the interpreter for this evening is Rick Garcia. Mr. Garcia is in the back, raise your hand and if you need a listening device, if you would like it for interpretation services. I'd like to call this meeting to order for the City Council meeting of February 17th, 2026. Madam Clerk can you please call the roll?

City

Attorney, Mr. Watson would you like to give the closed session report?

Thank you Madam Mayor with respect to items 3a and 3b both real property negotiations instructions were provided to the negotiators as the position of the council no further report is necessary

thank you we will now present a proclamation proclaiming February 21st through the 28th 2026 as natural national future farmers of America week And Council Member Flores will be doing the presentation.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. It says whereas the future farmers of America and agricultural education provide a strong foundation for the youth of America and the future food fiber and natural resources systems and whereas FFA promotes premier leadership personal growth Career success among its members and whereas agricultural education and FFA ensures a steady supply of young professionals to meet the growing needs of the science, business and technology of agriculture. Whereas the FFA motto learning to do doing to learn Earning to live, living to serve gives direction and purpose to these students who take an active role in succeeding in agricultural education. And whereas FFA promotes citizenship, Patriotism and cooperation. Now, therefore, I, Alice M.

Patino, Mayor of the City of Santa Maria hereby proclaim the week of February 21st through 28th 2026 as National Future Farmers of America Week. And Santa Maria FFA Chapter is here to receive the award

Everybody.

As Ms. Flores said before, FFA is a great organization for students coming from Mergeti FFA, Pioneer Valley FFA and we're from Santa Maria FFA. We have so many opportunities within our school and we just wanted to quickly say that thank you for offering this opportunity and we are so excited and I hope you guys will see through our newsletters all the activities we plan throughout our week.

We also wanted you all to keep an eye out for future invites for our banquet. If you guys have any questions, please contact Mr. Guerra or any of us afterwards. Thank you so much!

You know, every year I get invited to the banquet and if you want to see a well-run banquet go to an FFA banquet. Nobody talks over the amount of time they are allotted or Or any one of these young women will pull you right off the podium. And just to see all the achievements these young people are making throughout the state and they go around competing in different areas so I look forward always going and it's so nice but if anyone has a chance to go to an FFA banquet at the end of the year, it's a real treat and you get to see what our kids are doing in Santa Maria and they're just doing a wonderful job And I thank the Garris, because the Garris are at every single high school and they certainly represent FFA well. So thank you all for being here tonight.

Mr. Escobedo.

Thank you Madam Mayor, I would like to get Mr. Guerra on the spot and see if he can tell us a little bit of what's coming up in the next couple of weeks so it's...I know you mentioned there are some exciting participations you guys are going to be putting out

Yes. You know, in fact I think that the kids would do a great job because they know more about their activities. Can I get

the president from Pioneer? Okay, I know you have some activities coming up. Come on up here and then you can tell us about some of the things that you're currently doing. Tell them about that state championship you just won as well. And then from Regetti, we also have the Regetti president as well. Come on up here and now you have some activities coming up and then you just heard from the two Santa Maria kids as well, okay? Our president and vice-president as well as Eveliz is also the sectional, Santa Barbara's section president so okay.

So, obviously we have a lot of sectional as well as chapter events coming up. Actually, Regetti is hosting a couple of events. I don't know if Maya would like to speak on those?

Yes. So, Regetti has plenty of events planned this whole week and actually this Wednesday and Thursday we invited schools from Santa Barbara section to attend our events here in Santa Maria at the mall. We'll be holding a movie Jumping at Sky Zone and we invited all of our local schools to attend. So that's our plans for this week, for National FFA Week.

And Championship you mentioned?

So, Regetti FFA actually just won Fruit Tree Orange. Yes,

we won Fruit Tree pruning at Fresno State Finals this past weekend.

And then Pioneer Valley won citrus judging at Fresno State Final as well.

I know I put you guys on the spot, but I want you guys to show off that. I know you put a lot of effort and all of you guys do a great job and I want people to see that and everybody who's also watching us on their computer to know what you guys are about. So thank you for everything all of you guys and all EFFA team throughout the year.

Thank you.

The next item will be a presentation of businesses of the quarter to be given by the Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Good evening.

Good evening. Good evening mayor and council members. I'd like to invite up Advanced Wireless Dan Rudnick and Kim Rudnick-Chavez. Advanced wireless has been serving our region since 1984. More than 40 years staying rooted in Santa Maria, over that time technology has changed completely. They started the days with pagers and two-way radios evolved into cell phones added surveillance systems and today their main focus is something that touches families and business everywhere reliable high speed internet What makes Advanced Wireless stand out is their commitment to solving problems others often overlook.

Especially bringing fast, dependable internet to rural areas where the big guys can barely reach. And they continue to build on their roots by providing professional business radio systems and commercial surveillance cameras helping local companies stay connected and secure particularly when cell phone service isn't enough. They are not done growing. Now expanding with competitive pricing into more areas to give residents and businesses more personal choice for internet service, advanced wireless. Thank you for your service, your adaptability, your commitment to this community and congratulations for being named Business of the Quarter.

Thank you Mayor Patino, council members, city staff, chamber. We really appreciate this honor to be recognized for the 42 years we've been in Santa Maria. So when we first started cell phones, the internet weren't really available and when We did radios and cell phones were first installed. They were bolted into a vehicle that weighed around 20 pounds, and they didn't even work very well.

So from that point over the years we've moved from two-way radios, pagers, cell phones, surveillance systems, and an internet provider also. But one thing has not changed when people When items get broken, people want to call somebody. They want something that they can get fixed. They want to call someone they can trust and who also answers the phones. So one of our first customers was a large agricultural company and they came to us and said hey we have a piece of equipment that's not working and they said it's already been your competitor It's not fixable, good luck.

So we said okay, we secured the process, found the problem and fixed the equipment. And so what we have learned from that experience has kind of founded how we continue to do business. We take the tough calls, we stand behind the work And we try to earn long-term relationships. So, and now I'd like to turn over to my daughter which is also the next chapter of our business.

Thank you. This recognition truly means a great deal to our entire team. While our company has been serving the community since 1984 that wasn't just because of one person it was because of everyone involved The employees who dedicate their careers to this work, customers who place their trust in you and a community that supports local business. We have one employee who's been with us for 26 years and that kind of commitment has helped shape the culture and stability of this company.

Growing up around this business I learned that success is built on relationships. Showing up for your customers, supporting local families and being part of the community not just operating within it. Our main office has been in Santa Maria from the beginning. This community has supported us for over four decades, and for that we're deeply grateful. Thank you again Council and Chamber for this honor and for supporting local businesses like ours.

Oh

excuse me, Mr. Escovedo wanted to make a comment.

Actually I have a question or time for you guys to let us know where we can how can we reach out to you? If you want to come to the mic so this is also time for you guys to promote your business

So probably the best place to reach us would be our website. It's going to be advancedwireless.us. There is always our phone number as well, 805-922-2252. We do have a storefront obviously but you know people can call us, reach us on our website and things like that.

Always happy to hear from anybody. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Our next company I'd like to call up is the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library, and that's Kathleen. Kathleen here is the board president of the Friends of Santa Maria Public Library. They're a non-profit organization that was established in 1982. They have a simple but powerful mission to promote reading and support the Santa Maria Public Library.

They raise funds and secure grants for library services and programs that might not otherwise be possible, helping strengthen literacy and learning opportunities across our community. Their story is, their impact on the community is real. Over 4,000 volunteer hours, partnerships that create service opportunities for students, collaboration to provide retail experience for disabled individuals, efforts to expand Spanish language books to our community. They also contribute directly to the general fund by donating to the library. So many years, they donate thousands and thousands of dollars to the library.

The friends at Santa Maria Public Library thank you for your leadership, your volunteer spirit, and for the commitment to learning and literacy. Congratulations on being named Business of the Quarter.

I'm a lot shorter than him. So, I sincerely want to thank the Chamber for this recognition and the City. We're honored to be named Business of the Quarter as the non-profit. He took some of my speech though because he's done his research so this year We were able to raise through various means $35,000 this year in 2025. It provided the library items, books, electronics that they otherwise would not have and a big reason for that was we raised a net income of $13,000 with our used bookstore in the mall And I want the city to know the mall is thriving because every day customers come in and say, oh, I didn't know you were here. This is the first time I've been back since COVID, you know? So it's still increasing the customers in the mall and they love us having a bookstore in the mall.

And we are so proud to support the city in handing out free books. This year has been limited, but in the past we've gone to every family event in the parks, open streets and this year every chamber Hispanic business mixer I've handed out books and received grants to buy you Spanish books to hand out to our community. So I'm proud to do that. This year we collaborated with many more non-profits to hand out free books.

CASA, we gave an opportunity for members of CASA to get a free book every month in the Hughes Book Store. What else? Lots of collaboration with the nonprofits, the Children's Resource Center and Referral Center and the Elks by supporting their queen candidate. So it's really an honor to serve our community and it's been so much fun. We look forward to next year doing more actually.

Thank you again for this wonderful honor.

Did I do it right?

Thank you very much for being here, Santa Maria Brigetti and Pioneer FFA.

Yes, Madam Mayor. Once the public comment period has commenced no further comments will be accepted just as a reminder to the public Speakers may provide public comments on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes, maximum 15 minutes for a public comment period. Unless the majority of the council objects, the Mayor may provide speakers more or less time to speak. All comments or queries shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any specific member thereof. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954282, the Ralph M. Brown Act, No action or discussion by the City Council shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda except to briefly provide information, ask for clarification, provide direction to staff, or schedule a matter for a future meeting.

Thank

you

I will start with Robert Gibson followed by Danny Mogg followed by Cliff Solomon Good evening Mr. Gibson

Good evening, Madam Mayor and council members. I'm here as a resident but also as representative for UDW, the IHSS in Home Supportive Services Caregivers Union. Caregiving and support services in that area is the fastest growing segment of the labor force in the United States mostly due to our aging population. We're here to ask that the council consider taking up an ad hoc immigration committee.

As a labor union, we recognize that labor is the primary cause of immigration or the primary reason for immigration. So it's important to us. Also amongst our members 25% it's estimated are immigrants themselves. So we find it a very important issue. We realize that as the City Council's goals are to create an environment that's dynamic, that's safe where folks can thrive economically, it's a lot of complex issues, immigration being one of the most complex.

The current administration appears to be focused primarily on only one aspect though, and that's enforcement. But there are other issues. There are issues of integration. There are issues of short-term worker programs. Issues of reforming the overall immigration process Enforcement is just one part. If the issues we are seeing in the news today were to go away tomorrow, we'd still have to deal with all of those other aspects of immigration and administration after administration has kicked this can sort of down the road and failed to deal with it which means that it's left to you locally to determine what you can do to create an environment where everyone can thrive, where immigrants can be integrated, where folks can feel safe, where the economy is strong.

So we ask that you seriously consider taking up an ad hoc immigration committee and creating it, and using the stakeholders that are all here to speak that are part of the community that are willing to participate with you in it So, you're not doing it alone. You have help. We just ask for your leadership and thank you for your time and consideration of the matter.

Thank you. Danny Amon followed by Cliff Solomon followed by Sue Heitman

Good evening Madam Mayor Council Members and valued city officials My name is Danny Mogg, and I'm here on behalf of the leadership team. And I am also the safety captain with a public advocacy group Indivisible. I'm also a proud resident of Santa Maria, and I live here in Santa Barbara County. Regarding the February 3rd council meeting in these chambers, I have a few points of clarification for the public record.

The first item of clarifications regarding the ad hoc committee After months and months of testimony from the community, encouragement from Council Member Soto and pleading and prodding this council to take action. I'm sad to say that I'm personally convinced that it's now a missed opportunity. After hearing the comments from the dais on February 3rd, I'm convinced that the well's now fully poisoned.

And I would submit that the failure to act is not due to the inability of this council rather it is a choice. With the utmost respect, Santa Maria no longer has an MS-13 problem. We have an ice problem and the resolution that has been adopted by this body is perfectly described as a band aid for brain tumor. Regarding the description of the protests across the country as violent, I take exception to these comments and I would like to point out that filming of federal agents is not violent protest. It is in fact First Amendment right guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Constitution is not a suggestion.

And finally, shooting a mother of three to death through her driver's side window of her vehicle or shooting a VA ICU nurse in the back no less than 10 times is not heroism. I'm not sure how these acts of violence align with any law enforcement protocols that I'm aware of. While the community appreciates drafting and passing of item 12A on February 3rd, I'm sure that you're all aware of the reception in the community based on social media posts. And the consensus is that the resolution is woefully inadequate One clip of the February 3rd meeting has over 100,000 views and unfortunately it's not flattering. In closing I'd like to point out to the Council that the organization that I am affiliated with Indivisible is attempting to fill the gaps of support for our community left by inaction.

By collecting and distributing food and necessities to our immigrant community and advocating for them By demonstrating our disgust for the actions of this administration, giving voice to those who must remain silent. As a part of our core mission we are committed to non-violent exercise of our constitutional rights and on March 28th we will host a No Kings protest here in Santa Maria and expect as many as 2,000 participants. Two thousand votes in a city of this size can and will be Outcome determinant in local elections. I thank you. Thank you

Mr. Solomon followed by Sue Heitman followed by Elena Magana

Good afternoon, my name is Cliff Solomon and I am here to address some misinformation You shared Mayor Patino at the last City Council meeting. I'm a member of Indivisible Santa Maria In your public statements, you implied that the current protests across the country are necessarily violent and by extension that the protests in Santa Maria are violent. That is not true.

Our organization works hard to ensure our rallies are peaceful. We notify the Santa Maria Police, Fire Department and City Rangers when we hold demonstrations and have built a friendly cooperative relationship with Chief of Police Williams We also have a security subgroup led by Danny Mogg that regularly schedules training sessions and employs these individuals at our rallies.

Finally, we arranged for trained legal observers to monitor our events and ensure compliance with these laws thereby protecting our constitutional right to speak out. I also want to criticize the City Council for ignoring our request to establish the Immigration Ad Hoc Committee It is well documented that there is strong support for this, yet you choose to dismiss our request.

It reminds me of 2015 when 1,000 people attended a city planning meeting and over 1,500 attended a City Council meeting to oppose the construction of an ICE facility in Santa Maria. Yet the City Council at that time chose to ignore the will of the majority and allowed the facility to be built Now we must face the cruelty of our local ICE agents. And note, Congressman Salud Carbajal has just posted on Facebook that since Kristi Noem took office in 2025, 45 individuals have been killed at the hands of the Department of Homeland Security.

Because of your insistence on ignoring what is appropriate, we are running out of time to do the right thing. However I hope the four of you Who are ignoring our pleas will do the right thing and follow Councilmember Soto's lead by establishing an immigrant ad hoc committee that includes the local community. Thank you.

Followed by Elena Magana followed by a Wendy Fedoro.

Thank you. I'm Sue Heitman, I've been here before. I am a retired farmer. It was great to see the FFA people here today having spoken their initiation many times so I wanted to say I brought my receipts this time to show that I along with my farm workers partners were the first olive oil to win a national competition in all of California. That's because they were my farm workers, my partners and my friends.

So when we retired, we grew Paquo olives and when we retired we said where do we want to live? And we picked Santa Maria because it's a community much like what we left in Northern California. Same demographics, same farm community. We love it here. But we were disappointed. I was very disappointed in the City Council. I come from a county that supports its farm workers and here with a few exceptions, I don't feel the support for farm workers or the farms in our community. And so I think at a minimum, I want to say that even if you don't support immigration rights and help us with ICE raids Get ice out of our community. Think about your economy.

Just recently, I got notice from taxable income in central California cities is down 29% because of ice raids. So this is your Santa Maria economy. This is your Santa Maria taxable income that you're also looking at. Even if you don't care about the rest of the issues. I happen to believe that ICE raids and immigration rights should be the number one issue for you this year.

So at a minimum, I would like to also support an ad hoc committee in fact it should already be up and running At a minimum, you all should be out talking at media events as much as you can about supporting your community and supporting your economy and supporting your farm workers. And at a minimum upholding your office just look around at what other cities are doing. If you like I can point out what other cities are doing to support your farm workers and support your farm economy You all are great people at heart. I know you are, but it's time to step up. This is a community of immigrants. This is a community of farms and farm workers. Please step up.

Elena Magana followed by Wendy Trudoro followed by Ronaldo Rodriguez

Hello City Council, my name is Elena Magana. I consider myself a local. I've lived here for over 50 years but I am an immigrant. I'm going to read you a few facts gathered by the Cal Lutheran Economic Report for 2025 Undocumented immigrants contribute $3.8 billion to Santa Barbara County GDP. Over $619 million is contributed by these same undocumented immigrants to local, state and federal taxes.

They support 11,500 jobs in the region statewide They make up $1 trillion of GDP. Nationwide, it's $4 trillion of GDP. That's the fifth largest world GDP worldwide and on a more local sale. Females, Hispanic females Have a over 100 percent increase of bachelor's degrees for which we should all be eminently proud that they're furthering their education. Before it was mentioned at the last meeting that Santa Maria Valley is not the same as it was in the 50s and 60s.

It's true before it was 10,000 20,000 50000 But the reason, you have to remember who was on the city council before. Largely males, largely Caucasian, very pro-growth compared to San Luis and Santa Barbara cities where I also lived for a short while. So they contributed to the large increase in this valley of population. You annexed Parcels of land kept increasing this city.

And as far as the Hispanic population increase, that was due to the farmers and their efficiency in their farms out in the community. Multi-season strawberry crops. And so these workers contributed to the economy of the city. And what did you want to do with them once they had done that work? Leave, no. Statistics show they stay an average of 10 to 20 years in the communities where they work.

Anyway I would like you to consider really supporting an immigrant committee please and be empathetic towards our causes. Thank you.

Wendy Trudoro, followed by Rinaldo Rodriguez, followed by Therese Suarez.

Good afternoon, City Council members. My name is Wendy Teodoro and I am one of the community organizers with CAUSE. I'm here today to express my disappointment with all of you as our elected officials and especially our mayor. During the last city council meeting, you heard from various community members and youth asking the city council to create and vote in support of an immigration ad hoc committee. Yet despite every single person who has continued to showed up these past couple months, the responses from city council with the exception of Gloria Soto were nonetheless disgusting and straight-up racist. Especially the comments made by our mayor. Comments like these from elected officials are dangerous especially coming from a mayor to make racist generalizations about the community they oversee.

During the last meeting on February 3rd One of the comments made by the mayor was, these ICE officers are police officers or firefighters go to work every day and they deserve to come home at night to their loved ones. They really do. And I ask you what about every single mother and father and child that has been kidnapped by ice? Don't they deserve to go home too? What about Renee Good and Alex Pretty didn't they deserve to go home?

What about every volunteer that is protecting our immigrant community from the terror of this fascist administration and from ICE? Don't they deserve to go home too? Our communities deserves council members that act in our interests, that will protect us and support us. Do the right thing and support the creation of an ad hoc committee. Thank you. Thank you.

Rolando Rodriguez followed by Therese Azores followed by Lorena Martinez

Buenas tardes, alcaldesa Patino y concejales.

Good evening.

Mi nombre es Reinaldo Rodríguez, organizador comunitario con MECOP aquí en Santa Maria.

My name is Ronaldo Rodríguez, ¿con quién

está?

With MECOP.

Estoy aquí en solidaridad con nuestra comunidad trabajadora I'm here as a worker working in the community and giving life to the economy of this city. I'd like for you to reflect on every time that you sit down at a meal at your home, to think of all the produce and food that you're eating from. And it comes from an immigrant working hard to gather that. In these difficult times, a lot of these workers are treated as criminals. So I'm pleading that you have a resolution to come up with a stronger commitment to help the community Una resolución reconociendo lo que está pasando no es suficiente. Se necesitan medidas reales que den confianza y protección a quienes viven y trabajan aquí.

Just acknowledging that things are going on is not enough, requesting more action to be more effective.

Hoy visite algunas de las familias que han sido separadas

Today I visited some of the families who have been separated.

The feeling of not being able to do more is felt.

I've seen how families, mothers and fathers struggle. And seeing their kids crying for their parents and it's a situation very hurtful.

I have faith that establishing this committee ad hoc for the immigrants here would be a benefit to the community. We are in agreement that if somebody does break the law they should be held accountable, but it's not fair that all are treated as criminals. Todos los seres humanos merecen dignidad y respeto, la garantía de un proceso legal sin ser juzgado por su origen o el color de su piel.

All are human despite their legal status without judging just for being different color of skin.

Thank

you for your time. I exhort that things would be corrected and justice prevail.

Thank you. Teresa Suarez, followed by Lorena Martinez. Followed by Sofia.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Lorena and I am a student at a local high school. I am here to speak about the urgent need for the formation of an immigration ad hoc committee. This issue is personal to me when people like our own city mayors say that If immigrants are criminals, they are talking about families like mine. My uncle is not a criminal. He was and continues to be a hardworking man who, like all of you, has dreams and wants to live a good life. He paid his taxes, paid his rent on time, had no debts, and no criminal record. He worked hard and stayed out of trouble. Yet one day without warning he was kidnapped by ICE. We didn't know where he was We only found out the next day when he had already been deported to Tijuana. Everything happened so fast that we had no chance to understand what was happening, let alone help him.

Our family was left shocked and devastated. This is just one of many stories of someone who has been impacted by ICE. Real families are being torn apart. Children are living with fear and uncertainty. Parents are afraid to go to work. This is happening here in our own community while this city slacks off volunteers Community organizations and even youth are stepping up to protect families, our community. In October this council said you would vote On the immigration ad hoc committee in February, yet here we are. There has been no action taken and this is something that can no longer be delayed. Lastly I want to strongly urge this council to formally establish an immigration ad hoc committee and to request this item to be agendized for the next council meeting.

This ad hoc committee would help address our community's concerns on the increasing Ice activity on the fears of increasing ice activity within Santa Maria. Thank you. Thank you.

So I called it Teresa. Oh,

Good evening, Mayor Patino and council members. My name is Teresa. I am one of the coordinators for a youth program with Mic Up in Santa Barbara County and a member of the 805 Immigrant Coalition. We're here again to respectfully request your support in establishing an immigration ad hoc committee. And I also want to I want to mention the resolution from last meeting. One of our council members offered to send her suggestions to the resolution by e-mail, however you unfortunately chose not to accept them.

That decision matters because by refusing to include those perspectives As criminals, there has been no clear support for our rights. Not for due process, not for safety, not for humanity. You said you're unsure what to believe what's happening yet you've seen and followed the narrative that our community is responsible for violent protests. You mentioned that ICE officers deserve to return home safely to their families. I agree that everyone deserves safety, but where is the sympathy for the members of our community who are not violent? Who were killed and who never made it home to their families?

When you make these comments, you contribute to an environment that can justify further violence. There's no protection for people in this room if we're simply observing Or legally documenting what is happening out there. That should concern all of us. You stated that migrant should not have come to this country, but let's not forget I want you to guess who was the people that brought slavery to this country?

Who committed genocides against our native people, who raped and were violent to this land. These are historical facts. Violence did not begin with our community yet today we continue to see abuse in detention centers of children of those realities that are often minimized and ignored and not shown in the news. Let's leave that side as well. You say that this is not, that was your experience but we're experiencing this every day. You have the power to make a difference but you're choosing not to.

When you quoted other people when they said they want to go back to the small town that was back in the 1955s. That language echoes resentments that we have heard before Maybe make America great again, it's similar to that. Sentiments that exclude and divide if you do not stand by those ideas then now is the time to say so clearly because things are escalating in our community and it's already carrying the trauma that you all refuse to acknowledge.

Thank you. Yes, yes go ahead. Ms. Giscaverdo.

Teresa?

Has a question. Teresa

I have a question just clarification You may want to go back on your speech. You mentioned that the resolution saying that all immigrants are criminals, is that an accurate statement? Can you share that a little bit? I didn't understand that part. Could you please repeat that part? It was in...you mentioned that the resolution saying that all immigrants are criminals or basically saying that all immigrants

No, but I was saying that in that resolution it was pretty much empty. So but I'm going back to what Patino had mentioned that It was just from last meeting because she did make a statement. It was pretty much saying that our community is seen as criminals. She didn't make any statements refusing not to say that, but it's just she didn't move on in agreeing to what one of the council members was petitioning, but it's just general. It wasn't in the resolution.

Okay. Just want clarification on that. Thank you.

Sophia and Maria Salguero.

Hello everybody. Council, I'm curious because I am kind of new to this. I think this is maybe my third meeting so I'm curious what the difference was in the resolution that you guys passed? What differences that you guys actually established? I read it and it seems very short. What the difference was and then to what was already passed, okay. At a glance nothing is different. Have our plights to you fallen on deaf ears? How can you continue to justify the ethnic cleansing that is happening in your district? How can you continue to ignore statistical facts regarding criminal activity in regards to race?

There is statistics out there that show just how many crimes are committed by non-immigrant people than by immigrants. Stop criminalizing our God given right to roam the earth, and also please agendize and support the ad hoc committee to protect our community. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, just one quick question Sofia. And I ask this once because of just clarification when you mentioned that there's a criminalizing, you mentioned it about the city of Santa Maria criminalizing the immigrant community? Specifically the mayor, yes. Can you say it on this page? I couldn't hear you.

Yes, I was specifically directing that to the Mayor's comments

And I would really like you to be specific about the comment. I have never, ever, ever characterized immigrants as being criminals.

I'll have to go back and look at the press newspaper article that I read. I'll bring it up. I think maybe if you give me an hour to search it up, I'll

look it up for you. My grandparents