The City of Los Alamitos continued to feel resistance from groups opposing the passing of a local ordinance that calls for the city to opt out of the California Values Act, stating that the state law conflicted with the U.S. Constitution.
But county groups and some local residents are now requesting records from the city to confirm that there has not been any outside influence that may have encouraged the council’s action, and started a wave of other cities taking similar actions.
The City of Los Alamitos continued to feel resistance from groups opposing the passing of a local ordinance that calls for the city to opt out of the California Values Act, stating that the state law conflicted with the U.S. Constitution.
But county groups and some local residents are now requesting records from the city to confirm that there has not been any outside influence that may have encouraged the council’s action, and started a wave of other cities taking similar actions.
Resilience OC and Orange County Immigrant Youth United, filed public records requests with the city of Los Alamitos, for any records that could show that suspected hate groups have pressed local governments to pass anti-immigrant initiatives.
“In the midst of the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, transparency is crucial to understand the priorities of our elected officials,” OCIYU member Erik Garcia said.
Two local groups joined the county organizations in front of Los Alamitos City Hall on Monday, in a press conference, and rally. Los Alamitos Community United is a group of Los Alamitos residents, who are continuing the protest of the city council’s action.
The request given to the city states that the organizations are seeking information based on reports in the Orange County Register, that efforts similar to the action taken by the city council were “spurred by a request from a group called the Immigration Reform Law Institute [IRLI], which is affiliated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform [FAIR].”
The request notes that FAIR has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. The request seeks transparency on whether there was any influence by such groups on the council to take this action.
Mayor Pro-Tem Warren Kusumoto said that a similar request was made by OC Weekly a few weeks ago and that the city would comply with the requests.
“I encourage that members of the public seek records on matters that are important to them. They should receive the same PRA records that were previously requested on 3/23/2018 by Roman San Gabriel for the OC Weekly publication,” Kusumoto said in a statement.
Los Alamitos resident and immigration lawyer, Monica Glicken, is among those who are part of LACU. One of Glicken’s concerns is that she said the council did not take into account that most of those who spoke against the ordinance at the meeting were residents, while most who spoke in favor of it, were not residents, she said.
“We’re just local residents who were upset by the city council’s vote,” Glicken said.
Mayor Troy Edgard also noted that the city had already received the request from OC Weekly and were complying. Edgar said he did not have concerns for showing records.
“I encourage this type of engagement from the public,” Edgar said.
Community Congregational United Church of Christ, in Los Alamitos, has also taken a stand against the action. Rev. Sam Pullen was among the speakers at the March 19 meeting, and he was at Monday’s rally. Pullen said in a statement released by Los Alamitos United, that their church strives to welcome all people, including immigrants. He said that the Bible reminds us that all people have been immigrants. He went so far as to say, the church would provide sanctuary, in defiance of the city ordinance.
“No human being is illegal in the eyes of God,” Pullen said in the statement.
Both Edgar and Kusumoto have said that they don’t see a rift in the city. Edgar, in fact, said that he has gotten more support from the city’s resident with whom he has spoken. He also noted that the cities and counties that have taken similar stances, shows that there is a lot of support, from Orange County, down to San Diego County, which is also considering a similar stance. Edgar said he will continue to keep an open mind about the issue.
“I’m at peace with the direction I’m going,” Edgar said.