residents lined the city council chamber walls waiting to speak in support of joining ACLU lawsuit against illegal ICE actions.

All councilmembers were present as over 150 residents gathered at the 4 pm Tuesday, August 19, 2025, closed session at City Hall. Approximately 39 spoke in favor of the city supporting the ACLU lawsuit (Perdomo v. Noem) against illegal ICE raids (some of which have occurred in Fullerton). No one spoke against joining the lawsuit.

Among the commenters were representatives of Fullerton’s school districts, colleges, religious communities, and Rapid Response volunteers.  Commenters, including neighbors, said that families were afraid to send their children to school, go to church, go to work, go grocery shopping, go to the laundry-mat, or even to regular scheduled legal immigration check-ins.

“These are not criminals, they are our neighbors and contribute to the community,” said one neighbor.

USC Professor Jodi Vallejo, an immigration expert, presented statistics on what immigrants contribute to the economy. CSUF Center for Healthy Neighborhoods coordinator Eglith Nuncci repeated the proverb “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” in her comments presented in both Spanish and English.

A Japanese-American resident spoke about her family’s history in living through the period where all was taken from them and they were forced into “internment camps” and how that history continued to impact her family and many others like hers over multiple generations. At the time no one stood and spoke up to say “this is wrong.”

A young woman who came to the U.S. as a toddler said she had been excited to start college this Fall but was now afraid to leave her parents. She asked the council to protect her parents, who were not criminals but hard workers and had only come here to provide a better life for her. Several speakers pointed out the constitutional violations and the racism involved in the raids primarily targeting brown-skinned people.

Every comment was dynamic and heartfelt. Unfortunately those viewing the session in person and those watching from home will notice that the microphone is cut off after the 3-minute allowed each speaker.

(Click here to watch the video of the 4pm, Tues, Aug 19, 2025  closed session on the City Website)

After two hours of public comments, the council retreated to a closed session to make a decision. Later, during the regular session, the result of the closed session vote was revealed. Four of the five councilmembers voted to issue an amicus brief in support of the ACLU lawsuit against illegal ICE actions. District 2 Councilmember Dunlap was missing in action during the vote to support the ACLU lawsuit, but was present during the regular session.

Fullerton joins the Orange County cities of Santa Ana, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, and Irvine in support of the ACLU lawsuit. At the same time, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to take “no action” in its Tuesday, August 12 closed session – though illegal ICE actions are happening countywide. The County and City of LA, along with over 20 California cities, have joined or filed amicus briefs in support of the ACLU lawsuit so far.

The lawsuit challenges the government’s Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies’ policies and actions, including unlawful arrests made without warrants and based on racial profiling, and detentions in inhumane conditions and without access to counsel.

Several such actions have taken place in Fullerton, including the recent arrest of a U.S. veteran and citizen with no criminal record. He was approached by six masked, unidentified “agents” while shopping at a local store with his family. He was pushed into an unmarked vehicle and driven to a neighboring city before being released without charges. In other incidents, supposed ICE agents have attempted warrantless raids at local businesses  – including most recently the carwash on Harbor. The owner repeatedly asked ICE agents in military gear to get off his private property and demanded a warrant.

In contrast, the ICE agents inaccurately argued that the carwash was public property and they didn’t need a warrant. The owner said he was calling the police, and they left. Customers filmed the incident and is still available on YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3hJu6e2_JI0

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for September 24. The district court previously granted the Plaintiff’s request for emergency relief on July 11, 2025, in a Temporary Restraining Order covering seven counties, including OC. The TRO applies to all officers conducting immigration enforcement, including DHS, ICE, CBP, HSI, FBI, and others. The TRO prevents targeting individuals based on apparent race or ethnicity, language spoken, accent, presence in a particular location such as a bus stop, car wash, or agricultural site, or the type of work a person does. The order does not prevent agents from stopping a person if they have specific information that indicates they are violating a federal law or are unlawfully in the U.S.

Also read Opposition to ICE Raids Grows in Orange County by Hosam Elattar at VoiceofOC.org

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS & FIND HELP: If you see illegal actions taking place in Orange County contact Rapid Response Network at 714-881-1558.  Also visit OC Rapid Response website at https://ocrapidresponse.org/