In 2006, the Escondido City Council, led by Councilwoman Marie Waldron, passed an anti-immigration ordinance that required landlords to ensure that they were not renting property to undocumented persons within the city of Escondido, and threatened them with civil and criminal penalties if they were found to have an undocumented tenant residing on their properties. Civil rights groups sued and won an injunction against the city of Escondido to stop the unconstitutional and divisive ordinance.
Undaunted by this history, the city of Escondido uses the lighting rod again. This time led by Deputy Mayor John Masson and Mayor Sam Abed and camouflaged as an innocuous request to have the city attorney request the U.S. District Court for permission to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the case filed by U.S. Department of Justice against the state of California regarding the state’s implementation of the California Values Act (SB54) and its alleged pre-emption by federal law, the Escondido City Council chambers was turned into a ruckus Congressional town hall meeting on national immigration policy.
This event was clearly a grandstanding attempt by Masson and Abed to ignite the divisive and hatred element of immigration opponents and had little to do with filing an Amicus brief.
Thank you, Councilwoman Olga Diaz, who calls out the sham and praises SB 54, which ensures that no state or local resources are diverted to fuel any attempt by the federal government to carry out mass deportations and that our schools, our hospitals and our courthouses are safe spaces for everyone in our community.
Escondido city government is inept. It is time for new leadership to lead the city of Escondido into a new era of cooperation and not use wedge national issues for political gain.
— Alan Geraci, Consumer Attorney and Candidate for the 75th Assembly District
7 comments
Shame of Masson and Sam once again When I thought that they had learn their lesson from previos lawsuits against the city.
All of our city council members were quietly doing deportation under the Federal grant that they all have been approving for years. The transportation grant has been funding our local police to continue checkpoints in our city. It paid for anything that would be tied in to safety according to them.
Racist or ignorant people don’t even try to understand all the harm that this council are causing with anti-immigrant policies.
When we divide our city and when we attack immigrants it creates a very dangerous place for all of us. Hate crimes happen, Brown people will not trust the police, and racism come out as an ugly monster in our beautiful city of Escondido.
We do have monsters that pray on innocent people. Those monsters don’t care of tour color. They pray on people because they know that our police force is weak and divided. Brown people will not report crimes against them nor they will be witnesses because they don’t trust the police.
The economy in Escondido is doing very well because of the diversity in our city. Specially in the Latino areas such as e. Valley Pkwy. Maybe it’s time that we show our strength by boycotting Escondido. Just like we did at Sam’s gas station on e valley Pkwy. Sam didn’t want Brown people.. so we asked brown people to stop buying gas at Sam’s gas station until we closed him down. Maybe he is still angry about that!
Masson is a lazy council member that only got that seat when Marie Waldron left to Sacramento. He never ran because it was too much work. That alone should show you what kind of council member he is.
It is time again to go after their seats because they will never change. They will continue the attacks on our community. It’s sad because they could do so much good but they choose to be evil.
It’s a bad idea to continue to have ICE agents working out of our police station. We as tax payers are paying our local police to play border patrol. That does not make our city any safer.
Being brown is hard in Escondido, we are the new black. Police officers discriminate because of our color. We get pulled over for no reason or a lame reason. They find a reason why they pulled you over. If immigrants don’t have a license or have a license that are only given to immigrants, police calls or refers them to ICE. Our police department also cross trained officers to play ICE. Last time I checked Chief Cater had 7 officers crossed trained to ask for papers.
If you look at the big picture, immigrats have a lot to lose if they are not driving safely in our city. So that makes them the best drivers. Not only they get deported but they left their families behind. Their U.S children are left behind at schools and most of them end up in foster home.
Thank you Mr. Geraci for standing up with all brown people in Escondido. This anti-law affects all brown people because no one can’t tell you if I am undocumented just by the color of my skin. I’m a human being and I am a good human being with a brown family. I’m a tax payer and I can vote this November. The power of the good people in Escondido will be loud and we will make sure that these council members do not get re-elected again!
Escondido’s action has done nothing but divide the city and create an atmosphere of fear among many of its residents. Once again the reputation of the city if front and center in the national news. It is time for new leadership.
or it is a confirmation that we should have laws that are enforced, thank you Deputy Mayor John Masson and Mayor Sam Abed
I am among those in Escondido who support position described in your Opinion piece Alan Gerraci.
Thank you for taking time to describe reasons supporting your Opinion, to inform and educate those with open minds.
Late to the party? Did you copy and paste this article?
Your an idiot.
You’re ?? Irony
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