Santa Ana Bans City Employees from Moonlighting for ICE

Santa Ana's City Council has unanimously approved a policy preventing city employees from holding outside jobs that involve federal immigration enforcement duties, including work for ICE or private contractors. The city, Orange County's only sanctuary city, cited conflicts of interest and community trust as key reasons for the policy. A second vote is scheduled for October 6.

City workers in Santa Ana are barred from taking on secondary jobs that involve participating in federal immigration enforcement. The measure passed without opposition during Tuesday evening's council session. Outside work that involves enforcing federal immigration laws — including apprehending, holding, relocating, or removing individuals on behalf of agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement or affiliated private contractors — is prohibited for staff members. Municipal records show that staff members are not barred from taking secondary employment with the U.S. Armed Forces or the Department of Homeland Security under the existing guidelines. The city of Santa Ana holds the highest proportion of Latino inhabitants across Orange County. The municipality also holds the distinction of being the county's sole self-declared sanctuary city, a status that restricts local authorities from fully cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agencies. Enforcement operations conducted by immigration authorities the previous summer drew public demonstrations across the city. The number of municipal workers affected by the new policy has yet to be determined. The proposal parallels a comparable measure under consideration at the state level, one that would bar California law enforcement officers from working on behalf of federal immigration authorities. In March, Los Angeles enacted a comparable measure. The regulation specifies that outside work involving immigration enforcement responsibilities generates both real and apparent conflicts of interest, places city employees in a position of divided allegiance between their municipal obligations and external compensation, and erodes public confidence in city government broadly and the Santa Ana Police Department specifically, with a second reading of the measure scheduled for the City Council session on October 6. Council members in Santa Ana convene for scheduled sessions on a biweekly basis. The body's following gathering is set for October 6 at 5:00 p.m., with community members able to join in person at the Council Chamber, located at 22 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana, through Zoom, or via the city's YouTube livestream.

Santa Ana Bans City Employees from Moonlighting for ICE

Related Posts

Santa Ana Bans City Employees from Moonlighting for ICE

Related Posts