Mayor Valeria Amesqua, Santa Ana, faces a call to resign after more than 100 residents spoke to the city council meeting on Tuesday, criticising the city’s recent immigration enforcement efforts and handling of protests.
Some allegedly condemned the silence of Orange County’s only sanctuary city, and condemned the silence by city leaders during the ongoing raid.
“We need you to use your position of power to protect your residents,” one speaker said at a nearly six-hour city council meeting.
Amezcua has taken a different approach than many Southern California mayors, and remains largely silent about ongoing immigration enforcement.
She faced backlash in her Facebook post on June 9, and reportedly denounced city council members who attended the city’s “tolerant” destruction.
Two days later, in a social media video on June 11, Amezcua said it did not support “ongoing immigration attacks” or “militarized escalation,” adding that “protest is not a crime.”
“I just want to be clear and clear that I’m not supporting what’s going on in our city, and if I don’t respond quickly enough, my apology,” Amezkaa said, speaking to the crowd on Tuesday.
Amezcua declined to interview NBC Los Angeles.
The community’s anger was also directed at the Santa Ana Police Department, with widespread allegations of excessive force in the protest.
“Using tear gas on your residents has transformed our sanctuary city into a place of fear and mistrust,” another public speaker said.
Downtown business owner Alejandra Vargas said one of her windows was shattered after hundreds gathered for a “No Kings Day” demonstration. The protest began peacefully, but protesters and law enforcement clashed on Saturday night.
The Santa Ana Police Department made 24 arrests for breach of the law from June 9 to June 14, the city said on its release Tuesday. According to SAPD, police responded to fireworks launches, reckless driving in crowds, vandalism, use of rocks and bottles, and failure to comply with the order.
“We saw people shooting because the bean bags and law enforcement used by police, everything was spread out on display,” Vargas said.
Jacob Reisberg, an ACLU lawyer, believes that Santa Ana residents have “moral and legal rights.”
“Response to police against police, including the incidents mentioned in recent reports, has been strictly in accordance with the law,” the police department wrote in a statement Tuesday.
Police Chief Robert Rodriguez declined to interview NBC Los Angeles.
At a meeting Tuesday, Amesqua alleged that someone tried to assault her at her home before the council meeting. Police confirmed they were investigating the incident, but did not share any further details.
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