By Jim Hinch / Voice of San Diego
Chula Vista has become the first city located fully within San Diego County’s southern border region to adopt expanded protections for immigrants, responding to what city leaders described as widespread community anxiety over heightened federal immigration enforcement.
In early November, the City Council voted 4–1 to approve a package of immigration-related policies that includes educating immigrants about their rights, barring federal authorities from entering certain public areas without a warrant, and preventing city contractors from disclosing employees’ immigration status “in cooperation with discriminatory enforcement actions.”
“Residents deserve to know that their city respects constitutional protections and treats every resident with dignity,” Councilmember César Fernández said, who championed the new policy. “We have an opportunity to reaffirm our identity as a city.”
Chula Vista’s action mirrors similar measures recently approved in Oceanside and the City of San Diego.
The Nov. 4 vote in Chula Vista stood in sharp contrast to a simultaneous meeting in the city of Vista, where more than 500 people filled the Council chambers that same Tuesday night to debate a measure nearly identical to Chula Vista’s.