WATSONVILLE — City officials welcomed state and federal legislators Friday morning, asking for their help with a variety of issues affecting Watsonville.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, Assemblywoman Anna Caballero and a representative from Senator Bill Monning’s office were present at the Watsonville City Council’s annual “legislative breakfast” meeting at the Civic Plaza.
City Manager Charles Montoya said Watsonville is faced with an increasing number of threats from the U.S. Department of Justice over its “sanctuary city” status, which the council reaffirmed last year.
On Wednesday, Watsonville received a letter from the DOJ, ordering the city to hand over documents that show how its police department shares information with federal immigration authorities about their contacts with people in the country illegally. The letter also threatened a federal subpoena for failing to comply.
That letter is in addition to another one the city received in November, where the DOJ pointed out that Watsonville’s eligibility to receive the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant is based on compliance with federal immigration laws.
The grant funds police departments, prosecution, courts, corrections departments and other programs related to law enforcement.
Montoya said the DOJ is threatening to take away that grant funding as far back as 2016, possibly resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Still unclear is if any other federal funding sources will be affected.
“It’s really troublesome, because in a community such as ours, every dollar that we don’t get hurts,” Montoya said.
Police Chief David Honda said Watsonville’s sanctuary city ordinance has “no conflict” with the DOJ. The ordinance states that the city can cooperate with federal investigators if it is in response to a judicial warrant or subpoena.
“We won’t actively engage in immigration enforcement,” Honda said. “That’s not part of our primary duties.”
Panetta agreed.
“You have a job to do in making our streets safe,” he said. “You don’t enforce immigration.”
Panetta said he voted against the bill that reopened the government on Monday, saying that, among other things, the bill did not include protections for “dreamers,” immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are now here illegally.
A plan by the White House unveiled Thursday offers a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants living in the U.S. illegally in exchange for major restrictions on legal immigration and $25 billion in border security.
Panetta added that Monday’s passing of the fifth continuing resolution in a year is “detrimental” to the nation’s security, funding the government on a “month-to-month basis.”
“We have been governing on deadline, rather than governing on leadership,” he said.
Other topics discussed during Friday’s meeting:
• The Watsonville City Council will consider allowing the distribution and testing of cannabis in city limits in the spring, according to Community Development Director Suzi Merriam. Dispensaries are expected to be the last item the council considers regarding cannabis.
• A total of 255 housing units are under construction in Watsonville, with another 183 multi-unit housing projects under review.
• Over the last 18 months, law enforcement has removed 167 firearms from the streets in 92 separate cases, according to Honda.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently reviewing public comments it received in November on the Pajaro River levee project. An updated report is expected to be released in June.
