Candidates Speak Out on the Use of ICE Enforcement and Send a Message to Local Immigrants

I recently wrote the candidates running for the offices of Chula Vista Mayor, Councilmember District 1 and Councilmember District 2. I asked them a few questions for the benefit of our Sunnyside Common Sense readers, to assist them in picking candidates that are inline with their own beliefs.

As of today's publishing, four of the eight questions asked have been answered by the participating candidates. Their names appear in the order that I received their responses.

Question 4: Do you currently support or oppose the use of ICE enforcement for immigrants who have committed crimes? What is your message to immigrants in this district?

MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Yair Gersten

I support holding people accountable for serious crimes, regardless of immigration status. But I oppose turning local police into immigration agents or using city resources for civil immigration enforcement. Chula Vista police should focus on local public safety: preventing crime, responding to victims, and enforcing state and local law fairly. Cooperation with federal authorities should be limited to what is legally required or appropriate in serious criminal matters, with due process and clear public transparency.

My message to immigrants is simple: you are part of our community. You should be able to report crimes, send your children to school, use city services, and participate in civic life without fear that a routine contact with the City will be used against your family. Public safety works best when every resident can trust local government.

John McCann

No response

Francisco Tamayo

No response

DISTRICT ONE CANDIDATES

Chuck Sanfilippo

Do you currently support or oppose the use of ICE enforcement for immigrants who have committed crimes?

Our Nation is ruled by a Constitution. 3 previous administrations had multiple opportunities to settle this topic. Moreover, the current law is criminals are processed accordingly and immigration law is a Federal matter.

Joy Emmanuel

Crime is defined by a conviction in a court of law. Suspicion is not a crime itself. Immigration enforcement should never eviscerate due process. Hooded men carrying weapons on or near school property is not a safe environment for children. The trauma just witnessing causes can last a lifetime. It is monstrous to subject children and victims of crime to that level of horror.

Assemblymember Alvarez' bill, AB 1994, ensures crime victims who are immigrants receive information on their legal protections. This includes information about protections from the Violence Against Women Act, which can shield from deportation thereby enabling cooperation with law enforcement.

The largest pool of victims of violent crimes and violent sexual crimes are women and children. ICE activity has increased these numbers because immigrant victims are afraid to report crimes.

As a family physician, I cannot support ICE activity around children and victims of crime.

Carolina Chavez

Public safety remains my top priority. Our local law enforcement shares that commitment by protecting our communities, keeping residents safe, and addressing criminal activity when it happens.

As elected officials, our role is to listen. And what we heard from our community was clear: neighbors were afraid to access city services, and families, parents, and students were going to school in fear.

That’s why, together with our community, the City Council designed, brought forward, and passed the Safe Neighbor Ordinance. This ensures every resident feels safe accessing local services, reporting crimes, and engaging with their city without fear.

I believe our public safety resources should remain focused on prioritizing neighborhood safety, building community trust, and serving every family in Chula Vista.

Greg Martinez

No response

Sergio C. Vargas

No response

DISTRICT TWO CANDIDATES

Russ Hall

The failure of ICE has been in terrible optics shown daily by the media. People see ICE as using heavy handed tactics. The cities and states that fight ICE also have made problems worse by their failure to cooperate in providing a simple access to the bad guys. This reluctance pushed ICE to overreach. This is a confrontation with guilt on all sides. However, the problem of illegal immigration has been around for decades. Immigration reform has been largely avoided by both parties. We need solutions that in fact deal with why people migrate here which is largely economic. We need a guest worker program that allows people to come through the front door legally and vetted. Then these same people can return home and return through the same processes. Lets take the cartels and the immigration attorneys and put them out of business because they are the ones making billions.

Jose Preciado

No response

Angelica S. Martinez

No response

Jesse Navarro

No response

Look for a second Q&A in today's Common Sense:

What are the first 3 things you would work on if elected?

Stay tuned for the answers to tomorrow's questions:

Rohr Park is in District 1, yet it is located in the middle of the neighboring Bonita-Sunnyside community. What are your ideas about calming traffic, quieting elevated noise levels and reducing light pollution (from lighted fields) that may arise from additions to the Rohr Park Master Plan? 

There is presently a debate over retaining the Rohr Park Horse Arena or replacing it with additional soccer playing fields. Which use do you support and why? 

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