'No ICE in Marin' group takes over board chambers, calling ordinance

We are following some developing news in Marin County this afternoon where the Board of Supervisors heard hours of public comment as a coalition of demonstrators packed today's meeting, calling on the board to pass a no-ice ordinance. KTVU's Jana Katsigama joining us now live from the county building to explain the controversy here. Jana. Heather and Alex, this was a peaceful but very passionate group of residents who gathered here. they took over the board chambers at the end of the meeting and saying, as you can hear there earlier, we shall overcome. Now, this comes as the board is considering adopting some sort of policy, but the group that was there today, they say that does not go far enough and they want them to go even farther and adopt an ordinance. From the halls of the Marin County building to the board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, a coalition of residents spoke out, calling for the county to pass an ordinance to prevent county resources from being used to support immigration actions. We have been for over one salary because none of you are doing anything. We're demanding that you put a strong, ice-free Marin ordinance on the agenda, One that bars ICE from using county resources, property, data, and staff. And actually has the force of law. The five supervisors listened as dozens of residents shared their fears in the community from ICE actions. I'm still afraid for all the Latinos they can come to because they are afraid to speak or they working hard. I was walking down San Rafael and all of a sudden I'm realizing, oh my god, they could grab me at any moment. I've never had that thought before. Of course they're not showing up. There's a lot of fear in the community. How are they going to show up to the Civic Center when the sheriff is here? The No Ice in Marin is a coalition of 16 community organizations who say they've collected more than 10,000 signatures this past year. Out of the nine Bay Area counties, Marin is one of two that has passed neither an ice-free Marin ordinance nor a sanctuary county. We want to send a message that we are standing in solidarity with our immigrants. We need to protect our entire community. We need to let our community members know that they are not alone. And if they are afraid, we are afraid too, but we are not going to back down. We're going to stand together. The county executive says Marin has been providing extra funding to help impacted families with rent, income, and services. Additionally, this county has provided additional funding for our public defender's office to provide legal defenses for individuals whose rights who have been may have been violated. Derek Johnson says state laws already prohibit ICE from using local resources and says a county policy resolution rather than an ordinance would still offer protections. The recommendation coming out from the Attorney General's office, you know, is on a policy. You know, the reality is, is that half of the counties are a resolution. Half of them are an ordinance. And the board is expected to discuss and possibly vote on a resolution at their meeting next Tuesday at 9.30 in the morning. And by the way, the other county that has not yet passed one of these ordinances and resolutions is Solano County. Heather and Alex. All right. Jana Katsuyama there in Marin County for us this afternoon. Thank you, Jana.