Resident speakers press Ontario council to act after recent immigration enforcement in neighborhoods

A resident public commenter told the Ontario City Council on July 7 that recent immigration-enforcement operations have created fear in the community and urged the council to use available authority to protect residents.

The speaker said volunteers documented more than 20 people taken across the Inland Empire in recent enforcement waves and described specific incidents in Ontario neighborhoods, including detentions near Virginia Avenue and Sixth Street and a stop at a bus stop in front of the Social Security office where a man was later released. "Once again, we're seeing agents target people based on their appearance and perceived ethnicity," the speaker said, adding that "Families are afraid to go to work. Parents are afraid they will not come home." The speaker urged the council to take actions such as banning ICE from staging on city property and establishing an immigrant-defense fund to support affected families.

"Silence is a choice. Doing nothing is a choice," the commenter said, urging leadership to act. The transcript does not record a council response granting those requests; the public-comment period closed and the council proceeded with agenda items.

The meeting record shows the council had recently met in closed session on labor and property negotiations and that several residents raised other concerns during public comment, including policing complaints and development impacts. The speaker said they would continue to document incidents and return to council if enforcement activity did not stop.

Because these requests were raised as public comment, any policy or resource commitment would require separate council action in a later agenda item or meeting.