From: Michele Frey
To: CITY CLERK
Subject: City council agenda items for 9/9/2025
Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 11:42:21 AM
As a long time resident of Costa Mesa we would like the Council to know that we wholeheartedly support all members of our community.
We support the donation of the $100,000 to the local non profits and the creation of a legal defense fund to assist residents in connection with the federal immigration enforcement.
Michele and Peter Frey
Sent from my iPhone
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September
9,
2025
Costa
Mesa
City
Council
77 Fair
Drive,
Costa
Mesa,
CA
92626
Re:
Rental
registry,
support
for
residents
impacted
by
immigration
enforcement
To
the
Costa
Mesa
City
Council:
This
letter
concerns
items
#1
and
#2
of
new
business
to
be
considered
during
the
September
9,
2025
Costa
Mesa
City
Council
meeting.
First,
we
urge
the
Costa
Mesa
City
Council
to
provide
City
staff
with
direction
to
establish
a
rental
registry
and
to
collect
local
eviction
data.
Such
data
is
important
to
track
to
better
understand
trends
in
not
just
evictions,
but
also
the
cost
of
rent,
rate
of
reported
housing
code
violations,
and
other
issues
Costa
Mesa
renters
face.
Moreover,
any
collected
data
(e.g.
average
rent
amounts)
should
be
released
in
aggregate,
summary
forms
to
the
public
so
that
community
members
and
organizations
can
also
assess
current
conditions
for
local
tenants.
Eviction
data
has
long
been
a
challenge
for
community
organizations
to
track
since
tracking
such
data
usually
requires
collecting
data
from
court
filings,
so
having
municipal-level
data
collection
and
publication
would
help
fill
in
this
critical
gap.
Second,
we
are
heartened
to
see
the
Costa
Mesa
City
Council
discuss
the
potential
of
funding
legal
support
for
local
communities
impacted
by
immigration
enforcement,
and
we
hope
the
Council
moves
forward
with
doing
so.
We
also
urge
the
Council
to
vote
for
the
City
to
participate
in
Perdomo
v.
Noem,
if
not
by
way
of
intervention,
then
at
least
by
way
of
an
amicus
brief.
Increased
access
to
qualified
legal
representation
reduces
family
separation
and
saves
families
money.
Among
residents
of
the
Central
Coast
county
subdivision
(which
covers
Costa
Mesa
and
Newport
Beach)
whose
immigration
court
cases
were
filed
in
the
last
90 days,
half
of
them
lack
legal
representation.
1 Ensuring
that
immigrants
and
refugees
have
access
to
qualified
legal
representation
reduces
risk
of
suffering
from
predatory
immigration
scams
and
decreases
likelihood
of
long-term
detention
and
deportation.
We
also
stress
the
importance
of
funding
not
just
legal
representation
proper,
but
also
community
outreach
and
education.
While
legal
representation
is
critical
to
preserving
lives,
models
of
immigration
support
that
are
solely
attorney-centric
can
be
limited
in
the
extent
to
which
they
can
ensure
community
members
are
educated
about
their
rights
and
available
resources
due
to
the
limited
scope
of
legal
cases
themselves.
There
are
also
unfortunately
not
enough
immigration
attorneys
to
meet
demand
even
in
a
hypothetical
scenario
in
which
there
1 Pending
Court
Cases
by
Immigrant’s
Address
(Transactional
Records
Access
Clearinghouse,
2025),
https://tracreports.org/phptools/immigration/addressrep/.
837
N.
Ross
St,
Santa
Ana,
CA
92701
|
|
harborinstituteoc.org
are
unlimited
funds
for
legal
services,
ultimately
leaving
many
community
members
isolated
as
they
navigate
the
immigration
legal
system.
2 Taking
a
more
holistic
approach
to
immigration
support
strengthens
overall
community
resilience.
When
residents
are
knowledgeable
about
immigration
laws
and
processes,
they
are
empowered
to
make
informed
decisions,
advocate
for
themselves,
more
effectively
engage
in
mutual
support
and
collective
action,
and
maintain
self-sufficiency.
3 This
is
particularly
important
for
communities
facing
unique
challenges
to
accessing
sufficient
legal
representation
(e.g.
Southeast
Asian
refugees,
who
are
disproportionately
targeted
for
removal)
due
to
distinctive
conditions
surrounding
their
cases,
as
well
as
gaps
in
resources
and
outreach
geared
specifically
towards
some
communities.
We
urge
the
City
Council
to
take
action
to
ensure
residents
have
the
legal
representation,
support
services,
and
information
needed
to
navigate
the
immigration
legal
system,
especially
during
these
times
of
emergency.
The
Council
must
demonstrate
leadership
in
advocating
for
the
rights
of
its
immigrant
and
refugee
residents
and,
in
turn,
the
rights
of
all
residents
across
Costa
Mesa.
Sincerely,
Mai
Nguyen
Do
Research
&
Policy
Manager
Harbor
Institute
for
Immigrant
&
Economic
Justice
3 Such
a
holistic
approach
has
been
taken
with
the
Orange
County
Immigrant
&
Refugee
Liberty
Fund.
The
Harbor
Institute
worked
for
several
years
to
establish
the
Liberty
Fund,
a
$1.5
million
public-private
partnership
between
Supervisor
Vicente
Sarmiento,
the
Weingart
Foundation,
and
various
partners
within
the
Orange
County
philanthropic
community.
The
Liberty
Fund
was
created
and
structured
with
the
recognition
of
the
necessity
of
funding
a
combination
of
legal
services,
community
education,
and
outreach.
2 Transactional
Records
Access
Clearinghouse.
Too
Few
Immigration
Attorneys:
Average
Representation
Rates
Fall
from
65%
To
30%.
Transactional
Records
Access
Clearinghouse,
Syracuse
University,
2024.
https://trac.syr.edu/whatsnew/email.240124.html.
837
N.
Ross
St,
Santa
Ana,
CA
92701
|
|
harborinstituteoc.org
From: Roberto Herrera
To: CITY CLERK; STEPHENS, JOHN; CHAVEZ, MANUEL; MARR, ANDREA; REYNOLDS, ARLIS; GAMEROS, LOREN Subject: Letter to City Council
Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 12:36:29 PM
Attachments: Letter to City Council 9_9.pdf
Dear Mayor and City Council,
Following a major US Supreme Court ruling that encourages racial profiling and threatens due process rights, the City of Costa Mesa must take action to protect its constituents against warrantless immigration arrests and unlawful evictions
Costa Mesa City officials are faced with the harrowing reality and risks that many Costa Mesa and Orange County immigrant families are facing by the federal government. Constitutional protections, like due process
and equal protection under the law, are being shredded by the current administration and the highest court.
We call on the Mayor and Costa Mesa City Council to partner with non-profit legal service providers to provide removal defense legal services for Costa Mesa constituents impacted by the callous immigration raids running rampant across the county. We also call on the Mayor and City Council to create a rental registry to comprehensively track all evictions impacting tenants.
Resilience Orange County, Costa Mesa Unidos (CMU), and CHAMOY (Changing Hearts & Minds of Youth) are grounding ourselves around, “Un Derecho A Permanecer,” or a “Right To Remain” in our homes, our schools, and neighborhoods. Families are facing increased rents and threats of eviction, immigrant communities are living through the constant and looming presence of militarized agents terrorizing our neighborhoods, and our people are more frequently met with tear gas rather than compassion. At this moment, the right to remain is under attack, and the time is now for Costa Mesa to act. Thank you.
###
Best,
Roberto Carlos Herrera
Pronouns (They/Them/Theirs)
Leadership Development Director
Resilience Orange County
2790 Harbor Blvd Suite 208, Costa Mesa 92626
Email: [email protected]
www.resilienceoc.org
THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO WHICH IT IS ADDRESSED AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL AND EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
September 9th, 2025
Dear Mayor and City Council,
Following a major US Supreme Court ruling that encourages racial profiling and threatens due process rights, the City of
Costa
Mesa
must
take
action
to
protect
its
constituents
against
warrantless
immigration
arrests
and
unlawful
evictions
Costa Mesa City officials are faced with the harrowing reality and risks that many Costa Mesa and Orange County immigrant families are facing by the federal government. Constitutional protections, like due process and equal protection under the law, are being shredded by the current administration and the highest court.
We call on the Mayor and Costa Mesa City Council to partner with non-profit legal service providers to provide removal
defense
legal
services
for
Costa
Mesa
constituents
impacted
by
the
callous
immigration
raids
running
rampant
across
the
county.
We
also
call
on
the
Mayor
and
City
Council
to
create
a
rental
registry
to
comprehensively
track
all
evictions
impacting
tenants.
Resilience Orange County, Costa Mesa Unidos (CMU), and CHAMOY (Changing Hearts & Minds of Youth) are grounding
ourselves
around,
“Un
Derecho
A
Permanecer,”
or
a
“Right
To
Remain”
in
our
homes,
our
schools,
and
neighborhoods.
Families
are
facing
increased
rents
and
threats
of
eviction,
immigrant
communities
are
living
through
the
constant
and
looming
presence
of
militarized
agents
terrorizing
our
neighborhoods,
and
our
people
are
more
frequently
met
with
tear
gas
rather
than
compassion.
At
this
moment,
the
right
to
remain
is
under
attack,
and
the
time
is
now
for
Costa
Mesa
to
act.
Thank
you.
###
Roberto Herrera
Leadership
Development
Director
Resilience
Orange
County