City of Sacramento
Racial Equity Committee Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-00966 4/29/2025 Item 5.
Discussion Regarding City of Sacramento's Sanctuary City Efforts File ID: 2025-00966
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Review, comment, and provide direction.
Contact: Susan Khang, Constituent Affairs Director, (916) 808-7337, [email protected], Office of Councilmember Mai Vang, District 8
Presenter: Susan Khang, Constituent Affairs Director, (916) 808-7337, [email protected], Office of Councilmember Mai Vang, District 8 Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-City of Sacramento Sanctuary City Resolution 1985-0973 3-City of Sacramento Sanctuary City Resolution 2017-0158 4-FUEL Network Funding Resolution 2017-0159
5-FUEL Network Program Supplemental Grant Agreement No. 2023-1543 Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: On December 17, 1985, Council adopted Resolution No. 1985-0973 that affirmed the City’s status as a City of Sanctuary, serving as a haven for immigrants and refugees in the City of Sacramento.
On May 4, 2017, Council reaffirmed the City’s Sanctuary status by adopting Resolution No. 2017- 0158, which clarified the City of Sacramento’s policies and procedures regarding the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws. This resolution formally repealed Resolution No. 1985-0973 to better reflect the needs of the City’s immigrant and refugee population at the time.
That same day, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2017-0159, authorizing the allocation of up to $300,000 from the General Fund’s available balance in FY2017/18 to establish a grant for the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal Network (FUEL Network) to provide urgent legal and support services to families.
File ID: 2025-00966 4/29/2025 Item 5.
On October 20, 2023, the Sacramento FUEL Network and the City entered into Grant Agreement No. 2023-1543. Under this grant agreement the City agreed to provide $500,000 in grant funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/23 and an additional $500,000 in grant funding for FY2023/24 for a total of $1,000,000.
In March of 2025, the City of Sacramento filed a lawsuit, along with 15 other municipal jurisdictions, challenging a federal executive order that seeks to withhold all federal funding from local governments that exercise their discretion to not use their limited local resources for federal immigration enforcement.
Policy Considerations: Not applicable.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: Not applicable.
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Provided above.
Rationale for Recommendation: Staff will present an overview of the City of Sacramento’s past and current Sanctuary City Resolutions, along with a summary of ongoing efforts to uphold its status as a Sanctuary City. The Committee’s discussion of this report will highlight current progress and identify actionable steps to ensure Sacramento residents and families remain informed and supported.
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Amended: December 16, 1985
RESOLUTION NO. ^5 ^^^^^7`^
ADOPTED BY THE SACRAMENTOCITY COUNCIL ON DATE OF
EE, i 7 1985
A RESOLUTION INVOKING THE PRESIDENT AND
THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO
RECOGNIZE THAT THE REFUGEES FROM
GUATEMALA AND EL SALVADOR, ARE "POLITICAL
REFUGEES": AND TO GRANT THEM ASYLUM OR
EXTENDED VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE STATUS, AS
WELL AS TO REAFFIRM THE CITY OF
SACRAMENTO'S SUPPORT FOR THE PRINCIPLES
OF SANCTUARY IN THE TIME-HONORED AMERICAN
TRADITION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
WHEREAS, from its birth, the City of Sacramento has had a diverse ethnic heritage and has historically welcomed immigrants from all over the world fleeing hardship and persecution in their own home countries; and,
WHEREAS, the United States supported the United Nations General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948, which commits the member states to recognize and observe basic human rights; and,
WHEREAS, the United States, Guatemala and El Salvador, have ratified on August 12, 1949, the Geneva Convention IV, relative to the PROTECTION OF CIVILIAN PERSONS IN TIME OF WAR; and, WHEREAS, the United States has acceded to the 1967 United Nations Convention in protocol relating to the status of refugees which states "No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his/her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion"; and,
WHEREAS, The United States Refugee Act of 1980 authorizes the grant of asylum to refugees who are.defined in terms identical to the United Nations 1968 Convention as any person who "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, reli- gion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or S5`_9.7..`)
^:^OLUTIONNo:_____
.198v
political opinion, is outside of the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him or herself of protection of that country"; and,
WHEREAS, many thousands of non-combatants of various religious and political beliefs and of all ages and economic groups, have been systematically seized and frequently tortured and murdered by members of security forces under and beyond government control in Guatemala since the late 1960's; and,
WHEREAS, in 1982 and 1983 over 4,800 refugees were returned to El Salvador and that the names of 50 of those returned have turned up on lists of victims killed by security forces or death squads; and,
WHEREAS, various Sacramento churches, and other religious groups (supported by many individuals within the City of Sacramento and the community-at-large) have responded to the needs of these refugees with advocacy, protection, and support; and,
WHEREAS, these groups and individuals have acted in a way they considered to be morally and legally correct and in the best tra- dition of our country which was founded on the principles of pro- viding a safe haven for those fleeing political oppression; and, WHEREAS, the United States has served for centuries as a haven for refugees of religious and political persecution from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, and much of our his- torical and moral tradition of the nation is rooted in the pro- vision of sanctuary to persecuted peoples; and,
WHEREAS, the United States has an honorable tradition of accepting refugees from abroad who have suffered political repression during periods of civil conflict and disorder as demonstrated by the fact that the United States has granted extended voluntary departure status 15 times in the past 24 years, and the status is currently granted to Poles, Ethiopians, Afghans, and Ugandans; and,
WHEREAS, thousands of refugees have fled Guatemala and El Salvador for fear of being harmed by repression, and death-squads, and general hostilities have continued daily in the context of internal civil strife; and
WHEREAS, innocent men, women, and children are presently without a country and live with the realization that the return to Guatemala and El Salvador would once again place their lives and the lives of their children and family members in jeopardy in countries of Central America ravaged by on-going catastrophic civil conflict;
S5-9.73
RESOLUTION No....._..
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento not encourage any compounding of injustice against refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador, or denigrate those who, in good faith, offer humanitarian assistance to refugees; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council recognize the Citizens of Sacramento who are providing bedding, food, health, and other settlement assistance, as well as friendship, to Central American refugees; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento be declared a sanctuary city and serve as a haven for refugees now residing in the City of Sacramento until they can safely return to their homeland, or until they receive federally recognized residency status; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that no City employee or department shall request information about, or otherwise investigate or assist in the investigation of the citizenship or residency status of, any person unless such inquiry or investigation is authorized by State/Federal law, or City ordinance/regulation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that no City employee or department shall disseminate information regarding the citizenship or residency status of any person unless authorized to do so by State/Federal law, or City ordinance/regulation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that no City employee or department shall condition the provision of the City of Sacramento benefits, opportunities, or services on matters related to citizenship or residency status unless authorized to do so by State/Federal law, or City ordinance/regulation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Sacramento City Council respec- tively entreat the Congress of the United States to recognize that the refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala, are "political refugees" and grant them asylum or extended voluntary departure status, and to enact a temporary measure with an amendment to include Guatemala to the Moakley-DeConcini Bill; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento emphasizes that the endorsement of these actions by the Congress of the United States is based upon a humanitarian concern for the refu- gees of Guatemala, and El Salvador and in no way constitutes sup- port or opposition to any faction currently involved in conflict within those Central American nations; and,
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Clerk of the City of Sacramento transmit copies of this City Council resolution to the ^^___.^►^, ;
RESOLUTIONNo.__._.___.
T
President and Vice President of the United States and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to Congressional Representatives from California in the Congress of the United States.
44^.. e,..MAYOR
ATTEST:
i
AS®LUT1®N No._........ ?NV4
RESOLUTION NO. 2017 -
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Sacramento
On date, of
RESOLUTION APPROPRIATING GENERAL FUNDS IN FY2017/18 FOR A GRANT TO “SACRAMENTO FAMILY UNITY, EDUCA
TION, AND LEGAL NETWORK FOR
IMMIGRANTS” (FUEL NETWORK) TO PROVIDE URGENT LEGAL AND SUPPORT
SERVICES TO SACRAMENTO FAMILIES FACING THE IMMEDIATE THREAT OF
SEPARATION DUE TO DEPORTATION, AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
WORK WITH OFFICIALS FROM PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND PHILANTHROPIC
COMMUNITY IN SACRAMENTO AREA TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO FULLY FUND THE RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK.
BACKGROUND
A. Since the presidential election, there has been a sense of unce rtainty and fear among many immigrant communities in Sacramento and across the nation.
B. The City of Sacramento is a City of Refuge and inclusion.
C. The Sacramento City Council affirmatively states that Sacramento is a City of Refuge for immigrants from all countries.
D. The City of Sacramento has a strong tradition of embracing and valuing diversity and respecting the civil and human rights of all residents regardless of their immigration status.
E. With the expected increase in immigration litigation, immigrants will need experienced and qualified attorneys to fight against the expected surge of deportation and detention.
F. The FUEL Network simultaneously needs resources to create a meaningful rapid response network to make sure the immigrant community is aware of their rights and can access counsel as soon as needed if they are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
G. The FUEL Network formed to provide urgent legal and support services to Sacramento families facing the immediate threat of separation due to deportation.
H. The FUEL Network includes various legal and community groups including, but not limited to, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services along with other legal and community based organizations.
I. The Network will provide a rapid response to the needs of Sacramento residents and families facing imminent deportation or other adverse action because of
immigration enforcement activities like raids in homes, workplaces, schools, and other sensitive locations.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Funding the FUEL Network provides a public benefit to all the residents of the City of Sacramento;
Section 2. A grant to the FUEL Network, to provide urgent legal and support services to Sacramento families facing the immediate threat of separation due to deportation shall be funded with an appropriation of up to $300,000 from available fund balance in the General Fund in FY2017/18 and expenditure authority in the City Manager’s Office.
Section 3. The City Manager or his designee is authorized to negotiate and execute a contract to administer the grant, and take whatever action is necessary with respect to the grant consistent with this Resolution and its basic purposes.