A few dozen members and supporters of Centro del Pueblo gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse Tuesday morning as part of the launch of a signature-gathering campaign aimed at getting a sanctuary ordinance for Humboldt placed on the 2018 ballot.

Renee Saucedo

Citing fear for the safety and security of local immigrants due to the toxic state of national politics, proponents argue that the county needs to adopt a policy of non-cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one that would prohibit the use of local resources to deport non-violent immigrants. While the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has stated in the recent past that immigration enforcement is not its job, there is concern that that position could change in the future. Centro del Pueblo argues that the current local officials have not done enough to defend threatened communities. 

“Our County Board of Supervisors’ lack of support to protect the unity of our families has placed the burden on our local community to push for these efforts,” said Arcata resident and Centro del Pueblo member Nathaniel McGuigan in a release sent out to promote today’s rally. “We must work together to gather signatures to place this initiative on an upcoming ballot and bypass the Board of Supervisors’ lack of efforts which will enable our community to vote on this initiative directly.”

Read the Outpost‘s previous coverage of the sanctuary ordinance here. If you’re interested in in assisting with efforts supporting the pursuit of a Humboldt sanctuary ordinance you can contact Centro del Pueblo.

“I’m here to support our sanctuary initiative. I think it’s important because it’s devastating for our families to be separated the way they have been by the deportations. We as a county need to stand together and support our communities because this not only affects immigrant families, it affects everyone who lives here. So thank you all for supporting this and we expect our measure to pass.” -- Centro del Pueblo’s Renee Saucedo’s translation of local activist Candelaria Ramos’ sentiments at Tuesday’s rally.