> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.whittierinformed.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Whittier Council Wants ICE Response Rules Written Into Local Law - URL: https://www.whittierinformed.com/whittier-council-wants-ice-response-rules-written-into-local-law/ - Published: 2026-11-04T04:59:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T05:26:40.000Z - Description: The city already has written procedures, but Mayor Pro Tem Mary Ann Pacheco wants them to carry the weight of law. Cities must adopt a state model policy or an equivalent by Jan. 1, 2027. - Author: Eddie Cota - Tags: immigration, City Hall, public safety The Whittier City Council told staff to turn the city’s rules for responding to immigration enforcement into a local law. Mayor Pro Tem Mary Ann Pacheco pushed for it, saying posting it on the city’s website isn’t enough. [The city’s three written procedures took effect in July.](https://www.whittierinformed.com/whittier-council-adopts-new-rules-for-how-city-responds-to-ice/) They cover what staff do if ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) shows up, how workers shelter in place, and how the council finds out what’s going on. Councilmembers Vicky Santana and Aida Macedo asked for them at a special meeting June 12, two days after Mayor James Becerra [confronted an ICE agent](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZanYhiF1d6/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&vrfl=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) parked outside the Whittier Public Library. At the Oct. 27 council meeting, City Manager Conal McNamara told the council the procedures were made public and are posted on the city’s website. Pacheco said that’s not the same as easy to find. “With all due respect to the staff telling me it’s on the website, it does not make it accessible,” she said. She wants an ordinance, which is a local law. It’s harder to pass than a resolution, and Collins said it’s harder to change later too. In Pacheco’s own words, it takes what the city already does and puts it at a higher level, as a public commitment to residents. ## **What’s behind the deadline** A 2025 state law, Senate Bill 580, told the state Attorney General to write model policies for how local governments deal with immigration authorities. Attorney General Rob Bonta put them out July 1, according to the city’s agenda report. They cover when agents can enter city buildings, how to handle requests for personal information, and how to train staff. Cities have until Jan. 1, 2027, to adopt the model policy or something equivalent. So is Whittier already there? Warner asked Collins exactly that. He said the city’s policies are in “substantial compliance” with the state standard. The state’s model policy is more detailed, he said, and the council could keep what it has, adopt all of the model or adopt parts of it. She said Collins’s answer “works for me,” but she thanked her colleagues for their intent. Warner voted no, and the motion passed 4-1\. ## **Timing questions** Councilmember Vicky Santana said the state guidance never came up when the council met July 14 to talk about the city’s immigration procedures. She said she only learned about the Jan. 1, 2027 deadline when the item came forward this month. “It would have been nice to know on July 14th that this guidance existed, so we could have incorporated it then,” she said. The state Attorney General’s office even scheduled a SB 580 community briefing on the model policies for July 16, two days after that meeting, [according to its website.](https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-issues-guidance-and-model-policies-state-and-local-agency?ref=whittierinformed.com) She asked Collins for regular legislative updates, so the council hears about changes in state law while it’s working on city policy. ## **What staff will add** Staff would draw on two sections of the state’s model policy: “Access to Public Areas of a Facility and Permitted Activities” and “Collecting and Retaining Information.” As the model policy describes it, the first section tells staff to let immigration agents know that nonpublic areas require a judicial warrant or court order. The city’s current procedures don’t mention warrants. The second section limits what personal information agencies collect and how long they hold onto it. It also tells staff not to ask about immigration status unless a law or government program requires it. Councilmember Aida Macedo pointed to other parts of the model policy, including rules for information requests, data held by outside vendors, keeping records of ICE interactions and employee training. She said she’s willing to bring those back, and she asked for the city’s procedures to be posted in Spanish. This isn’t final. Staff will bring back ordinance language for a first reading, though no date was announced at the meeting.