An Inland Empire mayor is warning residents to stay home after reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in his city.
“The city of Perris has received reports of ongoing ICE operations within the area,” Perris Mayor Michael Vargas said in a video posted on the city’s Instagram and Facebook pages on Wednesday, July 9. “We urge all residents to remain calm, stay indoors when possible, and know your rights. Do not go out unless necessary and do not open the door to strangers.”
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The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, as of 2024, 78.3% of Perris’s estimated 83,032 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
“The city is committed to protecting the dignity and well-being of all our residents,” Vargas concluded in the video.
Stephen Hale, a spokesperson for the city, declined to discuss details related to the mayor’s post or the circumstances the led to it.
“We have nothing further to add,” Hale said in an email Wednesday. “Mayor’s statement in the video speaks for itself.”
Between June 6 and June 22, immigration agents arrested more than 1,600 people in the greater Los Angeles region, including at car washes, construction sites and day laborer hubs such as Home Depot parking lots. The crackdown has sent shockwaves throughout Southern California, leading to a host of community-run rapid response networks tracking and sharing information about immigration enforcement efforts.
ICE officials have not yet responded to a request for comment about operations in Perris.
In May, the Trump administration labeled Riverside County as a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” along with all but 10 of California’s 58 counties. The list was widely criticized for being inaccurate or out of date, and was later deleted by the Department of Homeland Security.
Although Riverside County continues to deny that it’s a sanctuary jurisdiction, in January, the county Board of Supervisors voted to create a web page of resources on immigration issues, request looking at local Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, participants and other “law-abiding” undocumented immigrants, and seek funding to support immigrants facing deportation proceedings.
The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed frustration with California governments, accusing local leaders of interfering with enforcement efforts.
In 2017, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 54, the “California Values Act,” into law. The law prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from making their resources available to federal immigration enforcement agencies, except in the case of violence. In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge brought against the law by the first Trump administration.