Opposition to Councilman David Couch Proposed Resolution

Regarding: City Council Meeting - Public Statements Opposing
City Councilman’s David Couch Proposed Resolution:

1) Declaring English Official Language in the City of Bakersfield
2) Bakersfield does not become a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants
3) Will investigate what city services could be denied to undocumented immigrants.

The Dolores Huerta Foundation is inviting the community of Bakersfield to attend this evening’s City Council meeting to provide public comment on the proposed resolution or to sign a letter of opposition.

1.This type of resolution would increase racial profiling and place the Bakersfield City Council in the same league as the Minute Men, The Aryan Nation and the Ku Klux Klan all of which have voice and are acting on similar strategies aimed primarily at the Latino Community. One of Kern County’s most important industries is agriculture; many of the workers are undocumented immigrants. Declaring Bakersfield as an English-only city would place non-english & limited English speakers in a vulnerable position prone to consume fraud, misunderstandings of legal transactions, and numerous other misinterpretations.

2.If Bakersfield were to join other enlightened cities such as Los Angeles, San Jose, Watsonville, Oakland, San Francisco, New York, Denver, Houston they would declare Bakersfield a Sanctuary City preventing our police from becoming Immigration Agents. Our law enforcement is currently overworked on handling crime and safety issues.

3.Denying city services (public safety, and fire protection) to anyone that might be undocumented is a violation of Human Rights.