Will Bakersfield be California’s next sanctuary city? Some residents pushing back

The possibility of Bakersfield becoming the next so-called sanctuary city in California drew praise and concern from dozens of residents who spoke at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, though the topic was not on the agenda.

A sanctuary city is a municipal jurisdiction that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

Resident Rod Guice opposes the idea and asked council members to instead consider passing a resolution to designate Bakersfield a “rule of law city.”

He said it would be fiscally irresponsible for Bakersfield to become a sanctuary city. “Sustaining a growing population of foreign nationals burdens our system and taxpayers and accelerates the increase in cost,” Guice said. “American citizens are the victims here, not the foreign nationals.“

Among those speaking in supporting of the sanctuary designation was Ellen Schaffhauser, a volunteer with Valley Watch Network, part of Faith in the Valley. The volunteer organization has helped hundreds of immigrants who have been detained by ICE in California and other parts of the country and have been released in Kern County because of a habeas corpus petition, she said. A writ of habeas corpus is court request that challenges unlawful imprisonment, requiring the government to prove the legal authority for holding a person.

Schaffhauser said the organization helps those immigrants get home to other parts of the country where they were originally detained before ending up in Kern County when they were released by ICE.

On the topic of sanctuary city, she said the immigrants who are released in Bakersfield “were illegally detained, and that’s our system. .... So please keep that in mind.”

Kern County holds half of California’s immigration detention capacity, housing four major ICE processing facilities operated by private prison companies including CoreCivic and The GEO Group. The centers have a combined capacity of nearly 5,000 beds.

Last year, U.S. Border Patrol agents carried out Operation Return to Sender in Kern County in January 2025, targeting roads taken by farmworkers on their way to work.

Bakersfield resident Charisse Zaleski questioned at the council meeting whom the city is fighting for, emphasizing the need to support the police and address local issues like homelessness and downtown revitalization.

“Your first responsibility is not to make a national political statement. Your first responsibility is to serve the people who elected you. Before we become a sanctuary city for anyone else, let us become a sanctuary for the people already living here,” Zaleski said. “Support the police, restore our downtown, address the homelessness, bring jobs and investment back to Bakersfield. The citizens of Bakersfield deserve to know that they come first.“

California is a sanctuary state, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and San Diego and San Francisco counties and the cities of Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Francisco also are in the DOJ’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions.

“No family should have to wake up in the morning in fear of going to the grocery store, taking their kids to school in fear of being kidnapped or killed by armed government goons, which many of these families have actually fled their countries for,“ said resident Brandon Bane, whose said his family has lived in the United States for more than 200 years.

“This is why I’m asking in good faith for you all to support a motion to make Bakersfield a sanctuary city,” Bane said. “As we know, Kern County is home to several ICE detention centers.“

The City Council did not have an item about becoming a sanctuary city on its Wednesday meeting agenda. But at its July 15 council meeting, during the public comment period, a resident proposed the idea of a sanctuary city resolution in support of the 84,000 immigrants who call Bakersfield home.

The resident asked the city to stop resources from being used for federal immigration enforcement, to create an ICE-free zone on city property and to add the resolution to its next meeting agenda. A few council members showed interest in the resolution, but at Wednesday’s meeting, none spoke on the topic after public comment ended.

On Wednesday, resident Don Miller said he didn’t agree with some of the comments made by the council members at the July 15 meeting and urged the council not to make Bakersfield a “spectacle for political agendas.”

“We are all one race, the human race, separated by God into nations with amazing diversity, culture and heritage. We must be honest with each other, reject the spectacle and embrace the truth,” Miller said.

Marsha Chamberlain, a Ward 5 resident represented by Councilmember Larry Koman, raised concerns about the impact on local resources and the importance of upholding the law.

“I’m adamantly opposed to Bakersfield becoming a sanctuary city. If we are flooded with illegals, where will they find employment? Where will they find housing? Who will pay for their food, housing, and healthcare?” she said. “What does this say to the immigrant families who came here legally, integrated into our communities, and studied our Constitution and history so that they might become legal and valuable citizens of the United States?“

The next City Council meeting is Aug. 26.