Speaker Rivas Joins Community Leaders to Fight Against ICE Detention Center in Gilroy

On Wednesday, Speaker Robert Rivas stood alongside federal, state and local leaders, community advocates, and faith leaders to denounce a proposed ICE detention center in Santa Clara County, vowing to continue the state's fight to block the facility and push back against the Trump administration's campaign of fear targeting California's immigrant families.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - On Wednesday, Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas stood alongside federal, state and local elected officials, community advocates, faith leaders and residents to denounce plans for a proposed ICE detention center near the Santa Clara County City of Gilroy, reaffirming the state's commitment to stopping the project and protecting California communities from the Trump administration's unlawful and dangerous immigration enforcement campaign.

"This fight is about far more than one detention center. It's about whether we will allow fear to replace our values as Californians. We will continue to speak out, and we will continue to fight this ICE detention center until it is defeated. Because years from now, no one will remember the politics of this moment - but they will remember whether we had the courage to defend the values that define us. Let history record that when our community was tested, California did not look away. Here in Santa Clara County, in the Central Coast, we did not look away. We stood up together on the side of justice."

- Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas said at Wednesday's press conference

The potential detention center is planned in unincorporated Santa Clara County, right outside Gilroy in Speaker Rivas' district. Since plans for the project surfaced in May, local residents, elected officials and community organizations have mobilized in opposition, arguing the detention center would bring fear and disruption to communities that have long welcomed immigrant families.

California has already taken legal action to stop the project. Last month, the California Department of Justice filed a lawsuit with Santa Clara County to block the development of the facility, due to federal officials unlawfully advancing the project in secret without complying with state environmental laws or notifying state and local governments. Construction has since been paused while the case moves forward.

This effort to block the detention center builds on the Assembly's broader efforts to defend California communities from federal overreach and hold the Trump administration accountable for violent and indiscriminate immigration enforcement.

Over the past two years, the Assembly has enacted landmark protections prohibiting ICE enforcement at schools, hospitals, child care facilities and voting centers, while requiring federal immigration agents operating in California to clearly identify themselves during enforcement actions.

This year, the Assembly is advancing 22 additional measures to strengthen oversight of ICE operations, protect immigrant workers, expand legal protections for families and increase accountability for abuses by immigration agents and in detention facilities - so all Californians can go to work and access essential services without fear.

The Assembly also secured hundreds of millions of dollars in the new state budget to expand support programs for immigrant communities, including help for workers, parents, students and families to access legal representation, navigate the immigration system and connect with critical resources in their communities.

Speaker Rivas has also personally convened community meetings and discussions across California - including multiple events in the Central Coast - to bring community advocates and leaders together and ensure immigrants know their rights and that their Speaker has their back.

Wednesday's press conference was organized by San Jose Nikkei Resisters and the Neighbors Not Enemies Coalition of San Jose Japantown. Drawing on the Japanese American community's history of incarceration during World War II, organizers warned that expanding immigration detention repeats some of the darkest chapters of American history and stood alongside leaders at every level of government to reject the proposed facility.

The Central Coast has made itself clear: This detention center is not welcome here. Speaker Rivas and the Assembly will continue using every tool available to stop this facility and defend California families.