SUNNYSIDE, Wash. — On Monday January 27, Sunnyside City Manager Mike Gonzalez and some other city officials hosted a press conference where they affirmed that Sunnyside as a city, as well as their police department, would not participate in any immigration enforcement after an incident involving ice the day before. On Wednesday, a KIMA Reporter spoke with him about the aftermath of that press conference, the negative public reaction to the city’s stance, and the present state of the city.
“I would say the most important thing that came out of it is that Sunnyside has a lot of diverse voices, but ultimately we all can come together and be respectful and collaborative,” said Gonzalez.
In one of Sunnyside’s News Flashes, Gonzalez called for the citizens of the city to remain calm, and he thinks that the residents are trying to do that.
“There’s definitely more calm right now. On Sunday when ice came to town, there definitely was a lot of fear, and I would say the residual effects that we’re feeling right now, it’s not as overt, but when I’m passing Fiesta Foods on the Yakima Valley Highway, the past few days the parking lot’s been virtually empty,” Gonzalez said.
Action News has found no confirmations of any ICE activity in Sunnyside since the incident at the Fiesta Foods parking lot on Sunday, January 26.
“People often read the headlines, but they don’t read the article,” Gonzalez said. “They start making comments, and you tell them ‘did you read the article?’ and they say no. Read the article, and you’ll get the facts.”
Although authorities stress that ice activity is only related to illegal immigrants and specifically those wanted for criminal activity, Gonzalez is concerned that legal migrants are currently fearful of ice agents and there are some economic issues with people who are staying in their home, whether they are documented or undocumented in this country.
“There will be significant impacts to our community, financially, and for the city how it affects us,” Gonzalez said. “It’s sales tax that’s a huge part of our budget, so if people aren’t shopping at the store, and they’re scared to come to town, that’s a problem for us.”
Consumers are an important part of any economy, and if their habits change, it could be seen on a bigger level.
“It’s sort of how the economy works, you need people to be in town to buy the gas, go to the grocery store, buy a piece of furniture, you live in town,” Gonzalez said. “People shop and work and live in town, you get the property tax. It’s just all a big cyclical part of the economy.”
Gonzalez mentioned some of the positives from the press conference, such as how some nonprofit organizations and community stakeholders participated in a recent community forum.
“That’s been a really positive thing. Those meetings were scheduled right around the same time the press conference was scheduled, I think the very next day,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of the people that saw or attended that press conference attended these community forums which were really intended to explore bringing the Boys and Girls Club to Sunnyside, and also bringing the nonprofits together to figure out if there is ways that we can collaborate or are there ways that they could use the community center.”