San Jose to study noncitizen voting
The San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to support studying a possible charter amendment that would give noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants, the right to vote in local elections. Such a charter change would need approval from San Jose voters.
The proposal to study extending voting rights to noncitizens was put forth by council members Magdalena Carrasco and Sylvia Arenas, who said they want to give voice to “those living in the margins and who are most affected by the decisions made by citywide elected positions.”
They explicitly said they want to extend voting rights to undocumented people.
“Those who reside in the margins — our undocumented immigrant community — have always added to the legacy and growth of San José and should have every right to be part of the democratic process that informs what is done with their taxpayer money,” their proposal said, adding that immigrants in San Jose paid $5.3 billion in state and local taxes in 2018. A “portion” of those immigrants were undocumented, the memo says.
They argue the federal government has made it expensive and difficult for noncitizens to naturalize to gain the right to vote. In Santa Clara County, the proposal says there are 366,567 noncitizens, with 208,691 of whom holding “some form of legal protection” such as a temporary protected status or protections provided under other programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
There are 157,876 Santa Clara County residents who are “truly undocumented, meaning they have no form of legal protection,” the proposal says.
Council Member Devora Davis, who represents District 6, was the sole council member to vote against the motion on Tuesday night. Davis said she believes voting is a “right and a responsibility for citizens” and said there are different groups of noncitizens, including people on tourist, student and
H-1B visas who are in the country on a “short term” or “long term” basis and who have “allegiance to another country.”
“I just don’t think that giving them the right to vote here is the fair or correct thing to do . ... These are a group of folks who may or may not be familiar with the laws and processes here in our country and in our city,” Davis said. She said the difficulty that comes with becoming a U.S. citizen is a “federal government failure,” and an issue that does not fall within the council’s purview.
Both Davis and Vice Mayor Charles Jones said undocumented immigrants have access to libraries and can request services from law enforcement, the fire department and other agencies for assistance from the city — without being able to vote. Jones said his “basic philosophy is that there is a linkage between citizenship and the right to vote,” adding that it’s difficult for him to “comprehend the process for allowing non-citizens to vote in elections.”
“I really can’t tell you how many of my residents are documented or not because I don’t even ask the question. It doesn’t even come up,” Jones said. “There are residents. There are citizens, and we are charged with responding to their needs . ... The only thing we’re not allowing them to do is vote.”
During the public comment portion of the council meeting, the majority of community members spoke in support of the proposal, with many saying that undocumented immigrants should have the right to vote in municipal elections because they are local- and federal-tax-paying residents who work, go to school, raise families, run businesses and contribute to San Jose’s economic growth.
Community member Peter Ortiz said undocumented immigrants have also “been disproportionately on the front lines” as essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic and “are an integral part of the community.”
Opponents of the proposal during public comment cited the U.S. Constitution and said undocumented immigrants should first navigate the legal process to become American citizens before being allowed to vote. One speaker described the proposal as allowing “colonization” and called supporters “socialists,” and another speaker said it would be “tantamount to having foreigners take over our city.”
More than one opponent during public comment used the terms “illegal alien” or “illegal people” to describe undocumented immigrants, words supporters condemned. Referring to people as “illegal” is considered dehumanizing by immigrants and immigrant rights advocates, and multiple council members denounced the language in their own statements before the vote.
Council Member Sergio Jimenez, District 2, said some of the emails he received from residents who were in opposition of the proposal were “belligerent and frankly, I think, racist in nature,” but said many shared legitimate concerns about the proposal. Jimenez, an immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2008, said he understands the “plight of immigrants” and the contributions they make in the community.
“In this case, I think we’re exploring the expansion of voting rights, not abridging or reducing the rights of others, and for me, that’s what makes this unique and different,” Jimenez said.
Council Member Maya Esparza, District 7, said it’s important for people to view the topic of voting for undocumented immigrants through the lens of how voting rights are “under assault” across the United States, pointing to efforts to ban noncitizen voting in other states.
“We’re a microcosm of these national debates, and it’s up to us to really be mindful of which side of history we want to be standing on,” Esparza said. “We’ve talked a lot, particularly during COVID, about who has been hit hardest during the pandemic. If you eat, thank an immigrant. If you’ve been able to work from home, thank an immigrant. If you’ve been able to order things on Amazon and have them shipped to you, thank an immigrant. Thank an immigrant for providing that health care to you and your loved ones.”
Council Member Raul Peralez said he looks forward to continuing the conversation around voting, and noted the importance of engaging and educating the community on the potential for expanding voting, and about the general history of voter suppression and voting rights in the United States. He said he has seen firsthand how undocumented immigrants are engaging in neighborhood associations, as parents in schools as engaged community members in various city projects and issues.
Mayor Sam Liccardo said there is still “a lot to understand” in terms of implementing such a measure because the city does not run elections, adding that officials with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters would likely need to be brought into conversations to explain how an expansion could look.
Julia Curry, a longtime San Jose resident and professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at San Jose State University, said San Jose can “take a step to the future.”
Christian Lopez, a San Jose resident living in District 10 who was raised in San Jose and attended San Jose State University, said during public comment that he recently purchased a home in the city. He is also undocumented, he said.
“I pay a lot of taxes and it feels not fair that I can’t voice my concerns,” Lopez said, adding that he supports the proposal. “I know that my story is not unique and there are others like me out there.”
Araceli Gutierrez, a longtime San Jose resident and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (or DACA) recipient, said undocumented immigrants contribute to the “wealth and cultural richness” of San Jose.
“The message is simple: No taxation without representation,” Gutierrez said.