SANTA ANA – Council members today will consider adopting a resolution declaring Santa Ana “a sanctuary for all its residents, regardless of their immigration status” – a reassurance that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies won’t change the day-to-day operation of the heavily immigrant city.

City Manager David Cavazos, who prepared the proposed resolution at the request of the majority of council members a week after the Nov. 8 election, said, “We believe we are the first in Orange County that has put together this type of resolution.”

Santa Ana’s resolution, while unique for O.C., wouldn’t add policies or practices to its laws to further protect residents, including those who are undocumented or of questionable immigration status.

“Us doing a resolution to treat people with respect and dignity and not enforce immigration laws that are not a requirement of our agency maintains the status quo in how individuals are treated here, and I think that’s something the council wants to reassure to the public,” Cavazos said. “And then, any policies that come out of it, we will follow up on.”

If passed, the resolution would require the city prohibit using city resources for immigration enforcement; reaffirm its commitment to preventing biased-based policing; exercise maximum discretion in policing; protect sensitive information; provide training for affected employees, officials and agents; and explore the feasibility of establishing a task force for oversight.

The resolution would have no bearing on the city’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Santa Ana Jail that is being used to pay off debt incurred from constructing the facility.

“They are mutually exclusive,” Cavazos said, “because ICE is a contractual obligation and we have direction from the City Council to fade that contract out.”

Council members in May unanimously voted to phase out the agreement with ICE, though not immediately. But at the Nov. 15 meeting, they directed Cavazos to terminate the contract as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, separate from the sanctuary resolution, council members will consider a recommendation from Cavazos and the police department to notify ICE that the city will be reducing the number of detainees to a maximum of 128. This would lead to the closure of one module, resulting in a $663,743 annual net revenue loss.

Additional recommendations related to the ICE contract include continuing to hire part-time instead of full-time correctional officers, negotiate officer retirement incentives and release a request for qualifications for a jail re-use study.

Santa Ana’s sanctuary resolution states that immigration has been “the cornerstone” of the city, where a high proportion of the more than 340,000 residents are first- or second-generation or undocumented.

While the resolution states it would “unequivocally” provide sanctuary to all residents, some of the more than 10 major U.S. cities that already have declared themselves as sanctuaries have adopted legislation that may have more teeth.

Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco years ago passed sanctuary city ordinances and policies, rather than resolutions.

An ordinance is local municipal law, whereas a resolution is a statement of policy, explained Jorge Garcia, the senior management assistant for the Santa Ana city manager’s office.

“They asked for a resolution,” Cavazos said of council members. “If anyone wants to do an ordinance, we are more than happy to put together an ordinance.”

Councilwoman Michele Martinez said she’s supportive of the “symbolic” resolution and would support an ordinance “if it doesn’t jeopardize any federal funds.”

This year, Santa Ana has $123 million in federal grants, of which $66.8 million is recurring, according to Garcia.

Trump’s 100-day action plan, issued in October, stated that he will “cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities.”

Cavazos said he hopes a sanctuary resolution does not affect the flow of federal funds coming in.

“We are going to do everything possible to continue to seek federal funding. We think Santa Ana is a good partner with the federal government in that context,” Cavazos said.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com Twitter: @JessicaGKwong