While the Bay Area avoided a significant immigration enforcement operation by the Trump Administration at the 11th hour, San Jose is moving ahead with policy reforms in a show of support for its immigrant community.

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Scenes of unidentified, masked Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers grabbing undocumented residents off the streets continue to stoke fear, prompting legislators from all levels of government to propose new laws to counter the aggressive tactics.

Following the lead of state elected officials, the City Council signed off on new local rules that prohibit law enforcement officers from concealing their faces — except in a few cases — and require all officers to wear visible identification with clear agency affiliation. The Council also has formally requested that the City Attorney’s Office draft an ordinance that would essentially prevent federal agents from using city property for staging or immigration enforcement operations.

District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who played a leading role in advocating for the policies, said they illustrate the city’s commitment to safety, accountability and the protection of immigrants and working families.

“San Jose is a city built by immigrants — originally being named Pueblo de San Jose — yet in recent months, federal immigration actions have generated a deep sense of fear, fear that prevents residents from reporting crimes, discourages workers from showing up to work and keeps entire families from accessing the services they might fully deserve,” Ortiz said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “When ICE and other federal agencies operate without transparency (and) when they use local property as safe ground, that fear multiplies in our communities. It erodes the trust we’ve worked so hard to build, and when federal agents cover their faces or conceal their identities while engaging with the public, it sends a message that they are above accountability.”

Acting on its campaign promises, the Trump Administration has conducted some of the most aggressive immigration operations in a decade. But while the country broadly supported stronger border security measures, Democrats have questioned its tactics, which they say have expanded beyond rounding up the “worst of the worst criminals” in the country illegally.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed State Sen. Scott Wiener’s No Secret Police Act, which bans the use of face coverings in most circumstances for local and federal officers. Wiener introduced the bill, citing the growing number of vigilante and impersonation cases that had eroded trust in police. Newsom also signed State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez’s No Vigilantes Act, which imposes the visible identification requirement for law enforcement officers.

Although San Jose has been largely spared from large-scale operations seen across the country, the few cases locally and other incidents happening elsewhere already have impacted the day-to-day lives of immigrant families. Around 40% of local residents identify as immigrants.

“We’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the number of folks who come out to community events,” District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos said. “I’ve talked to local nonprofits who say that they’ve seen a plummeting in the number of people who come out seeking their services. We know that we have unhoused folks who have expressed that they’re afraid to engage with city outreach workers and longer term, my real worry is that fear is going to result in some real impacts in terms of public safety.”

San Jose’s policy proposal to restrict ICE from using city-owned property for non-city uses mirrors an initiative introduced by Santa Clara County at last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

While the city can adopt local rules for its properties, there are instances in which it cannot interfere with the federal government’s duties.

“There are some city properties that are open to the public, and we really cannot impede enforcement efforts in those areas that are public, but we are able to protect private spaces in those city properties,” City Attorney Nora Frimann said. “We have done a lot of work to train our staff and inform the public that certain warrants – judicially signed warrants – are necessary for ICE to get back into private areas.”

Wiener’s bill and the local mask rules also face the prospect of constitutional challenges as to whether they can be enforced. But advocates said it was important for local politicians to take action to support the immigrant community.

“These are not normal times and we need courageous leaders to demonstrate their commitment to community, not only in words, but in action, through policy and resources,” said Jeremy Barousse, director of policy and organizing at Amigos de Guadalupe. “When the federal government attacks constitutional rights and the fundamentals of democracy, we are all under threat.”