Huntington Park Council Appoints 2 Undocumented Immigrants As Commissioners
By: American Decency Staff
Huntington Park became the first city in California to appoint two undocumented immigrants as commissioners on city advisory boards, a lawmaker confirms.
City Councilman Jhonny Pineda has picked Francisco Medina to join the health and education commission and Julian Zatarain for the parks and recreation commission.
The 32-year-old lawmaker told CBSLA online producer Deborah Meron that he promised voters while running for office that he would create more opportunities for undocumented residents.
“Huntington Park is a city of opportunity and a city of hope for all individuals regardless of socioeconomic status, race, creed, or in this case, citizenship,” the councilman said in a statement. “Both these gentlemen have accomplished a great deal for the city. For that, on behalf of the city council, mayor, and our city, I want to say thank you to them both and I am confident they will do an excellent job on their commission posts.”
The announcement was met with uproar at a city council meeting held in Huntington Park on Monday night.
“You only want to appoint these specific individuals, only two, because they’re your personal friends that worked on your campaign,” one resident stated to Pineda at the meeting. “Shame on you.”
Community activist Sandra Orozco also spoke out against the appointments, stating that they send the wrong message to the community and to the country.
“We’re sending the wrong message to other cities that you can be illegal, and you can come and work for a city,” Orozco said.
