What does it mean to oppose federal enforcement from inside local government, where silence isn’t neutral but compliance?

In this episode, Eddie Aguirre speaks with Bell Gardens City Council member Jorgel Chavez to explain why staying silent is not neutral but a form of compliance, and how local officials can push back by creating policy, demanding records, and forcing accountability into the open.

The conversation breaks down the real limits of local power, the responsibility cities inherit, and why refusing quiet compliance matters when communities are left to deal with the consequences.

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01:30 – Roots in Southeast LA
06:30 – Distrust, Corruption, and Skepticism
10:30 – Accessibility as Accountability
14:30 – ICE Raids and City Response
19:30 – Silence vs Responsibility
24:30 – Public Backlash and Trauma
29:30 – Activism Inside Office
33:30 – Protest, Police, Presence
38:30 – When the City Pays the Cost
46:30 – Coalition, Limits, and Possibility
58:30 – Closing: Accountability Flows Up