On Jan. 13 the city of Stockton passed an initiative declaring Stockton as a “Compassionate City.” Modeling their policy after other compassionate cities and the sanctuary city policies San Joaquin Delta College based their own sanctuary policy off of.
This policy comes an entire year after Delta College established itself as a sanctuary campus, Delta College’s sanctuary policy is aimed at reassuring students and protecting them when they come to campus.
In the year since Delta’s declaration, President Donald J. Trump signed multiple executive orders with the intent of removing the protections sanctuaries may provide to individuals.
Part of president Trump’s policies has been more aggressive action from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which has resulted in mass deportations and shootings, including one in Patterson, 45 minutes south of Stockton.
“We want to make you guys feel safe,” said Tina Leal, Resource Specialist for the Dreamers Success Center on the Delta College campus.
COMPASSIONATE CITY
The compassionate city declaration came after months of discussion regarding a response to the Trump administration’s actions.
In a discussion brought at the Aug. 15, 2025 Stockton City Council meeting, a compassionate city is defined as “a local government’s commitment to treat all residents equally, provide access to city services regardless of immigration status, and refrain from assisting federal immigration enforcement.”
Compassionate cities differ from sanctuary cities in the fact that sanctuary cities deny the usage of any local resources to federal law enforcement while compassionate cities don’t prevent the usage of resources and simply refuse to aid federal law enforcement.
“This discussion is really about compassion, it’s about dignity and it’s about respect, this is what this city stands for, this is what we continue to show who we are as a community,” said District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez during the Jan. 13 council meeting. “But with everything going on, there’s a lot of fear that’s created. I want to say for the record that no human being is illegal.”
Stockton drew inspiration for its legislation from cities such as Los Angeles, Sacramento and Union City. Sacramento and Los Angeles have been sanctuary cities since 1985 and 2024 respectively. Union City became a compassionate city in 2017.
With the compassionate city policy the city of Stockton aims to make individuals in the city feel safer and not have to worry about contacting city authorities regardless of their immigration status.
Acting Associate Vice President of Public Safety Rodney Rego said the compassionate city declaration mirrored Delta’s sanctuary declaration despite neither of them directly affecting each other.
“The City of Stockton’s January 2026 Resolution designating Stockton as a Compassionate City is generally consistent with the values reflected in Delta College’s Sanctuary College designation,” said Rego. “While the City’s resolution does not alter College policy or create legal obligations for the District, it reinforces a broader local commitment to ensuring that residents and students can access education, public services, and law enforcement without fear based solely on immigration status.”
TRANSLATING
POLICIES TO CAMPUS
For Delta College, reaffirming itself as a sanctuary campus means it is “committed to protecting the rights, dignity, and well-being of all students, including undocumented individuals, and ensuring their ability to pursue education without fear or barriers,” according to the resolution.
The idea is to protect immigrant populations and limit cooperation with immigration officials, but what it means for Delta College and cities that have elected to designate themselves as “sanctuary” is often much broader.
“By affirming our sanctuary campus status, you are sending a clear message that all students belong here and their education matters,” Leal said during public comment of the Dec. 17, 2024, meeting. “The resolution is critical to ensuring that fear and uncertainty do not become barriers to education. This is consistent with our mission statement.”
The act of becoming a sanctuary campus doesn’t change policy and procedure. Instead, it affirms the college’s values when making new policies, such as “Board Policy 5111 Student Directory Information.”
“The Sanctuary College designation is mostly symbolic. But it is nevertheless an important statement of support for our students.” said director of marketing and communications Alex Breitler. “Our police do not engage in immigration enforcement activities and do not collaborate with federal immigration agencies to apprehend or remove individuals based solely on immigration status.
Policy 5111 directs: “No District representative shall release the contents of a student record to any member of the public without prior written consent of the student other than directory information.”
Under the policy, directory information is limited to participation in officially recognized athletics as well as any degrees or awards earned by students.
California Education Code 66093.3 has additional guidelines on when student information can be shared outlining consent, state and federal laws, programmatic purpose, directory information that doesn’t include addresses and in response to judicial action.
POLICIES UNTESTED
“It is still possible that immigration officials will come to Delta at some point in the future. We do not have control over whether they enter our campus. Anticipating this possibility, we have informed employees that student information is not to be made public,” said Breitler. “And that any immigration official who comes to campus should be escorted to the president’s office for evaluation of a warrant or any other legal documentation.”
The campus sanctuary declaration is largely untested. However, the sanctuary status catalyzed other campus reactions specific to these protections.
At a district in-service event in August 2025, Student Protection for Advocacy Resources and Knowledge (S.P.A.R.K.) presented scenarios to staff for if immigration officials came to campus. The direction of the scenarios was to send officials to the President’s Office.
S.P.A.R.K. is a project charter with the goal of supporting and advocating for “vulnerable” student populations at Delta and ensuring that the district does everything in its power to protect students’ rights.
“Campus signage directs visitors to “Know Your Rights” with guidance for more information. The Dreamers Success Center also regularly hosts workshops of the same name where immigration law updates and constitutional protections are covered.
