Sacramento Latino leaders defend Guerra after Cofer questions his immigration record

Latino community leaders and supporters of Sacramento City Councilmember Eric Guerra’s bid for the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors are criticizing his opponent, Flojaune Cofer, over a social media post questioning Guerra’s commitment to resisting federal immigration enforcement.

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The dispute over Guerra’s record is the latest in the battle for the 1st District seat, one of the Sacramento region’s most closely watched races in the Nov. 3 election. The exchange comes as the Sacramento region experiences a surge in immigration enforcement actions amid reports of a 45-day Trump administration operation targeting immigrants in California.

Cofer’s Tuesday post criticized Guerra over what she described as “harmful” decisions that undermined his support for immigrant communities. She pointed specifically to his absence during a City Council vote involving data-sharing agreement for a regional intelligence-sharing center and his silence on a contract between the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“As a community, we can respect Councilmember Guerra’s lived experience and contributions while asking hard questions about his record, alliances, and leadership,” Cofer wrote in a follow-up post Friday.

The post drew criticism from a group of Latino community leaders, including several Guerra supporters, who gathered for a news conference Friday morning at Sacramento’s Southside Park. They defended the councilmember, a former farmworker whose family was deported from the United States in 1986, against Cofer’s questions about his record on immigration.

The speakers accused Cofer of exploiting fears surrounding immigration enforcement and misleading Latino voters about Guerra’s record.

“What I saw was not only disrespectful and misleading toward Eric — someone who has been a mentor for so many of us — it was also disrespectful to me, and to the many constituents who actively advocate for our communities every single day,” community advocate Carissa Gutierrez said.

Several speakers who have worked with Guerra defended his advocacy for immigrant families.

“His commitment to immigrant families began long before he entered elected office, and is rooted in his lived experience and 10 years of elected public service,” said Jim Gonzalez, reading a statement from the Latino Caucus of California Counties. “To reduce that lifetime of advocacy and sacrifice to a political talking point is unacceptable.”

A statement signed by more than two dozen community leaders also pointed to Guerra’s work on immigrant protections, including his role in Sacramento’s Safe Haven Task Force and efforts to establish legal assistance for immigrant families. The statement called on Cofer to stop misrepresenting her opponent’s record.

What did Cofer claim about Guerra’s immigration record?

In June, the Sacramento City Council voted 5-2 to approve funding for its partnership with a regional intelligence-sharing center, despite strong opposition from local activists concerned that information could reach federal immigration authorities, including ICE. Amid increased reports of ICE activity around Sacramento, immigration advocacy groups are renewing calls for the city to end its involvement with the center.

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Cofer is criticizing Guerra’s absence from the vote and is asking him to publicly state his position on the partnership.

Guerra was not present for the vote, but addressed the issue during an earlier meeting. He expressed support for some of the center’s objectives, including combating human trafficking and domestic terrorism, but said he wanted more clarity on whether the agreement complied with Senate Bill 54, a 2017 California law limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Guerra told The Sacramento Bee Friday that he would have voted no on the agreement.

“I oppose any legislative action that supports data sharing with ICE,” Guerra said. “Cofer attacking me on this is laughable. ICE snatched me up as a kid, taking everything my family had worked for. Why would I want anyone to experience what happened to me?”

Gonzalez, chair of the Sacramento Latino Economic Council, said Guerra’s office had worked to ensure the city complied with its sanctuary ordinance. He argued that Cofer misrepresented the agreement by suggesting it explicitly authorized cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

“Everything he’s done on the city council has protected the sanctuary ordinance and has protected immigrants,” he said.

Cofer has also called on Guerra to address the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s participation in a Homeland Security Task Force focused on international cartel activity.

Cofer and other progressive groups are concerned that the contract’s language does not explicitly bar the Sheriff’s Office from cooperating with ICE, despite the sheriff’s statements that the agreement would not involve immigration enforcement. She has also criticized Guerra for accepting endorsements from Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.

“I’m not willing to let him and his supporters wave this off as petty or dirty politics so that he can let himself off the hook for these votes, especially not when he has corporate PACs supporting him,” she said.

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This story was originally published October 23, 2026 at 3:28 PM.