Simi bills church for costs of protest

Simi Valley officials Thursday stood by a City Council decision to charge a church nearly $40,000 to cover the overtime and other costs for law enforcement officers who monitored an immigration protest last weekend.

The United Church of Christ, a participant in the sanctuary movement, has sheltered a Mexican woman named Liliana who is in this country illegally, officials said.

City Manager Mike Sedell said Sunday’s rally at the church on Royal Avenue by dozens of anti-illegal immigration activists was met by immigrant rights activists during a loud but peaceful demonstration.

Although only about 15 police officers were at the church, Sedell said twice as many were nearby in case violence broke out. Ventura County sheriff’s deputies were also on standby, he said.

“We’re sensitive to the moral issues here, but it’s still against the law,” to be in the country without proper documentation, Sedell said. “We warned [church officials] that if they flaunted it in the public, then these [protests] will occur and there will be consequences.”

Chelene Nightingale, spokeswoman for Save Our State, said the group had protested Liliana’s presence at a Long Beach church in July and brought its opposition to Simi Valley when it learned she had been relocated.

“This event was not so much to protest Liliana, but the entire sanctuary church movement and what she represents -- millions of illegals crossing our border,” Nightingale said. “This church chose to harbor a criminal.”

Sedell said a bill from the city for $39,307 to cover police, public works, transit and support services was given to the church Wednesday. The bill did not include a deadline for payment, he said.

Church officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

ACLU attorney Peter Bibring said he doubted that the city could charge police costs to the church. Protecting a person or organization exercising free speech “is the price of living in a democracy,” he said.

“They’re basically charging by the hour for political expression,” Bibring said. “If people had to pay any time they expressed political views that inspired protests or demonstrations, no one would ever say anything controversial.”

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greg.griggs@latimes.com