'In God We Trust' doesn't pass as Delano's official city motto, council tables 'Sanctuary City' designation

DELANO, Calif. — In God We Trust, the words you see on currency and the words stirring up emotion around Kern County didn't get the green light in Delano on Monday.

According to officials, in a 2-2 vote, the city council shutdown the idea to have "in God We Trust" as its official city motto. Officials also say one council member was absent at Monday night's meeting making the vote a tie.

Mayor Joe Aguirre brought the resolution to the council, looking to adopt it and implement the public display on city property.

Back in April, it was decided that the Delano Police Department would showcase the nation's motto, "In God We Trust," on all police cars.

In addition, the City Council will hold off on making Delano a sanctuary city. The council discussed adopting a resolution but ultimately decided to hold off. Members of the council said they would be interested in moving forward with declaring Delano a sanctuary city as long as the resolution falls in line with SB 54, the bill that makes California a sanctuary state.

"This community has many migrants. Some are documented. And some are undocumented," said Council member Grace Vallejo. "When it comes back with that corrected language, then we will go from there."

The Delano City Council is expected to revisit the sanctuary city resolution at its next meeting on August 5th.