Long Beach Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez announced a city council meeting agenda item to declare that the city will be the first in the state to support two recent immigrant “sanctuary” bills on Friday.
“As the Vice Chair of the State Legislative Committee, I believe it is imperative that Long Beach shows the rest of the state and nation that we stand with our immigrant community and that we stand for religious freedom,” Gonzalez said in a press release.
The bills are California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon’s Senate Bill 54, the “California Values Act,” and Senator Ricardo Lara’s SB 31, the “California Religious Freedom Act.” The declaration of support is to be voted on at the city council meeting tomorrow.
“SB 54 will make it clear California public schools, hospitals and courthouses will not be used by the Trump regime to deport our families, friends, neighbors, classmates and co-workers.” said Assemblymember Marc Levine, the bill’s co-author, in a press release in December.
On Jan. 31, SB 54 was presented to the Senate Public Safety Committee in Sacramento. Several individuals offered stories of their experiences with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and fears of deportation in support of the bill. This included Victor Alvarez, whose father was deported after CSULB police stopped him for a broken headlight in February of 2016.
Alvarez said he thinks the bill will pass with de Leon’s support. “[de Leon] has a lot of communities, a lot of activists behind him,” said Alvarez.
Since his father was deported, Alvarez has become more involved in immigration activism including appeals to state government.The bill passed committee approval on party lines, with five democrats for it and two republicans against it. With committee confirmation the bill now moves forward to the Senate for a second approval before moving on the State Assembly, and then to the Governor’s office.
“If you think about Cal State Long Beach, how many immigrants are there?” said Alvarez. “This happened to my dad, and what if you’re at graduation for example, and you have a lot of undocumented people there and the next you know ICE is pulling up and just because you’re undocumented we’re going to take you in. I mean, come on.”
Both bills are similar in nature in that they restrict various state agencies from reporting or acting in concert with federal agencies, such as ICE.
SB 31 focuses on prohibiting state agencies or employees from reporting identifiable information pertaining to an individual’s religious practices to the federal government. SB 54 focuses on limiting the ability of state agencies, including campus police departments, from “using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes.”
Similar measures that restrict cooperation between local and federal enforcement agencies over immigration are generally known as “sanctuary city” policies when passed at the city-wide level.
President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 entitled, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” that directed the federal government to identify ways it can cut off funding to local governments that pass ordinances and refuse to work with federal law enforcement.
“These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic,” according to the executive order signed by Trump.
Despite the real possibility of these bills running into direct conflict with a presidential administration that has vowed to end such laws, Alvarez remains optimistic. “The only thing you can do is stay positive. Stay focused on your family. Try to live the American dream.”