Category Archives: News

Community not criminalization | SF Bay Guardian

San Francisco is poised to break ground in defense of immigrants, an important step towards turning the tide against the criminalization of communities of color. In a unanimous vote on September 24, the Board of Supervisors supported a due process ordinance that, after final approval, will reduce deportations by setting strict limits on collaboration between federal immigration enforcement and local authorities. Our city will make history by refusing to implement the federal Se Communities program, which allows US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to request an immigration hold detention without cause, regardless of immigration status, at local expense. This victory didn’t trickle down like fog from the “progressive Bay Area bubble.” It was hard fought, from the bottom up. Immigrant and undocumented people most impacted by the problems led the fight,

Trust Act Signed In California To Limit Deportation Program

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill on Saturday limiting the state’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities, a rebuke of a major Obama administration enforcement policy that has led to record deportations from the state. As the Congress stalls on immigration reform, action continues in the states, and advocates and politicians in California hope they can serve as an example of how to do it right. “While Washington waffles on immigration, California’s forging ahead,” Brown said in a press release after signing the legislation into law. “I’m not waiting.” The new California law, known as the Trust Act, limits the state’s cooperation with Se Communities, a federal program that allows the Department of Homeland Security to access fingerprints taken by local police, to screen detained individuals for immigration status and to request that law enforcement agencies hold them if they’re found to be undocumented.