Why: With deportations continuing to break apart thousands of California families each month, leaders of some of the state’s top civil rights and immigrant community organizations will gather in Los Angeles Monday to urge Governor Brown to immediately champion a revised version of the TRUST Act, as promised in his veto message and in subsequent media interviews.
Monday’s event comes just hours after Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF), in conjunction with Los Angeles Senator Kevin De León and other legislative and community leaders, is to introduce a new version of the bill in Sacramento on the first day of the new legislative session.
The bill seeks to establish reasonable guidelines for local law enforcement that curb the abuses of the “Se” Communities deportation program, which has undermined community confidence in local law enforcement, burdened local governments, and separated families.
In the time between Brown’s veto and reintroduction of the TRUST Act, contributing members of California communities have continued to be unfairly subjected to extra holds in local jails. They have been separated from their families and turned over for deportation, often without any criminal history or criminal charges.
While the bill passed both houses of the legislature with a robust margin of support this year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, sparking anger across the state. However, the Governor pledged to champion a new version of the bill “forthwith.” He repeated his promises in the media, often aiming at the voters who made a difference in the fall elections.
Assemblymember Ammiano is equally committed to reintroducing TRUST in order to curb the excesses of the federal Se Communities deportation program. The program has undermined community confidence in law enforcement and burdened local governments.
As he waits to hear from the Governor on specific proposals, Assemblymember Ammiano will introduce a new bill that he believes will accomplish the goals of equal and community preservation.
Background: Since Se Communities was put in place in California, more than 82,500 Californians have been deported, even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures show that 70 percent of them do not have serious convictions. Some of those who have been held include American citizens and survivors of crimes, such as domestic abuse. The TRUST Act seeks to establish reasonable guidelines for local law enforcement, so that the California criminal system won’t continue to be overburdened with administration of federal civil policies.
In the wake of November elections, there have been renewed calls for establishing reasonable policies toward immigration. Swift passage of the TRUST Act would be an important step in that direction.
Quote from Assemblymember Ammiano: “I wanted to reintroduce this immediately because these policies have been hurting people every day. All of California is hurt every day when we allow families to be broken apart and productive workers to be taken from their jobs in a way that does nothing for safety.
Quote from Senator De León: “Thousands of parents have been separated from their children and fear is running rampant in our communities because of the impact of the Se Communities Program. It is precisely for those reasons that we must ensure passage of the TRUST Act this upcoming year.”
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