For Immediate Release
April 3, 2016
Contact: Salvador G. Sarmiento, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org
Victory in the Battle Between Fear & Courage as CA Senate Advances Values Act
Sacramento, CA – In reaction to the California Senate voting to advance the California VALUES Act (SB-54), Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), made the following statement:
“During a dark and shameful chapter of American history, we all have a moral duty to create sanctuary in our communities to shield immigrants from racism, scapegoating, and criminalization, and dehumanization. California has a particular obligation, as home to the largest immigrant population in the country, to lead the way.
“This bill stands for the proposition that immigrants should not be subject to double suspicion and double punishment. Instead, immigrants deserve the same due process and right to rehabilitation as the native born. This bill is about equality.
“As SB54 moves to the Assembly and then to the Governor’s desk, it will invariably come under attack from the same forces that propelled Trump into office. We expect Governor Jerry Brown and our Assembly Members to show the same courage that immigrants like Romulo Avelica‘s family and thousands more across California demonstrate every day. Lawmakers owe it to them, and to all the people of California, to stand strong and choose courage over fear.”
Jessica Karp Bansal, NDLON‘s Litigation Director, added:
“SB 54 is a beacon of light and sanity in the face of the President Trump’s cruel, dishonest, and unrelenting campaign against immigrants. California has zero reasons to help Trump tear immigrant mothers from their children and—especially in the face of planned cuts to federal programs—hundreds of more important things to spend its time and money on.
“Other states across the nation can and should follow suit. Opting out of Trump’s deportation disaster is not only their right, it’s their obligation.”
For more information about the bill, see the linked factsheet here.
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