Latest news with #CaliforniaLatinoLegislativeCaucus
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California lawmakers take steps to shield immigrants from Trump policies
California legislators announced several bills to protect the state's immigrants being targeted by President Trump's aggressive new policies, including federal enforcement raids at schools, hospitals and religious buildings. Members of the influential California Latino Legislative Caucus, made up of 35 Democratic lawmakers, announced the proposals to protect undocumented immigrants as among their top priorities in the upcoming session. "It's unfortunate that at the national level, we are seeing deliberate efforts to crash our economy, deport our communities and continue to villainize our Latino communities, and these bills are efforts to combat all of that," state Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), caucus chair, said at a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. The legislative package included Assembly Bill 1261 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), which would establish a right to legal representation for unaccompanied children in federal immigration court proceedings. In March, the Trump administration ended a federal contract that provides legal representation to nearly 26,000 migrant children who entered the country without a parent or guardian. The decision was criticized immigration attorneys, who said it would leave the children, many of whom do not read or speak English or are too young to read or speak at all, vulnerable to rapid deportation. A federal judge in Northern California last week ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal funding for migrant children in immigration court. A separate bill by Gonzalez, SB 48, would expand existing laws and require school officials to deny federal immigration officials access to school records and school grounds without a judicial warrant. It also keeps local law enforcement from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials near school grounds. "California's school resources and spaces should be dedicated to educating young minds and should never be utilized to tear apart families," Gonzalez said, adding that immigration actions around schools cause a chilling effect on school attendance. Legislation proposed by Sen. Sasha Renée Peréz (D-Alhambra), SB 98, would require schools and universities to notify students, staff and parents when immigration officers are on campus. "This bill will give our communities the peace of mind that they deserve while also maintaining the state's commitment that schools are safe places," Renée Peréz said. The other legislation proposed to protect immigrants included: SB 81, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley) requires healthcare providers to deny ICE access to nonpublic areas and refuse disclosing a patient's immigration status without a warrant. AB 421, sponsored by Assemblymember José Luis Solache Jr. (D-Lynwood) would ban state law enforcement from working with or providing information to immigration enforcement within a mile of day-care facilities, places of worship and medical offices. SB 635, sponsored by Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) would keep issuers of street vendor permits from requiring fingerprinting or asking applicants about their immigration status or criminal history. SB 294, sponsored by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) would require employers to post a notice to inform employees of their labor and civil rights when interacting with law enforcement on the job, and to notify the employee's emergency contact if they are arrested or detained. The Trump administration said in January it would allow immigration enforcement to make arrests in "sensitive locations" such as schools, places of worship and hospitals, sites protected from ICE for the last 30 years. Read more: Trump's orders have upended U.S. immigration. What legal routes remain? "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a January statement announcing the policy change. Aside from issues related to immigrants, the package of legislation supported by the Latino caucus included a bill to prevent silicosis, a permanent lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust in stone fabrication workplaces, through worker education and safety regulations. The sponsor of SB 20, Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), said that 98% of people diagnosed with silicosis since 2019 were Latino, and that virtually all were male, according to the state's silicosis dashboard. Read more: Newsom to ask California Legislature for another $2.8 billion to cover Medi-Cal cost overruns The caucus also reaffirmed a promise to maintain funding for Medi-Cal, the state's healthcare program that insures 15 million low-income Californians and has run billions above estimates since last summer. Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Legislature last month to approve an additional $2.8 billion through June to support the program, which opened enrollment to immigrants regardless of residency status. The rising costs of the program were not to blame on immigrants and the Latino community, Gonzalez said during the news conference. Legislators are instead looking to understand other contributing factors, such as increasing drug costs and long-term care. "We need to talk about those things in the full narrative," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California lawmakers take steps to shield immigrants from Trump policies
SACRAMENTO — California legislators announced several bills to protect the state's immigrants being targeted by President Trump's aggressive new policies, including federal enforcement raids targeting schools, hospitals and religious buildings. Members of the influential California Latino Legislative Caucus, made up of 35 Democratic lawmakers, announced the proposals to protect undocumented immigrants as among their top priorities in the upcoming session. 'It's unfortunate that at the national level, we are seeing deliberate efforts to crash our economy, deport our communities and continue to villainize our Latino communities, and these bills are efforts to combat all of that,' state Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), caucus chair, said at a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. The legislative package included Assembly Bill 1261 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), which would establish a right to legal representation for unaccompanied children in federal immigration court proceedings. In March, the Trump administration ended a federal contract that provides legal representation to nearly 26,000 migrant children who entered the country without a parent or guardian. The decision was criticized immigration attorneys, who said it would leave the children, many of whom do not read or speak English or are too young to read or speak at all, vulnerable to rapid deportation. A federal judge in Northern California last week ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal funding for migrant children in immigration court. A separate bill by Gonzalez, SB 48, would expand existing laws and require school officials to deny federal immigration officials access to school records and school grounds without a judicial warrant. It also keeps local law enforcement from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials near school grounds. 'California's school resources and spaces should be dedicated to educating young minds and should never be utilized to tear apart families,' Gonzalez said, adding that immigration actions around schools cause a chilling effect on school attendance. Legislation proposed by Sen. Sasha Renée Peréz (D-Alhambra), SB 98, would require schools and universities to notify students, staff and parents when immigration officers are on campus. 'This bill will give our communities the peace of mind that they deserve while also maintaining the state's commitment that schools are safe places,' Renée Peréz said. The other legislation proposed to protect immigrants included: The Trump administration said in January it would allow immigration enforcement to make arrests in 'sensitive locations' such as schools, places of worship and hospitals, sites protected from ICE for the last 30 years. 'Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,' a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a January statement announcing the policy change. Aside from issues related to immigrants, the package of legislation supported by the Latino caucus included a bill to prevent silicosis, a permanent lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust in stone fabrication workplaces, through worker education and safety regulations. The sponsor of SB 20, Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), said that 98% of people diagnosed with silicosis since 2019 were Latino, and that virtually all were male, according to the state's silicosis dashboard. The caucus also reaffirmed a promise to maintain funding for Medi-Cal, the state's healthcare program that insures 15 million low-income Californians and has run billions above estimates since last summer. Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Legislature last month to approve an additional $2.8 billion through June to support the program, which opened enrollment to immigrants regardless of residency status. The rising costs of the program were not to blame on immigrants and the Latino community, Gonzalez said during the news conference. Legislators are instead looking to understand other contributing factors, such as increasing drug costs and long-term care. 'We need to talk about those things in the full narrative,' she said.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barred from joining the Democrat-led Latino Caucus, California Republican lawmakers create their own
Republican lawmakers, excluded from the Democrat-led California Latino Legislative Caucus, have taken matters into their own hands. Nine Latino GOP legislators have created the California Hispanic Legislative Caucus to champion priorities that, they say, diverge from those prioritized by their liberal colleagues. 'My experience as a Latino is different than that of my immigrant grandmother,' said Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Acton), a former Assemblymember recently elected to the state Senate who helped create the GOP caucus. 'The issues the Latino community want to focus on have been ignored by Sacramento.' Those changes, she said, have been coming for a long time. The California Legislature has undergone a historic shift and now includes 44 Latino lawmakers, more than a third of all state lawmakers and the most ever, a group that includes a growing number of Republicans. This comes at a time of evolving voter interests and demographic changes, with Republicans emphasizing that their new caucus will focus on Latino priorities around education, public safety and affordability and less on the "monolithic" issues that Democrats focus on, such as immigration and healthcare. California's changing political landscape became evident during the November election. Overall, 51% of Latino voters voted for the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, but an estimated 54% of Latino men voted for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Voters in California also helped flip two Democratic districts by electing Republican Assemblymembers Jeff Gonzalez of Indio and Leticia Castillo of Home Gardens, both Latinos. 'I view this as a very healthy development for the Latino community,' said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and Latino demographics expert, who said Latino voters 'are different' now than they were generations before. 'I don't think either party has ever had a monopoly on the hearts and minds of the Latino community.' Both parties tend to align on the cost of living and the economy, especially among blue-collar, working-class Latinos. But, Madrid points out, Latino Republicans and Democrats won't agree on policy issues that relate to abortion rights and immigration or anything "beyond the economy." Among the top issues Latino voters care about are the cost of living, housing costs, jobs and the economy, according to a poll of 1,000 voters from the nonprofit Latino Community Foundation. Valladares, who formed the Republican caucus alongside Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Trabuco Canyon) told The Times that 'we are not monolithic.' Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Jackson, a Democrat turned Republican, said she felt "shut down" by her Democrat counterparts. She also said the Democratic-led Latino Caucus would support "antiquated solutions" to issues such as farmworker rights that 'keep Latinos under the monolithic umbrella of being poor, agricultural workers.' 'That's not the modern-day Latino,' she said. California's Latino population accounts for more than a third of the state's eligible voters, according to a 2024 study from UCLA's Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Latino Californians remain the most underpaid for hourly work and more lack a high school diploma compared with any other major racial or ethnic group, the study found. The Public Policy Institute of California found that Latinos are also the fastest-growing segment of the working class and shifted further right last year than in any election since 1994. The 35-member Latino Caucus, historically led by Democrats after the first Latino lawmakers were elected in 1962, has focused on a wide range of policy priorities, including giving protections and equal access to immigrants regardless of legal status, promoting STEM programs in schools and expanding paid sick leave and housing to farmworkers. 'Even in the Latino Caucus, you have moderates, progressives and everything in between,' Miguel Santiago, a former Democratic assemblymember and Latino Caucus member. 'But one thing that has always united us through every argument is our unwavering support for Latino communities, particularly those who are undocumented.' Santiago said he is 'skeptical about the sincerity' of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus representing Latino interests, particularly when it comes to protecting the undocumented and that those differences 'are irreconcilable.' Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), former Assembly speaker who left behind a legacy of progressive reforms, including giving farmworkers overtime pay and expanding childhood education, agrees that there should be a Latino caucus for each party. "I never understood why they wanted to be part of our caucus other than obstructing us," he said. "They would just yell, we'd take a vote, and they'd lose." This isn't the first time Republicans have been excluded from joining the Latino Caucus. In 2014, Assemblymember Rocky Chavez was barred from joining, sparking a discussion over the diversity of opinion and policy goals among Latino policymakers. Madrid said the increasing number of Latino Republicans is 'a healthy sign' of diversity within the community and believes that the political system should allow for these differences, without forcing consensus on racial or cultural issues. Latinos are viewing the world less through the lens of their ethnicity and, he said, "that is progress." The Republican-led Hispanic Legislative Caucus will have nine members. It is currently registered as a nonprofit and a political action committee said Valladares, and they will begin supporting the reelection of incumbents and targeting other seats. They await official recognition from legislative leadership and approval for "equal" funding as the Latino Caucus for staffing, an amount Valladares said is around $500,000. Legislative leaders as of Friday afternoon were not available to answer whether they would approve that funding. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Barred from joining the Democrat-led Latino Caucus, California Republican lawmakers create their own
SACRAMENTO — Republican lawmakers, excluded from the Democrat-led California Latino Legislative Caucus, have taken matters into their own hands. Nine Latino GOP legislators have created the California Hispanic Legislative Caucus to champion priorities that, they say, diverge from those prioritized by their liberal colleagues. 'My experience as a Latino is different than that of my immigrant grandmother,' said Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Acton), a former Assemblymember recently elected to the state Senate who helped create the GOP caucus. 'The issues the Latino community want to focus on have been ignored by Sacramento.' Those changes, she said, have been coming for a long time. The California Legislature has undergone a historic shift and now includes 44 Latino lawmakers, more than a third of all state lawmakers and the most ever, a group that includes a growing number of Republicans. This comes at a time of evolving voter interests and demographic changes, with Republicans emphasizing that their new caucus will focus on Latino priorities around education, public safety and affordability and less on the 'monolithic' issues that Democrats focus on, such as immigration and healthcare. California's changing political landscape became evident during the November election. Overall, 51% of Latino voters voted for the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, but an estimated 54% of Latino men voted for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Voters in California also helped flip two Democratic districts by electing Republican Assemblymembers Jeff Gonzalez of Indio and Leticia Castillo of Home Gardens, both Latinos. 'I view this as a very healthy development for the Latino community,' said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and Latino demographics expert, who said Latino voters 'are different' now than they were generations before. 'I don't think either party has ever had a monopoly on the hearts and minds of the Latino community.' Both parties tend to align on the cost of living and the economy, especially among blue-collar, working-class Latinos. But, Madrid points out, Latino Republicans and Democrats won't agree on policy issues that relate to abortion rights and immigration or anything 'beyond the economy.' Among the top issues Latino voters care about are the cost of living, housing costs, jobs and the economy, according to a poll of 1,000 voters from the nonprofit Latino Community Foundation. Valladares, who formed the Republican caucus alongside Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Trabuco Canyon) told The Times that 'we are not monolithic.' Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Jackson, a Democrat turned Republican, said she felt 'shut down' by her Democrat counterparts. She also said the Democratic-led Latino Caucus would support 'antiquated solutions' to issues such as farmworker rights that 'keep Latinos under the monolithic umbrella of being poor, agricultural workers.' 'That's not the modern-day Latino,' she said. California's Latino population accounts for more than a third of the state's eligible voters, according to a 2024 study from UCLA's Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Latino Californians remain the most underpaid for hourly work and more lack a high school diploma compared with any other major racial or ethnic group, the study found. The Public Policy Institute of California found that Latinos are also the fastest-growing segment of the working class and shifted further right last year than in any election since 1994. The 35-member Latino Caucus, historically led by Democrats after the first Latino lawmakers were elected in 1962, has focused on a wide range of policy priorities, including giving protections and equal access to immigrants regardless of legal status, promoting STEM programs in schools and expanding paid sick leave and housing to farmworkers. 'Even in the Latino Caucus, you have moderates, progressives and everything in between,' Miguel Santiago, a former Democratic assemblymember and Latino Caucus member. 'But one thing that has always united us through every argument is our unwavering support for Latino communities, particularly those who are undocumented.' Santiago said he is 'skeptical about the sincerity' of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus representing Latino interests, particularly when it comes to protecting the undocumented and that those differences 'are irreconcilable.' Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), former Assembly speaker who left behind a legacy of progressive reforms, including giving farmworkers overtime pay and expanding childhood education, agrees that there should be a Latino caucus for each party. 'I never understood why they wanted to be part of our caucus other than obstructing us,' he said. 'They would just yell, we'd take a vote, and they'd lose.' This isn't the first time Republicans have been excluded from joining the Latino Caucus. In 2014, Assemblymember Rocky Chavez was barred from joining, sparking a discussion over the diversity of opinion and policy goals among Latino policymakers. Madrid said the increasing number of Latino Republicans is 'a healthy sign' of diversity within the community and believes that the political system should allow for these differences, without forcing consensus on racial or cultural issues. Latinos are viewing the world less through the lens of their ethnicity and, he said, 'that is progress.' The Republican-led Hispanic Legislative Caucus will have nine members. It is currently registered as a nonprofit and a political action committee said Valladares, and they will begin supporting the reelection of incumbents and targeting other seats. They await official recognition from legislative leadership and approval for 'equal' funding as the Latino Caucus for staffing, an amount Valladares said is around $500,000. Legislative leaders as of Friday afternoon were not available to answer whether they would approve that funding.
