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Proposal ending unjust transfers of immigrants to ICE fails in California Senate [1]

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Date: 2022-09-06

The ICE out of California coalition said in its statement that the VISION Act, which would block state officials from turning immigrants who have already served their time in state prison or been ordered for release over to federal immigration officials for deportation, failed despite a recent endorsement from labor icon Dolores Huerta.

“This is double jeopardy,” she said in remarks late last month. “We need to catch up. Other states have already taken care of this issue that ppl aren't turned over to ICE after they finish their sentences." Legal experts had urged the bill’s passage, as had dozens of local officials, saying it would help “keep families together.” But the ICE out of California coalition said senate lawmakers’ “failure to pass the VISION Act means that families across the state will continue to see long-awaited reunions with loved ones who have earned release from prison or jail turned into a nightmare of family separation and ICE detention.”

“Those senators who abstained or voted no today demonstrated a shameful lack of courage and a clear failure of leadership, ignoring many hundreds of calls from constituents and organizations in their districts and support state and national leaders and California voters,” the coalition continued in the statement. LAist reported that one Democratic lawmaker who opposed the bill, Sen. Susan Talamantes, said she was “not convinced rehabilitation happens. I want someone to have eyes on people before they come back out into the community.”

But this is fear-mongering, plain and simple. Research has shown that undocumented immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans.

“Meanwhile, Governor Newsom’s silence on this issue, even as elected officials from as far away as Illinois urged him to take action, even as families were torn apart by deportations, reveals a serious lack of leadership on a pressing racial justice and immigrant rights issue of national importance,” the coalition said. As of Tuesday morning, Newsom has also not yet acted on legislation expanding farmworkers’ union rights, despite endorsements from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“We express our sincere appreciation for legislative leaders, including Senator Scott Wiener, floor manager for today’s vote, Senators Durazo, Becker, Cortese, Gonzalez, Kamlager, and Pan, who spoke on the floor, bill author Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, and all co-authors and supporters,” the coalition continued. “And most importantly, we honor the leadership of community members directly affected by ICE transfers, who, in sharing their stories from prison cells, detention centers, and even across borders, have forever transformed public opinion on this issue.”

Among them was Gabby Solano, a domestic violence survivor who was turned over to federal immigration officials despite a sentence commuted by former Gov. Jerry Brown, support from the state’s parole board, and 1,000 hours of completed rehabilitation courses. Solano was a supporter at one rally in Sacramento back in June. She phoned in her support because she’d been deported to Mexico.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/6/2121093/-Proposal-ending-unjust-transfers-of-immigrants-to-ICE-fails-in-California-senate

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