Deportation of Immigrants Not an Option in California
Report and photos by Phil Pasquini
Washington: Immigrant and human rights activists and their supporters from across the state rallied and marched on December 2 around the California State Capitol building in calling attention to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise of deporting 11 million unauthorized migrants.
Those demonstrating were calling on legislators to “Stop Mass Deportation and Protect California Immigrants.”
Billed as the first deportation protest to stand in defiance of Trump’s campaign promise to “take the handcuffs off ICE,” many held signs saying “No ICE in California, Dignity Over Detention, We are Human, We are People, Immigrant Justice is Health Justice, Amnesty for Immigrants, Stop Project 2025 and Protect Farmworkers,” while also calling for livable wages and affordable housing for all.
California presently has over one million children who have at least one immigrant parent, many of whom would face family separation and detention because of the plan. At the rally before the march, one speaker addressing the crowd noted that “when one immigrant suffers, we all suffer together” in calling for immigrant justice.
While the protest was taking place outside, inside the Capitol the legislature was in a special session called by Governor Gavin Newson to pass a bill to “Protect California values” by allocating $25 million for a legal defense fund to pay for anticipated lawsuits by the federal government. Newsom noted that additional monies will be needed in “Protecting California values” when the state is sued for standing in defiance of the Trump plan.
Trump has indicated that he would “On day one…launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history,” followed by removing those who have exhausted their asylum bids but who remain in the country. The plan, however, to detain and deport such a massive number of people from the US would be a long and complicated endeavor.
While Trump makes the process sound easy, any new program by ICE would need a massive infusion of funding along with newly hired personnel that for now are lacking. One little-discussed issue, too, is that receiving countries may likely refuse to accept any deportees, leaving those rounded up subject to confinement while their cases make their way through the courts.
None of this was lost on protesters who vowed to continue in their struggle to see that immigrant rights are preserved and that undocumented people can seek sanctuary in the Golden State protected by California law.
One other important milestone today saw 59 women legislators being sworn into office as the largest number of women ever to serve in both houses. Women now make up 49 percent of California’s legislature.
Rhodesia Ransom, one of those newly elected, was quoted as saying that “female lawmakers bring a different perspective to the office.” Hopefully, this will have the desired effect of creating a more compassionate and caring approach to solving many of the state’s issues.
(Phil Pasquini is a freelance journalist and photographer. His reports and photographs appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Countercurrents, and Nuze.ink. He is the author of Domes, Arches and Minarets: A History of Islamic-Inspired Buildings in America.)
