California Democrats try to thwart Trump’s immigration policies

December 5, 2016

California Democratic PartyCalifornia Democrats are introducing a host of bills aimed at stopping President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies, real or perceived, from taking effect in the state.

One package of bills consists of urgent measures that, if passed, would take effect immediately. Those bills include proposals to create a public fund to pay for illegal immigrant’s legal bills during deportation proceedings; provide immigration law training to public defenders; and prohibit state and local law enforcement from responding to the requests of federal immigration authorities. [New York Times]

Other legislation includes a bill that would require California voter approval for Trump’s planned border wall. Likewise, a bill would bar state agencies from providing information that would end up in a so-called Muslim registry.

“Throughout the presidential campaign and since, the president-elect has made many troubling statements that run counter to the principles that define California today,” said Kevin de Leon, the Senate president pro tempore. “There is no greater policy area than immigration where the comments run headlong to the values we share as Californians.”

De Leon said the bills proposing the legal fund, the public defender training and the ban on cooperation with immigration authorities would be introduced on Monday, the first day of the legislative session.

The legal fund would be used mostly to finance grants for nonprofits that defend illegal immigrants during deportation proceedings. The fund is expected to receive contributions from private parties, as well as from other government agencies. San Francisco’s public defender, Jeff Adachi, has proposed setting aside $5 million from the city’s budget to go toward the defense of illegal immigrants.

About two-thirds of all detained immigrants in California do not have attorneys. Illegal immigrants are more likely to successfully challenge deportation if they have an attorney, several studies show.

California has spent $33 million on legal assistance for immigrants over the past two years.

The public defender training proposal calls for setting up facilities throughout the state where the lawyers would learn about immigration law. De Leon said the training would better able public defenders to convey to immigrants the impact their criminal offenses might have on their deportation cases.

Trump has said he would focus on deporting illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes in the United States and that there are probably 2 or 3 million of such people in the country. California Democrats say there is not that high of a number of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and that Trump plans to deport many immigrants who are not criminals.

“If the president-elect has identified two to three million criminal immigrants, we can only assume it’s a pretense to open up criteria to deport mothers who are pulled over for a broken tail light,” de Leon said. “We want to ensure that those facing deportation are afforded due process, so that the most vulnerable are protected.”

The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group, said there are about 820,000 undocumented immigrants in the country who have been convicted of crimes.

De Leon said the proposals on financial aid for immigrant legal services and training for public defenders would be voted on next month. That legislative package includes the proposal to prohibit all state and local law enforcement agencies from responding to requests from immigration authorities.

Since the bills are urgency measures, they require a two-thirds vote to pass. Thus, the bills will test the Democrats new super-majority in the Legislature.

In a separate proposal, State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said he is introducing a package of bills called Fight For California. Lara’s proposals include the bill that would require Trump’s proposed border wall to be approved by California voters, as well as the bill that would bar state agencies from providing information to federal entities that are compiling a so-called Muslim registry. [LA Times]

“We’re not going to allow a wall that harms our environment and our economy,” Lara said in a statement. “We’re not going to allow personal data on individual Californians’ religious beliefs to be used to compile an unconstitutional database.”


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Just remember, now with a veto proof super majority, the nuts elected by their nutty district can put any bill, no matter how nutty, in front of their nutty colleagues who will vote yes on it in exchange for their nutty colleagues vote on their nutty bill. And the governor can’t do a thing about it or risk the embarrassment of his veto being overturned. California is only a decade away from bankruptcy.


Its quite belittling for these Dems to act as though they speak for all Californians. ( Just like the group that is vying to separate California from the USA! as though that is what all Californians want. What arrogance!!! )

Where has DE Leon been anyway???He is being dishonest. What do you think has been going on? How many illegals doing crimes have already been deported over the past few years alone? Obama has been taking care of it already, And he wants to make this a Trump issue? 33Million already spent in the past 2 years, but now its all Trump? This is a shameful ploy, using ridiculous scare tactics to get more $.

How sad it is these days. Is every Dem now weaseling, whimpering and worried because of the idiotic interpretations of our President Elect? Everything he says or does is a threat to who?? Talk about sore losers? Get real and knock it off! Man up and stop crying in the corner worrying about what might happen. I’m not saying not to react as you may if or when it does, but Worry is Useless and destructive! I can’t believe that is what is comes to these days.

Here’s a few tips: Especially is you are not a legal citizen: DON’T COMMIT CRIMES!! And the other? GET LEGAL!! You can go take the class like every other immigrant!


Unbelieveable!!! We just had numerous measures to get more money for schools, roads etc. because Calif. is broke but we have money to defend people who are criminals and here illegally. I do not have a problem with immigrants that want a better life coming here as long as they contribute the same as the citizens here and are treated the same. If Calif. has all this extra money to help out illegals then why don’t they spend it helping the homeless and veterans that have given so much to this country. Most of the illegal workers are paid in cash so the paper trail shows them having nothing so the state helps them out. The citizens who get paid by check and are still in the poverty level get nothing because it shows they made some money so they are on their own. If you go to Mexico illegally they just throw you in jail and forget about you but Calif. bends over backwards for illegals.


What policy has been approved? Are the Dems preparing for the sky is falling? The Dems need to be prepared to answer for California and why the BS money will likely dry up. There is a bigger U.S. out their and California will either be a part of the funding or a part of the bankruptcies. FYI, Unfunded pensions do not do well in bankruptcies.


Our State will be forced to make a HUGE u-turn on their support of Sanctuary Cities once the Federal Government decides to withhold their financial support. Just stopping all Federal Transportation/infrastructure funding would topple us. Time to hold our leaders accountable for following Federal Immigration Law or replace them with leaders who will.


Democrats are not concerned with the fate of the illegal alien. They NEED the illegal alien’s votes to stay in power.


Indeed. This is yet another clear example that the Dems are doing nothing less than purchasing a constituency with our tax dollars. Obscene!


Oh, just one thing…. Prove it!


Sorry topper01, I guess I should have said “please”? Or is it you have no proof what-so-ever and just want to get a head start on your own “fake news” internet sight and garner the riches now flowing for pure bullshit?


Would it be considered rude if I used some worthless buzz words like, oh I don’t know, source(s) or fact(s)? It is? Well I guess keepin’ folks scared is worth the risk of being found out as a liar…


20 million “illegals” in this country and Hillary only won the popular vote by 2.5 million (and counting)? Jeeeez! You would think that margin should have been millions more, right?


You got your boy in office, so stop with the bullshit already, please!


Oh and for what it’s worth, a state cannot dictate anything to feds in the context of something like a security wall. Ricardo Lara would know this if he wasn’t such a dull tool himself.


Kevin de Leon is a tool. An extremely dull tool at that. If these “packages of bills” actually pass, they are going to draw even more illegal aliens into this once golden state. How sad.


I’m sincerely beginning to believe there are people purposely out to ruin California. Mostly those ensconced in their gated communities and their hipster downtown apartments.


May God save California!


So a person chooses to immigrate to US ILLEGALLY, and now we have to pay the deportation costs? Seriously? We should pay for the cost of committing a crime?

California is quickly becoming a poster child for all that is wrong with the US.