{"id":13007,"date":"2023-08-04T18:57:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13007"},"modified":"2023-08-10T14:56:56","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T14:56:56","slug":"how-california-is-fixing-our-broken-immigration-system-one-bill-at-the-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13007","title":{"rendered":"How California is fixing our broken Immigration system, one bill at the time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alex Gonzalez<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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States don\u2019t have the power to enact Immigration laws since the \nfederal government has the power to set and administer immigration laws.\n However, It is clear to any rational person that America\u2019s immigration \nsystem is broken and that the federal government\u2019s response has been \ngrossly lacking. As a result, some governors and state legislators in \nthe past ten years have worked to fix what the federal government has \nrefused to do due to partisan politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California is one of those states that has taken the leadership to \npass laws addressing some of the most pressing issues for undocumented \nimmigrants. The Pew Hispanic estimates that The Golden State is home to \nan estimated 2.2 million residents without legal status. Yet, \nadmittedly, the state recognizes that these are workers, parents, and \nmembers of communities who pay taxes, like any citizen, and therefore, \nshould have basic access the some of the state government agencies and \nbasic legal protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of the states in immigration policy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The idea that states could be in the driver\u2019s seat when \nit comes to reforming our immigration system may seem counterintuitive. \nImmigration enforcement is a federal government power, and while some \nstates and municipalities have opted not to assist federal authorities \nin immigration enforcement\u2014most commonly referred to as sanctuary states\n or cities\u2014the primary power rests with the central government to set \nand administer immigration laws. However, like many areas of policy, the\n issue has grown larger than the capacity of the federal government to \naddress on its own. Therefore, the relevant federal agencies have used \ncontracting to be able to administer the system.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, illegal border crossings into California are at their \nlowest level since 1971, and the state government doesn\u2019t view its \nundocumented residents as a threat; California recognizes their basic \nhumanity, and if you look at the labor market, immigrants are a big \nreason why California has such a dynamic economy. So why would \nCalifornia, or any other state for that matter, would want to protect \nits residents from outdated, and often harsh, retrograded  immigration \nlaws?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed<\/a>\n a bill that will end the use of private prisons and privately-run \nimmigration detention facilities. Under the new law, California will \nphase out the use of these for-profit, private detention facilities by \n2028. The state will be prohibited from renewing contracts or signing \nnew contracts with a private prison company after January 1, 2020.\nThis new law is aimed at protecting undocumented residents; and \nthis is one of the powers the state has  since thorough the contracting \nprocess, the federal government, namely ICE or the Department of Health \nand Human Services (HHS), pay other entities to house detainees until \ntheir cases are processed and adjudicated. Often those contracts are \nsigned with private companies or with state, county, or municipal \ngovernments\u2014a practice known as intergovernmental service agreements. \nThe chart below shows the breakdown in the number of adult immigration \ndetainees held under the authority of ICE (those transferred from CBP) \nand the type of facility in which they are held. As the chart shows, the\n vast majority of individuals\u201485%\u2014are held in facilities that are not \nfederal.\n<\/p>\n\n\n

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Both private facilities as well as county and municipal authorities \nare licensed and\/or regulated by state governments. Those facilities are\n thus subject not only to the regulatory authority of the state, but \nstate law enforcement, public health standards, etc. Other agencies also\n have jurisdiction to investigate and monitor these facilities. When an \nindividual housed in one of these facilities\u2014be that person a \nlocal-level offender or an ICE detainee\u2014dies, is assaulted, is the \nvictim of rape or other type of abuse, the state government has \njurisdiction to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state also believes that there some obligation by state to offer \naccess to basic healthcare for those undocumented residents who cannot \nafford private insurance. Last July, California became the first state \nin the country to offer government-subsidized health benefits to young \nadults living in the U.S. illegally. The measure signed by  Gov. Gavin \nNewsom extended coverage to low-income, undocumented adults ages 26 and \nyounger for the state\u2019s Medicaid program. Since 2016, California has \nallowed children under 18 to receive taxpayer-backed health care despite\n immigration status. And state officials expect that the plan will cover\n roughly 90,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill was introduced earlier this year and was initially proposed \nby Newsom as part of a larger health care package. It is expected to \ncover some 90,000 low-income residents between the ages of 19 and 25 and\n to cost the state $98 million in its initial year. The coverage would \ntake effect in 2020, according to the legislation. In California, \nextending health benefits to undocumented immigrants is widely popular. A\n March survey<\/a>\n conducted by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California \nfound that almost two-thirds of state residents support providing \ncoverage to young adults who are not legally authorized to live in the \ncountry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in October of 2017, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill SB 54<\/a>\n that placed sharp limits on how state and local law enforcement \nagencies can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.  The bill \nbanned state and local agencies, excluding the California Department of \nCorrections and Rehabilitation, from enforcing \u201cholds\u201d on people in \ncustody. The bill also blocks the deputization of police as immigration \nagents and bars state and local law enforcement agencies from inquiring \ninto an individual\u2019s immigration status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the George W. Bush and Obama presidencies, programs like \n287 (g) and Secure Communities were responsible for the detainment of \nmillions immigrants with no criminal record in county and municipal \njails. SB 54, like the new law Gov. Newsom signed<\/a>\n a bill that will end the use of private prisons and privately-run \nimmigration detention facilities, de-incentivizes county and municipal \njails from being used as \u201cdetention beds\u201d that they can rent to the \nfederal government via \u201cprivate prisons\u201d and it discourages state and \nlocal law enforcement agencies from legally engaging in any Immigration \nEnforcement tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The 1996 law eroded due process<\/a> for many migrants seeking asylum. It created a program<\/a>\n that enlists local law enforcement agencies into immigration \nenforcement. Critics of the program say it drives a wedge between the \npolice and immigrant communities, interfering with law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the law\u2019s passage, deportation numbers soared<\/a>, setting new records for the numbers of immigrants detained<\/a> during the Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama administrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California also recognized that undocumented residents work and that \nthese workers must drive.  On October 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a\n landmark bill  After years of failed attempts, California became the \ntenth U.S. state that  allowed unauthorized immigrants to apply for \ndriver\u2019s licenses. Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark bill that \nkicked off in by January 2015. That was the first time in decades that \nunauthorized immigrants in California can obtain driver\u2019s licenses. In \n1993, a measure signed into law by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson required \ndriver\u2019s license applicants to provide a Social Security number and \nproof that their presence in the state was \u201cauthorized under federal \nlaw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state estimated that about 1.5 million of residents were going to be eligible to apply for the new law.  More than 1 million immigrants<\/a> in California have been issued driver\u2019s licenses since Assembly Bill AB 60 took effect in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue of \u201cDreamers\u201d is also a very personal issue for California since more than half of Dreamers in the U.S. live in the state. The state cannot force Congress to pass the Dream Act. But what the state recognizes is that these are young Americans, and future taxpayers, that need to have access to adequate Higher Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July, 2011,   Gov. Jerry Brown announced signed the California Dream Act,<\/a>\n a controversial bill that would allow undocumented students to receive \npublic financial aid for higher education. The California Dream Act was \ndivided into two bills, AB130 and AB131. AB130 was signed by Governor \nJerry Brown on July 25, 2011, and AB131 was signed by Brown on October \n8, 2011. AB 130 allows students who meet AB 540<\/a> criteria to apply for non-state funded scholarships for colleges and universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understandably, Congress still needs to pass a comprehensive Immigration bill that can formally \u201clegalize\u201d the 2.2 million of undocumented residents in California. But what the state has done in the past ten years is admirable, it\u2019s fixing the broken Immigration system than both parties, especially recalcitrant Republicans, in Congress have refused to address comprehensibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Gonzalez is a political Analyst, Founder of Latino Public Policy Foundation (LPPF), and Political Director for Latinos Ready To Vote. Comments to vote@latinosreadytovote.com or <\/em>@AlexGonzTXCA<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Alex Gonzalez States don’t have the power to enact Immigration laws since the federal government has the power to set and administer immigration laws. However, It is clear to any rational person that America’s […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,72],"tags":[83,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-13007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-immigration","8":"category-lrtv-articles","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-immigration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13007"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13710,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007\/revisions\/13710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}