A new bill aimed to shield schools in California from immigration raids and federal funding cuts was cleared by the assembly. It is now scheduled for a debate and vote on the second house floor by the California senate.
The bill was first introduced by Dr. Jasmeet Bains on May 2nd seeking funding protections for schools amidst the decline of absent students due to immigration raids.
“Just last week, the LA Times reported on a child in Bakersfield who is so medically fragile that a deportation order is basically a death sentence,” Bains said in a statement.
Dr. Bains is referring to a family who came to the United States through the humanitarian parole that allowed for the 4-year old girl known as Sofia to receive treatment for a rare condition called short bowel syndrome. On June 3rd, Sofia and her family were granted another year to remain in the Untied States while she receives treatment.
Changes to law will include immigration raids to a list outside of schools to protect funding. Once the bill is passed, schools will be able to submit a request under the California Department of Education to protect fundings.
Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is said to conduct “Operation at Large” by far one of the largest deportations yet. The Trump Administration has also been granted to end the legal status of 500,000 migrants granted humanitarian parole through the Biden Administration.
“Operation at Large” calls for more than 5,000 personnel from across various law enforcement agencies, to arrest individuals without legal status, NBC reports.
A similar operation was conducted earlier this year in Kern County known as “Operation Return to Sender”, CBP carried out a sweep of unlawful arrests that last for a week. The raids created uproar amongst communities in Kern County. Border Patrol agents had traveled over 300 miles to target predominantly Latino areas to carry out the anti-immigrant rhetoric conveyed by the president.
In a lawsuit filed by the UFW v NOEMI revealed that Border patrol agents targeted individuals who looked like farm workers or similar. 78 individuals were arrested during this operation and approximately 40 of these individuals were deported to Mexico without a proper court hearing, leaving behind their loved ones. Plaintiffs testimonies contended that they had their fourth amendment rights violated as no warrants were presented leading to the arrests.
U.S Customs and Border Protection restored to unlawful tactics not only in California but across the country to comply with the Trump’s administration to carry out mass deportations. In the Westlake District and Downtown Los Angeles, Immigration enforcement agents were spotted conducting a raid at a local Home Depot similar to the one performed in Bakersfield earlier this year.
A CalMatters report explained that El Centro Sector’s Gergorio Bovino will use the raids in Kern County “as a model for immigration enforcement across California.” As June 1st, Border Patrol has been sighted up and down Southern California detaining day laborers and a 9-year old student from Torrance Elementary.
