San Diegans Condemn Trump's Cruel Lawsuit Against California Families
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SAN DIEGO — Local organizations from across San Diego County condemn the Department of Justice's lawsuit against California policies that protect families from Trump's abusive and overreaching deportation force.
Trump's deportation force, which includes ICE and Border Patrol, are able to assert extraordinary powers that allow them to stop, interrogate and search children on their way to school, parents on their way to work, and families going about their daily lives, well inside the United States — all done without a warrant or reasonable suspicion.
The Trump administration's lawsuit against policies like Senate Bill 54, known as the "California Values Act," is an effort to continue the status quo of violating the 4th amendment and getting away with it at the expense of families in California and across the nation.
Andrea Guerrero Executive Director of Alliance San Diego released the following statement:
"You cannot ask California to adopt the federal government's bad habits of bypassing the Constitution by stopping, interrogating and searching people without a warrant. The Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect us against unreasonable searches and seizures, which is why every other law enforcement agency in the country requires either a warrant or 'reasonable grounds' for an officer to act without a warrant.
If ICE and Border Patrol want to arrest and deport immigrants from California, then they need to get a warrant, just like the Fourth Amendment says. No more passes for Trump's deportation force, no more abuse of power. Time to follow the 4th amendment, just like all other law enforcement."
Lilian Serrano, Chair of the San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium (SDIRC) and Community Representative at Alianza Comunitaria released the following statement:
"The Trump administration's lawsuit against policies like the "California Values Act" goes against our state's commitment to valuing and protecting all of its residents, no matter where they come from, and treating them with dignity and compassion. California is a place of community, moral grounding, fairness, and human rights. It is our obligation to stand up against Trump's policies of hate and intolerance that are separating children from their parents and destroying communities. That's why we have worked so hard to pass laws such as the "California Values Act" that protect families from Trump's deportation force.
Every day we walk on eggshells in our own backyards because of the deportation force in our region. Now, this administration wants to strip us of the protections the state of California has put in place.
We will not sit and allow the Department of Justice to waste resources on a lawsuit that is not only unjust but has no added value to this country or our communities. We will continue to work with community members and elected officials to advocate for policies that are rooted in our values of compassion, inclusivity and human rights."
About Alliance San Diego
Alliance San Diego is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) community empowerment organization working to ensure that all people can achieve their full potential in an environment of harmony, safety, equality, and justice. Our mission is to to provide a means for diverse individuals and organizations to share information, collaborate on issues and mobilize for change in the pursuit of social justice, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. We pursue this mission through targeted civic engagement programs and strategic coalitions that focus on specific issues and policy reforms.
About The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is a project of Alliance San Diego. Since 2007, community, faith, labor, and legal organizations have come together as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC). Through SDIRC, these organizations are pursuing four common goals: support comprehensive immigration reform; stop the spread of local policies and practices that target and violate the civil and human rights of immigrants; educate immigrants, and educate the public about the important contributions of immigrants. More at: www.immigrantsandiego.org.