August 9, 2017
In response to yesterday’s news conference held by the CA State Sheriffs Association in opposition to SB 54, Cynthia Buiza, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, issued the following statement.
The Sheriffs’ campaign of vilification against immigrants might as well be torn directly from the pages of President Trump’s inaugural address. Along with AG Sessions, the Sheriffs are determined to bully Governor Brown and legislative leaders into weakening SB 54.
The level of vitriol directed against a bill that already contains exceptions and even has law enforcement support speaks to an uncomfortable truth: the Trump administration’s ever-expanding rhetoric of “criminalization” is the cover story for alarming abuses of federal power.
Let’s be clear: racial profiling and mass incarceration are wrong. People who have been in jail are also part of our communities.
Governor Brown must resist the Sheriff’s onslaught and champion SB 54 in its most visionary form. We cannot use California’s resources to help the Trump administration deport millions of people who are a vital part of our communities.