deportations – The Russian Reader

California State Education Resources
California Department of Education: Chief Deputy Superintendent: David Schapira
Reminder of Obligation to Protect Immigrant Families’ Rights to Access Public Education

The letter from the California Department of Education (CDE) reminds schools of their obligation to protect the rights of immigrant families to access free public education, regardless of immigration status. It highlights the U.S. Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe ruling and California laws ensuring non-discrimination and safe school environments. The letter includes resources for training staff, legal guidance, and mental health support.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gc-Oki1v_07XznU0UBWNW85gqX7rjEG_/view

CA Office of the Attorney General:
Promoting a Safe and Secure Learning Environment for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s K-12 Schools in Responding to Immigration Issues

What to do if an immigration-enforcement officer comes to your school?

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Quick%20Reference%20for%20School%20Officials.pdf

Cal School News: Safe Haven Districts

https://www.calschoolnews.org/safe-haven-districts

Santa Clara County Office of Education: Know Your Rights Education & Immigration Resource Guide for Staff, Educators & Principals

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s74tlPKd_xA9sWXdFbpLh1xdu4_x5oC-6gCt4y698j8/edit?tab=t.0

Source: CATESOL Discussion Board, 27 January 2025

With the inauguration of President Trump at hand, Monterey County officials and community stakeholders showed a united front in their support of all immigrants who live, work and attend school in the region at a press conference.

On Jan. 15, Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto and Monterey County Supervisors Luis Alejo, Kate Daniels and Chris Lopez joined leaders in education, agriculture, hospitality, health and social services to announce the passage of a resolution on Tuesday affirming the county’s commitment to protecting immigrants’ rights and launch a public “Know Your Rights” campaign.

The resolution reestablished the county as a “Welcoming County” for immigrants and refugees, reaffirming key provisions of various state laws including the California Values Act (Senate Bill 54) and is the product of an Ad Hoc Committee formed by the board of supervisors in December.

Monterey County’s resolution came the same day the Salinas City Council, at their first meeting of 2025, issued a statement reminding residents the city has been a “Welcoming City” since June 2017.

The city “is steadfast in our dedication to serving the entire community, ensuring public safety and fostering trust regardless of immigration status, citizenship status or nationality, said Mayor Dennis Donohue at the Tuesday council meeting.

The majority of immigrants in California are documented residents, according to California’s Public Policy Institute, in 2022, 83% of immigrants were either citizens or had some other legal residency status.

While California has 1.8 million immigrants that were undocumented in 2022, according to Pew Research, it is down from 2.8 million in 2007.

Many undocumented individuals live in “mixed-status” households, which includes people with legal status.

According to the California Immigration Data Portal, in 2021, more than 3.3 million people in California and one in five children lived in such “mixed-status” households.

After recent immigration enforcement in Kern County spurred online rumors of similar activity occurring locally that turned out to be false, Sheriff Nieto told the crowd outside the Monterey County Government Center on Wednesday, that her office had been fielding phone calls from concerned residents.

“My family’s afraid to go to the store, my family’s afraid to send their children to school, my family’s afraid to go outside of the house,” said Nieto, describing some of the calls to law enforcement. “I want to assure you that here in Monterey County, the sheriff’s office and your chiefs of police know what the rules are and understand with the Trust Act is, and we’re going to follow those rules.”

Enacted in 2014, the Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools (TRUST) Act (AB 4) defines the circumstances in which local law enforcement agencies may comply with immigration detainer requests.

Monterey County Office of Education Superintendent Deneen Guss said she wanted to reassure parents that schools are safe spaces for students.

“Our administrators, our educators, and our school staff are dedicated to creating welcoming environments where students and their families feel seen, heard and safe,” Guss said. “I want to assure parents that under current federal laws, schools are considered protected areas and are generally prohibited from voluntarily granting access to campus, by immigration officers, in the absence of a judicial warrant or a court order.”

“I urge you to please keep sending your children to school every day and to also create an emergency plan, including designating someone who can care for your child if needed,” she added.

During the pandemic, workers in agriculture and the service industry were lauded as “essential workers” as many continued to work onsite while workers in other industries got to work remotely and shelter-in-place.

Executive Director for the Monterey County Farm Bureau Norm Groot said local workers in the county’s $4.3 billion agriculture industry should still be considered essential.

“Our fresh food supply and local economy are fully dependent on this workforce and we consider this a national security priority in a time of agricultural labor shortages — farming depends on a stable and reliable workforce not one under threat,” Groot said. “[The county agriculture industry] depends on 55,000 farm workers to harvest our crops each year — primarily immigrants.”

“We appreciate the farmworkers’ vital contributions to the national food supply as essential workers,” he said.

The second largest industry in the county, hospitality, employs 25,000 people.

Rick Aldinger from the Monterey County Hospitality Association said the local immigrant workforce are “hardworking individuals” and “part of the fabric of our local communities” and thanked Supervisors Alejo and Lopez for spearheading the county’s Ad-Hoc Committee.

“Huge progress has been made in a very brief period of time,” Aldinger said. “Avenues of communication have been established among key players and industry leaders and a comprehensive portfolio of resources has been put together that will help our workforce navigate, whatever might lie ahead.”

Individual rights under state and federal law is also something employers with an immigrant workforce must also understand.

“We are trying to not only educate our immigrant workforce but also trying to educate the employers and what their rights are,” Groot said. “It’s a much larger circle than just saying we need to inform immigrants what their rights are.”

“We are trying to work through that and understand how much information we have to push out at this point — it really depends on what happens after next Monday,” Groot said, referring to President Trump’s inauguration, “and how many Executive Orders we’re going to start seeing.”

Source: Roseann Cattani, “‘Know Your Rights’: Salinas, Monterey County officials show united front for immigrants,” The Californian (Salinas, Calif.), 20 January 2025

Tag: deportations

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