By admin 
Music, chatter and applause filled the Capitol’s front lawn as dozens of Service Employees International Union members from across California gathered Wednesday morning to advocate for immigrant protections.
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Attendees of the event championed four bills that currently await legislative approval: Assembly Bills 1655, 1896 and 2379, and Senate Bill 1004. The rally served as both a call to political action and a way to recognize those whose lives are impacted by recent Immigrations and Customs Enforcement crackdowns.
“We need to hold our elected officials accountable,” said Guillermo Mendoza-Lujan, SEIU Local 121RN secretary and registered nurse, in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “They’re in their seats because we voted them into those seats. So we need to make sure that they protect everyone, especially the immigrant community because they are the backbone of California.”
AB 1655, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Jefferson Park, would classify someone held in ICE detention as “temporarily absent” from their home. This would allow families receiving state benefits, which are determined based on household size, to remain eligible for assistance.
“It’s the kind of law that you would never think needs to be on the books, but in a time like this, where basic humanity and dignity is being stripped away and we have seen active violence targeting our communities, we want to make sure we are proactive in protecting our families and especially our children,” Bryan said.
Bryan addressed the crowd at the rally alongside Mendoza-Lujan, childcare provider and SEIU Local 99 member Ana Valentino, Assemblymember José Solache Jr., D-Lynwood, and Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, D-Palmdale.
Carrillo and Solache are the co-authors of AB 2379, which would require the State Department of Social Services to notify home childcare providers of a person’s Fourth Amendment rights. According to Solache, the bill would also create a “know-your-rights” training to arm Californians with legal tools to use in case of interactions with law enforcement.
“This bill is being championed by SEIU to ensure that workers — including those facing uncertainty — are protected should immigration authorities conduct a workplace visit,” Solache said in Spanish during the rally. “It provides the necessary tools for individuals to protect themselves, their communities and their children.”
Valentino urged attendees to lobby for AB 2379. She said the fear of losing a loved one to ICE detention has generated “fear and uncertainty” among the families she serves as a childcare provider.
“Many families worry that a mother, father or loved one could be detained and separated from their family,” Valentino said in Spanish during the rally. “Our children feel this fear, too. Right now, they aren’t thinking about their futures. They are grappling with intense, difficult emotions.”
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According to Valentino, it is vital to equip childcare providers like her with the knowledge and skills necessary to defend the children in their care in case of run-ins with immigration enforcement.
“For me, this is about more than just training. It is about having knowledge instead of uncertainty, and being prepared to protect the safety and stability of the children that families entrust to my care,” Valentino said.
In his address, Carrillo denounced the conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center located in his district. He described murky drinking water, improperly cooked food, lack of access to medical care and unsanitary conditions reported by health inspectors and detainees as reasons for “deep concern.”
“Dignity is not something a person earns through citizenship, income or immigrant status,” Carrillo said. “Dignity is inherent to being human. We should advocate for immigrant families because silence in the face of documented suffering allows that suffering to continue.”
Tracy Pryor, SEIU 121RN member and operating room nurse, said she attended the rally because she frequently treats undocumented patients with life-threatening ailments. At the hospital where Pryor works in Indio, undocumented workers do not often seek care at the onset of their symptoms for fear of ICE interactions.
“Something like a sore on the foot … ends up being septic and life-threatening,” Pryor said. “Instead of just taking care of a small sore, we’re taking off limbs. It is just so unnecessary. … Oftentimes it is too late for these people to get the care that they deserve as humans.”
Two bills regulating ICE activity — AB 1896 and SB 1004 — were part of SEIU’s platform during the demonstration. AB 1896 would make it illegal for a former ICE officer to hold public employment in California, while SB 1004 would prohibit federal officers from wearing face coverings while performing their duties. According to Mendoza-Lujan, these bills are part of an essential push towards safe, equitable living conditions for immigrants.
“Under the current administration, the immigrant community has been attacked. We have to make sure that we, as humans, treat everybody with respect and give them the same dignity,” Mendoza-Lujan said. “At the end of the day, we all bleed the same. We all breathe the same air. What’s right is right, and we need to make sure that we protect our immigrant community.”
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