By Constanza Eliana Chinea, CALIFORNIA LOCAL NEWS FELLOW
In the wake of Trump’s second-term election win, migrant communities and organizations in California began preparing for the new administration’s promised aggressive crackdown on immigration, the border, and undocumented migrants themselves. Despite California being a Sanctuary State, there was collective fear about what was to come. Now that the inauguration day has come and gone and executive orders have been signed, will migrants in California be safer than in other parts of the country?
Organizations such as Haitian Bridge Alliance and Somali Bantu Association of America have been supporting migrants in San Diego and across the state for years, but now they feel their work is more important than ever.
In an exclusive interview with Voice & Viewpoint, Osman Abiyow, President and CEO of the Somali Bantu Association (SBAA) said, “ They come here to have their peace of mind and to be in peace in America, but I see that a lot of people are in fear about what will happen to their loved ones.”
Those fears about what might happen began to become clearer last Monday. Within hours of taking office, Trump signed several executive orders tackling immigration, including an attempt to end birthright citizenship and a state of emergency declaration at the southern border. With California being a border state many are concerned about the effects of those orders on local communities.
“The fear tactics that are being used are extremely effective,” said Guerline Jozef, President of San Diego’s Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), in another exclusive interview with Voice & Viewpoint. “We are ready to fight in the courts to make sure that people are protected, especially undocumented people.”
In the months prior to Trump’s inauguration, many migrant organizations in California organized to get additional sanctuary city laws in their local jurisdictions. One of those cities was Los Angeles, whose city council unanimously voted on the ordinance in November.
“We’ve been working on this ordinance for over a year,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “We saw in the last [Trump] administration that it wasn’t just empty words, it wasn’t just rhetoric. ICE was in MacArthur Park, ICE was in South LA. They were here taking people from their homes. So we want to do whatever we can to prevent that family separation from happening again in our own backyards.”
Legal experts have also tried to make sense of how much protection California migrants may have despite the sanctuary laws. Immigration lawyer Ramsey Judah says the laws don’t actually hold law enforcement accountable from working directly with ICE.
“There are cops who take it upon themselves to be in touch with ICE,” Judah said. “It’s mostly an advisement. There’s no punishment if they don’t follow the sanctuary rule.”
In early January news spread of a four-day “targeted enforcement” raid by Border Patrol being conducted in Bakersfield, sparking outrage within advocacy groups. The area is known to be predominantly farmworkers. It solidified the fears that the incoming Trump administration’s second term was ramping up aggressive immigration tactics in the state, despite sanctuary protections.
Organizers have been sharing resources for migrants in an effort to educate them on their rights, such as access to legal services and know-your-rights infographics.
“ We’ll continue helping clients with their [asylum] applications, filing their court system papers and everything to make sure that their rights are protected,” said Abiyow.
Organizers reiterate, however, that it’s going to be a collective effort to protect migrants in the state. “It is imperative that immigrants and non-immigrants alike understand that we are connected,” said Jozef. “Our future, our present, is all connected, so it’s time for non-immigrant communities to also come around immigrant communities and make sure they are protected.”
