National Immigration Battle, Elected Officials Speak Their Mind

Long Beach, CA

With immigration policy being on the forefront of national politics, Long Beach’s own elected officials share their thoughts on the matter.

Today, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders, one ordering construction of the border wall between the United States and Mexico while also moving to strip federal funding from sanctuary cities, the other increased the amount of immigration enforcement officers whose role it is to carry out deportations of undocumented immigrants.

In response, Mayor Robert Garcia wrote on his Facebook Page: “Long Beach is and will always remain a city that welcomes and supports all people. This country is a nation of immigrants, built by a love of country, family, and community. We are at our best when we treat each other with respect and kindness. We will stand up for all Americans – including hard working immigrants – because that’s what makes Long Beach, and America great.”

Senator Kamala Harris wrote her own message to supporters in an email stating: “As you know, I am on the front line of the fight in Washington to protect our immigrant communities from this new administration.

And today, President Trump escalated this struggle with a series of executive orders that will tear families apart while weakening our public safety and national security.

Here’s the deal: creating a deportation force to target immigrant families who are contributing to our society is not a show of strength. Asking taxpayers to pay for an unrealistic border wall is not a solution. And telling cities to deny public safety, education, and health services to kids and families is irresponsible and cruel.

Because of these executive orders, our nation is now less safe: immigrants will report fewer crimes, more families will live in fear, and our communities and local economies will suffer.

California has an outsized stake in this fight. No state has more immigrants than we do — both documented and undocumented. I intend to continue fighting back aggressively and speaking up for the vulnerable communities that are being attacked by this administration.

In the face of these dishonorable actions by President Trump, we must continue to choose action and hope. We must fight together to undo the damage being done to our country by this administration.”

Recently Congressman Alan Lowenthal in an interview with the Long Beach Business Journal stated “I have been very concerned about deportation issues,” and said, “I support the idea of having a sanctuary city. I would support sanctuary and Long Beach being a sanctuary.”

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