Summary: Advancing Justice- CA, along with over 90 other civil and immigrant rights organizations, is advocating for a suspension of jail/prison transfers of individuals who have earned release or parole, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for as long as COVID-19 poses a human health risk in ICE detention facilities. We are calling on the California State Legislature to enact an August Budget Revision that includes this suspension, and/or for Governor Newsom to authorize through Executive Order this suspension that is direly needed for one of our most overlooked populations.
Disproportionate Coronavirus Rates: During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who have earned their release should not be subject to the heightened health hazard of ICE detention facilities. The latest data shows that there is a 29.4% positive coronavirus rate inside ICE detention facilities.
Main Deportation Pipeline: This report (example below) demonstrates that jail/prison transfers are the main and easiest target for ICE agents and their subcontractors. 51% of ICE detainees at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility and 68% of ICE detainees at Yuba County Jail are from jail or prison transfers, so halting these operations would be a significant win for our immigrant population.
See our advocacy letter with over 90 organizations for more information. Forty-five state legislators have also signed onto this letter urging Governor Newsom to suspend these ICE transfers.
AB 1276 (Bonta): Fixes to the FAIR MAPS Act
Summary: Makes minor technical and clarifying changes to AB 849 (Bonta), the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act, which became law in 2019. AB 849 dramatically reformed California’s local redistricting process to be more fair, transparent, and accessible to the public. For the first time, it mandated that cities and counties draw their maps using ranked criteria that prioritize neighborhoods and communities of interest, placed new transparency and public outreach requirements on local governments, and prohibited partisan gerrymandering. AB 1276 simply adds back negotiated language that was inadvertently deleted during the drafting of AB 849 and clarifies existing law around the creation of redistricting commissions in charter cities.
Summary: Advancing Justice - CA supports a budget request by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-27) to enact a statewide fund to support undocumented immigrants who have significantly reduced employment or who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The fund would allocate $400 per week for 8 weeks.
