California lawmakers urged to pass bills shielding immigrants

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Many immigrant street vendors in California face a lose-lose battle when doing business.

Getting a city permit to operate potentially opens them up to required fingerprinting, background checks and the disclosure of personal information. Opting against gaining the permit could lead to police harassment.

Standing in front of the state Capitol on Wednesday, Gustavo Landeros Mireles said that’s why he supports Senate Bill 635. It would prohibit a local government that regulates street vendors from collecting information about someone’s citizenship status or criminal background.

A recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, called DACA, Mireles said he’s had to explain to police that a 2018 state law allows him sidewalk access to sell his corn in a cup, horchata and churros.

“We’re just trying to feed our families,” said Mireles, a street vendor for two years in Davis. “That’s the issue with police — they try to scare people.”

Several people stood with Mireles in support of three immigration-related bills. State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat, wrote Senate Bills 635 and 580, the latter of which would require state and local agencies to comply with rules issued by the state attorney general when dealing with federal immigration authorities.

Senate Bill 841 — introduced by state Senator Susan Rubio, a Baldwin Park Democrat — would prohibit safe spaces like homeless shelters and rape crisis centers from allowing immigration enforcement to occur in non-public areas without a judicial warrant.

John Hinestroza, a janitor at a large Silicon Valley tech firm, said through an interpreter that immigrants strengthen California’s cultural fabric.

“We don’t just participate in this economy, we move it,” Hinestroza said, adding later: “But as immigrants, we live in constant fear. The fear isn’t imaginary. It’s real.”

That fear led Hinestroza to promote SB 580.

Durazo said President Donald Trump is spreading hate, expanding immigration enforcement actions into places like hospitals and schools. She also pointed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent budgetary reveal, which would freeze enrollment in the Medi-Cal expansion for undocumented adults and install a $100 monthly premium for enrollees over 19.

Durazo called that move “redlining” health care for a group of people who contribute $8.5 billion in tax revenue and helped make California the fourth largest economy in the world.

“I’m ready right now to push back on those pushing against our communities,” she added.

The California Latino Legislative Caucus on Monday formally voiced opposition to Newsom’s proposed Medi-Cal changes.

Championing her own bill, Rubio called for an end to people referring to immigrants as criminals. Calling herself a former undocumented person who was deported, Rubio said people need security in places like crisis centers. They must know they won’t face deportation when they seek help.

Rubio fears that an abuser could use the possibility of immigration enforcement at such a facility as a tool to control someone. That would keep a victim and families in harm’s way.

“If you’re seeking help, you shouldn’t be punished for it,” Rubio said. “When you ask for help, we will protect you. We will not punish you.”

According to Sophia Wrench, a fellow with Equal Justice Works, one in three California workers are immigrants. Like Mireles and his street vending job, these immigrants turn to cities to support themselves.

“They should not worry about being separated from their families, kidnapped by ICE and deported from their families,” Wrench said.

The three bills are winding their way through the Legislature. None have received formal opposition.

SB 580 is set to appear Friday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, a key deadline it must pass to remain alive. SB 635 and 841 await a vote on the Senate floor.