Six Republican California lawmakers sent a letter to President Donald Trump, asking him to avoid sweeping workplace immigration raids that have caused some workers major fear.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones and Assembly Member Laurie Davies, who both represent parts of San Diego County, each signed the June 27 letter penned by State Sen. Suzette Valladares, of the 23rd District.
āWe have heard from employers in our districts that recent ICE raids are not only targeting undocumented workers, but also creating widespread fear among other employees, including those with legal immigration status,ā the letter reads. āThis fear is driving vital workers out of critical industries.ā
āWe support the enforcement of federal law,ā the letter continues. āBut we urge you to direct ICE and DHS to focus their enforcement operations on criminal immigrants, and when possible to avoid the kinds of sweeping raids that instill fear and disrupt the workplace.ā
Jones and Davies both declined interview requests.
Valladares said the group sent the letter because they were frustrated by Californiaās Senate Bill 54 ā a law passed in 2017 to limit state and local law enforcementās cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Earlier this year, they introduced a bill to require local law enforcement to work with federal agents, which ultimately did not advance.
āWe have seen decades of failed policy when it comes to border security,ā Valladares said. āAnd so our real intent behind this letter was asking that California change its sanctuary laws, which is why we presented our bill.ā
When asked about the letter, the White House pointed to Trumpās comments that aired on Fox News Sunday, proposing a kind of temporary pass to exempt certain workplaces from raids.
āWhen you go into a farm and heās had somebody working with him for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people arenāt going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away, itās a problem,ā Trump said.
āIām on both sides of the thing, Iām the strongest immigration guy that thereās ever been, but Iām also the strongest farmer guy that thereās ever been and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work,ā he continued.
āWeāre working on it right now, weāre going to work it so that some kind of temporary pass where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away,ā Trump added.
His comments came as an analysis from the Cato Institute shows 93% of people booked in ICE detention since the fiscal year began in October have not been convicted of a violent crime, in contrast with the administrationās stated goal of targeting violent criminals.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday she didnāt have further details on Trumpās proposal.
āThe Presidentās focus and the focus of this administration is, of course, to remove public safety threats from the streets and to deport as many of the illegal criminals, especially the violent criminals, that we know are still here because of the previous administration,ā Leavitt said.
āI think it's important to recognize, too, that when you create a disruption in a workplace, it detracts from the purpose of what the president is trying to accomplish, which is to deport criminal, illegal aliens,ā said Andrew Hayes, a Lakeside School Board member whoās active in the San Diego County Republican Party.
āThe whole purpose of saying let's bring the tenor down is important because people who are here illegally, who are criminals, should know that they're going to be deported,ā Hayes continued. āBut at the same time, you don't want to threaten people who you know are going to work.ā
The letter also asked Trump to āmodernize our immigration process to allow non-criminal undocumented immigrants with longstanding ties to our communities a path toward legal statusā and reform work visa programs to make it easier for California businesses to hire more employees.
āHere in California, our immigrant population is a huge part of our workforce now,ā Valladares said. āWe're calling on the president and Congress to figure out those details of what that looks like, but with the understanding that immigrants are an important part of our workforce and California's workforce.ā