• It was gloves off for California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) during his State of the State speech to lawmakers on Jan. 24. Brown struck a defiant tone against the Donald Trump administration, promising to defend the state against President Trump’s actions regarding climate change, undocumented workers, and health care. It came a day before Trump signed immigration executive orders stepping up deportation, border security, and the promise to build a wall on the border. Without mentioning the president by name, Brown promised to “defend everybody—every man, woman, and child who has come here for a better life and contributed to the well-being of our state.” Brown reached across the aisle to state Republicans, calling for unity despite the harsh feelings between the two political parties at the national level. “We have generally been civil to one another and avoided the rancor of Washington,” he said. “I urge you to go even further and look for new ways to work beyond party and act as Californians first.” He did, however, agree with Trump on at least one thing—infrastructure projects. “I say, ‘Amen to that, man!'” he said.
• State Assemblywoman Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara) praised Brown’s speech on Jan. 24, particularly with regards to education. “I’m very happy that the governor talked the importance of ed and the investiments we’ve made over time, especially as a former school board member,” she said. “I think there’s still some work to do, especially for higher [education], where we are seeing a decrease in the middle class scholarships.”
• President Donald Trump apparently made good on his immigration promises by signing a series of executive orders on Jan. 25 to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as beef up border security and deportations of undocumented immigrants. Kamala Harris (D), California’s newest senator, immediately jumped into the fray, issuing a public statement condemning Trump’s orders and calling them “political gestures.” As a former attorney general of a state with one of the largest populations of immigrants, Harris has some grasp of the undocumented immigrant issue, she argued. “These executive orders will harm public safety, tear families apart, and jeopardize national security,” she said. “In its first few days, this new administration has consistently acted against the interests of the those who are voiceless and vulnerable.” She also praised Xavier Becerra, who resigned his congressional seat last month to become California’s first Latino attorney general. “I believe he will stand for California values and protect all of our communities, including those that have been left voiceless during this change in adminstration,” she said.
• Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), the newest representative for California’s 24th Congressional District, issued a public statement on Jan. 25 condemning Trump’s executive order to build a wall on the Southern U.S. border as a “symbol of xenophobia and hate.” Carbajal, who came to the U.S. from Mexico as a toddler, called for immigration reform that provides “real” border security as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. “Our country has borne the negative effects of a broken immigration system for far too long,” he said. While the Democrats as a whole are the minority in Congress, Carbajal himself is a part of the largest contingent—California Democrats—who are poised to take on Trump’s immigration policies. When asked by the Sun how they’ll do this, Carbajal said it’s a matter of assessing what he can do with executive orders. He suggested another tactic: activism. “I think the best approach in the county is organizing. All these actions he’s taking is galvanizing our country to be united … in a strategic way against this administration,” he said.
This article appears in Feb 2-9, 2017.
