Political Watch: April 10, 2025

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• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined a group of House Democrats asking for answers after five regional Head Start offices were shut down, including the regional office in San Francisco that serves Central Coast residents, his office said in a press release. The closures came after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) laid off 10,000 employees on March 31, Carbajal’s office said. In a letter sent to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the lawmakers raised concerns about a lack of warning or a transition plan and the potential impact on those who rely on the Head Start program. The federal program provides early childhood education, health care, and family services at no cost to low-income children across the country. The group is asking Kennedy what criteria was used to determine which regional offices to close, when staff was informed about their office closing, and what the department’s plan is to support Head Start providers. “All children deserve quality education and services to support their early development during the most crucial years of childhood,” the lawmakers wrote. “An investment in Head Start and the regional offices that support them should remain a top priority.” 

• State Superintendent Tony Thurmond sponsored a bill that aims to limit the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on school campuses. Authored by Sen. Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), Senate Bill 48 is a response to President Donald Trump’s threats to lead mass deportation efforts at schools and houses of worship and school funding that is projected to decline in some parts of the state as attendance is suppressed because undocumented individuals fear the consequences of going to school, according to a press release from Thurmond’s office. “We know that the fearmongering happening in our nation has disruptive impacts on children in our immigrant families, and it could cost California schools millions of dollars,” Thurmond said in the release. Approximately half of all students in California are members of immigrant families, where at least one parent is an immigrant. One in five students live in mixed-status families, where one or more parents are undocumented, the release said. The bill would limit the information that schools have access to and can share and would prohibit schools from granting immigration enforcement access to a school site, producing a pupil for questioning by an immigration authority, or consenting to a search unless immigration enforcement presents a warrant or court order. “All California children deserve safe school environments that prioritize student learning, regardless of immigration status,” Gonzalez said in the release. 

• Kenneth Kahn retained his role as tribal chair for the fifth consecutive term after a recent Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians vote to select its governing body, according to a press release from the tribe. Mike Lopez, Maxine Littlejohn, Gary Pace, and Raul Armenta were also reelected to their seats on the business committee. Kahn was first elected to the business committee in 2003, becoming the youngest person to ever serve on the tribe’s board at 25 years old. He also served as secretary-treasurer and vice chair before winning a special election to become chair in 2016. Kahn is also a member of the California Truth and Health Council, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 to represent the Central Coast, and the vice chair of the Native American Rights Fund.

This article appears in Apr 10-20, 2025.