• The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Protect Patriot Parents Act, a measure authored by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) that would make parents of U.S. military service members eligible for lawful permanent resident status, preventing potential deportation or separation of military families, according to a Dec. 8 statement from the congressman’s office. “I am proud that this measure is now headed to the Senate for its consideration, and I strongly urge my colleagues to act on this and other critical commonsense immigration reforms before the end of this Congress,” Carbajal said in the statement. Carbajal’s measure is inspired by the story of the Flores family from Goleta, where the mother of Sgt. Cesar Flores was deported despite having lived in the U.S. for 30 years and having a child serve his country in the U.S. Air Force. Juana Flores was deported in 2019 but was allowed to return to the U.S. after public outcry and lobbying from Carbajal and other community leaders. “As a veteran and immigrant myself, I find it unconscionable that someone could step up to voluntarily serve in the military and be willing to sacrifice their life for our country only to have their family torn apart,” he added.
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) joined a bipartisan group of 14 Western senators in sending a letter urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that its programs are funded and administered to more effectively address the dire drought conditions throughout the West, according to a Dec. 8 statement from the senator’s office. The agency’s programs often do not translate well to the needs of Western growers and communities. The senators asked the agency to ensure improvements to existing authorities, new funding for projects and practices that conserve water, and collaboration with state, local, and tribal governments. In the letter, the senators urged the USDA to support the efforts of Western farmers and ranchers to conserve water, improve water infrastructure and efficiency, reduce erosion, and provide technical assistance for growers in regions affected by drought. “The American West is in crisis. Across the major basins of the American West—including the Colorado River Basin, the Rio Grande Basin, the Great Basin, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, the Columbia River Basin, and the Arkansas-White-Red Basin—farm and ranch families hang in the balance as they grapple with a 22-year mega-drought,” the letter said. “The acute shortage of water for Western growers threatens productive farmland across our states, which are both a pillar of our rural economies and drivers of America’s food production.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $480.5 million in awards for 54 projects to improve California’s behavioral health infrastructure for children and youth, according to a Dec. 7 statement from the governor’s office. As part of Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health, this investment provides grant funding to construct new facilities and expand existing facilities that help children, youth, transition-age youth, and perinatal individuals with a mental health and/or substance use disorder. “We’re overhauling our mental health system to connect young Californians with the care and support they need,” Newsom said in the statement. “Too many Californians are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse. This funding will support critical mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities that have committed to serving the diverse range of children and youth covered by Medi-Cal.” In California, the rates of serious mental illness and substance use disorders are highest for individuals from 18 to 25 years old, and rates of children and youth experiencing behavioral health conditions, youth emergency department visits for mental health concerns, and youth suicides continue to rise. Also, in California, 13 percent of children from 3 to 17 years of age reported having at least one mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral health problem, and 8 percent of children have a serious emotional disturbance that limits participation in daily activities.
This article appears in Dec 15-22, 2022.
