• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) announced new legislation on Jan. 26 to enforce new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention practices. The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would restrict the use of private, for-profit detention facilities, ensure due process for detained individuals, and prohibit the practice of detaining families, according to Padilla’s office. “As Republicans funnel tens of billions to ICE and CBP, we need to bring back oversight and accountability to the federal detention system, while restoring the right to legal counsel and due process, ending family detention, and raising detention standards,” Padilla stated. “Our bill would finally stop private, for-profit detention centers from lining their pockets by advancing Donald Trump’s cruel mass deportation campaign at the expense of our communities and economy.” Padilla recently visited California’s largest detention center, located in California City. “I saw firsthand in California City the appalling, inhumane conditions that detained individuals are facing at for-profit facilities as detentions reach record levels,” he stated. “I met with countless people who were injured while being detained or whose basic medical needs are not being met—including a mother who was denied access to her medication to manage her diabetes and received no treatment after ICE grabbed her by the neck.” The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act’s co-sponsors include U.S. Sens. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).
• On Jan. 23, the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA) announced its dual endorsement of U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Castro Valley) and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively, for governor of California. CPCA described both candidates as having “strong public safety credentials.” The dual endorsement reflects the association’s focus to inform voters on candidates’ platforms on crime, victim protection, and community safety, rather than their party affiliations, according to press materials. “Our endorsement is not about politics. It is about ensuring voters understand which candidates in each major party have demonstrated a commitment to public safety and effective law enforcement,” CPCA President Jason Salazar said in a statement. A former Alameda County prosecutor raised in a law enforcement family, U.S. Rep. Swalwell “has emphasized community safety as a central priority of his campaign,” CPCA stated. In his campaign for governor, Riverside County Sheriff Bianco focuses on platforms related to victim protection and crime reduction.
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) recently joined other Democratic members of the House Agriculture Committee to introduce the Farm and Family Relief Act, a bill to assist struggling family farmers and safeguard food benefits for low-income Americans. Carbajal described the bill as a response to the Trump administration’s cost shift in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “Trump’s erratic policies are impacting our food system from start to finish,” Carbajal said in a Jan. 22 statement. “His tariffs are bankrupting family farmers while raising costs at the grocery store. His ‘big ugly bill’ is creating unprecedented chaos within the SNAP food assistance program, leading to reduced food security for millions of households.” In November 2025, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimated that U.S. farmers have accumulated more than $50 billion in losses across the last three crop years, with the 2025-26 crop year showing the steepest loss at $28 billion, influenced by Trump’s tariffs, according to Carbajal’s office. “The Farm and Family Relief Act offers a clear path forward by providing a lifeline to the farmers and families bearing the brunt of these misguided decisions,” Carbajal stated.
This article appears in January 29 – February 5, 2026.