TITLE
Recommendation to Support SB 54 (De Leon), The California Values Act, and SB 31 (Lara), the California Religious Freedom Act. These two legislative proposals protect the safety and well-being of all Californians by ensuring State and local resources are not used to support deportations, separate families, collect information about an individual's religious beliefs or affiliations, and ultimately hurt California's economy.
DISCUSSION
On Wednesday, January 25, 2017, President Trump signed two Executive Orders related to immigration. The Executive Orders direct federal agencies and departments to "secure the southern border of the United States through the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border, monitored and supported by adequate personnel so as to prevent illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism; and detain individuals apprehended on suspicion of violating Federal or State law, including Federal immigration law, pending further proceedings regarding those violations"; "Ensure that jurisdictions that fail to comply with applicable Federal law do not receive Federal funds", and "Ensure that aliens ordered removed from the United States are promptly removed".
As a vibrant, multi-cultural city, Long Beach thrives on the ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and diversity of our immigrant communities and American-born residents. Over 40% of the Long Beach population identifies as Latino, and 12% identify as Asian. It is also believed Long Beach has the largest Cambodian population outside of Southeast Asia; and many Cambodians in Long Beach came to the United States as immigrants and refugees from 1975 to 1979. The United States Census Bureau reports 26% of Long Beach's population, between 2011-2015, stated they were foreign-born; this population includes anyone who was not a United States citizen at the time of birth regardless of whether or not they have become a United States citizen since.
The diversity wi...
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