SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (AD-51), together with a group of California legislators, community groups, religious leaders, union workers, re-entry counselors, and members of the ICE Out of CA coalition rallied at the California State Capitol Grounds in Sacramento, urging Governor Gavin Newsom to support AB-937 (Carrillo), otherwise known as the VISION Act.
AB-937 is an immigrant and racial justice bill, which guarantees that any individual that has served their sentence or has otherwise been deemed eligible for release would not face being turned over to federal immigration authorities unless ICE officials present a federal warrant.
“I’m done with our immigrant community being seen as anything else other than loving, thriving members of our community. I am tired of a California justice system that double punishes immigrants who have served their time, who have paid their debt to society, and who simply want to be able to come home, restart their lives, and be with their families.” said Assemblymember Carrillo.
"Either we believe in a justice system that treats everyone equally or we continue to support a justice system that treats people unequal. The VISION Act is about ensuring a California justice system that intentionally treats people the same. The need for this bill is urgent. Every day, immigrants and refugees are transferred to ICE after becoming eligible for release from state or local custody, subjecting them to medical neglect, systematic abuse, and traumatic deportations. Were it not for their country of birth, these individuals would be allowed to return to their families and rebuild their lives."
Adding to the remarks by Assemblymember Carrillo, Senator Scott Wiener went on to add “California authorities and our prison system and others, without being required to do so, are just turning people over to ICE—people who have completed their sentence, paid their debt to society, they’ve done everything that we’ve asked them to do, and they are being released and when we release people from prison, the idea is to re-integrate them into society, to give them the tools to succeed. Instead, we’re saying, ‘okay you’ve paid your debt - oops -we’re going to give you over to ICE.’ It is unacceptable."
The coalition marched from the Capitol Grounds to the O Street Swing Space building, where they delivered a letter to the office of Governor Newsom.
The bill is co-sponsored by 25 legislators and supported by the California Democratic Party, Black Legislative Caucus, Latino Legislative Caucus, and the API Legislative Caucus; over 180 organizations; Black Lives Matter-California; the Law Enforcement Action Partnership; veterans groups; and several key labor unions and federations, along with numerous Jewish organizations and Rabbis.
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