Supes unanimous in vote to protect county’s 20,000 ‘Dreamers’

A WEEK after the Trump administration announced it would phase out the executive order shielding illegal immigrant children brought into the United States by their parents from deportation, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to support them.

On Tuesday, the elected officials voted to adopt a resolution "supporting Dreamers and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program," which the Obama administration established in 2012.

The program allows those who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday to also get work permits. Before the supervisors cast their vote Tuesday, 5th District Supervisor Mary Adams sent a message to the DACA recipients, who are said to number about 800,000 nationwide, including 20,000 in the county.

"I want to thank the Dreamers, specifically," Adams said. "You are our future."

‘Racist,' ‘hateful'

Using labels that have become ubiquitous for anyone who opposes DACA or illegal immigration in general, several proponents of the resolution called the decision to phase out DACA "racist," "discriminatory" and "bigoted."

Program advocate Israel Villa thanked 1st District Supervisor Luis Alejo for his support of Dreamers.

"It's an important step at a time our folks are under attack," Villa said. "I think it's important that we resist this racism, this racist agenda that's going on in our nation."

Similarly, 4th District Supervisor Jane Parker called the president's decision "hateful."

As the administration "continues to undermine the safety and security of various groups of people ... we must continue to stand together," Parker said.

Third District Supervisor Simón Salinas called Trump's move "mean-spirited," and said he hopes the resolution will urge Congressman Jimmy Panetta "to do everything humanly possible to figure out a compromise" on immigration reform.

Trump's decision gives Congress until March 2018 to work out a replacement for DACA, at which point the dreamers would be eligible for deportation.

Cesar Lara, with the Monterey Bay Labor Council and Building Healthy Communities, praised the supervisors for considering the resolution.

"For those in our community who are undocumented, these are fearful times," Lara said. Hartnell College student and Dreamer Adriana Gonzalez said Dreamers "often feel like our dreams are about to expire," so it's a "great feeling to know that we are supported."

"A lot of people have the misconception that Dreamers are criminals," Gonzalez said.

"In reality, all we want to do is contribute to our society." Second District Supervisor John Phillips said that while he had "some concerns about taking on the federal government," the DACA question "impacts our community," and he voted in favor of the resolution.

"These are young people, immigrants, and the type of people who are positive for our community," Phillips said. "I don't think it's right to change the rules in middle of their game, their life, through no fault of their own."

The only "positive" thing from Trump's order, he said, is that maybe it will compel Congress to pass immigration reform. Two men opposed the resolution, with one asking, "If you pass DACA, do their parents stay too?"

Panetta told The Pine Cone last week that the question of whether parents would be allowed to remain in the country should be resolved within the larger scope of immigration reform.

In the same interview, Panetta said that he would not support striking a deal to allow those under DACA to stay in exchange for helping fund Trump's border wall, a proposal floated by Republicans.

Becerra sues Trump Meanwhile, California State Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday announced that the state had filed suit against the Trump administration over the decision, contending it violated federal laws and the Constitution — essentially the same arguments people made when Obama implemented the program.

"We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country stronger," Becerra said in a statement. Panetta said he hasn't yet read the complaint and was unable to say whether the move is the best means to oppose Trump's order. He did comment on a Sept. 9 roundtable meeting he had with 30 DACA recipients at Hartnell College in Salinas.

"The Dreamers I met with told me about their families, their lives, and their hard work to be a part of, and positively contribute to, our community," he said. "Their parents took great risks to bring them here to give them a better life."

Panetta said the young men and women he met with are aware of their obligation to "give back to the country that gave them so much opportunity."

"In order to fulfill that responsibility, each Dreamer works hard to succeed in school, and at work, for their families and our community," he said. "I will continue to share with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle what I learned to show them why Congress needs to pass a long-term solution."

Panetta said most of the people he's spoken to have praised his position on DACA. However, the majority of the roughly 200 people who commented on his Facebook page since last weekend's roundtable opposed his position on the program.