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SALINAS, Calif. - The City of Salinas held a special meeting Monday night.

The topic of discussion, how the federal government's actions on immigration can affect the Central Coast.

City officials say forums like this are important to keeping the community informed of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to immigration.

Fifty members of Congress have asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to publicly criticize the arrest of gay men in Chechnya.

They note in an April 7 letter to Tillerson that they are "greatly disturbed by reports of arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial murders of gay men in Chechnya."

Congressman to meet one-on-one at Mars Hill on April 21.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta attended the ceremony Friday. Before being elected to office, he prosecuted cases as part of the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. He handled numerous homicide cases in the area, and the last one he prosecuted was the murder case of 6-year-old Azahel Cruz who was killed by a drive-by stray bullet in 2010. The case was not solved until 2013 and didn’t come to a conclusion until 2015. Citing cases like this, Panetta encouraged crime survivors to not give up hope. “What it proves is no matter where you are from, no matter what family you’re from, no matter what country you come from, law enforcement is always going to work hard to be that bridge, to provide victims and victims' families with that sense of justice... You’re never alone,” he said.

Panetta is a co-sponsor, along with dozens of other lawmakers, of the Bridge Act. It would extend provisions of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order for up to three years at a time, in the event Trump repeals DACA, though Panetta is betting against that: “Right now, from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, I would be surprised if Donald Trump revoked that and actually pulled President Obama’s executive order when it comes to DACA,” Panetta says. “He has made statements alluding to the fact that he actually has sympathy.“However: If he does, that’s why the House and Senate are working on the Bridge Act.”
“Any time where there is an executive order that may deter people from coming to this country, I think harm is done,” Panetta says. “Even though these orders were halted by the courts and we’re seeing our checks and balances being exercised, you can’t quantify this fear we’re seeing right now.”

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, spoke with a Spanish-language translator by his side. “I invited Trump to come visit the fertile Salinas Valley,” Panetta told the crowd. “Then he would see how important immigrants are.”