The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency to combat U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the Los Angeles area. The state of emergency could give eviction protection and other resources to help communities affected by ICE raids.
“What ICE is doing is perfectly legal,” said Oscar Martinez, candidate for L.A County Sheriff.
“It has gone to state courts, it has gone to federal circuit courts, and it has gone all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and they have ruled that their actions are constitutionally legal,” said Martinez.
California is doing all it can to push back against the federal government’s raids, with both sides passing legislation to keep each other in check. But through all this fighting, what does this mean for undocumented students at COC?
What does COC provide to the students affected by the ICE raids?
“Empower the students and connect them; they do workshops on advocacy, they do meetings, bi-weekly meetings, and there are events that connect them to community resources as well,” said Preeta Sexena, Dean of Institutional Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness.
“They just hosted one last week, and so they bring in a lot of resources to the students and meet them where they are,” said Sexena.
The Bluebird Resource Program at College of the Canyons offers a safe, supportive, and socially just space for immigrant students. Their goals are to meet their students’ personal, academic, and career aspirations and protect them from threats on and off campus.
“The legislature just passed a bill, Senate Bill 98, and it added a new requirement for community colleges and Cal State campuses to provide notifications campus-wide, to students and employees, if there’s an immigration enforcement action on campus,” said Eric Harnish, COC Vice President of Public Information.
