LOS ANGELES – Even as President Donald Trump wraps up his first visit to the Golden State since the election, immigrant-rights groups are embracing California's new nickname as the "State of Resistance."

Last September, the president ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows work permits for people brought to the United States as children. However, a federal judge kept it going while litigation proceeds.

Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of the nonprofit America's Voice, described himself as very pessimistic that this Congress will cut a deal to help the Dreamers.

"The Trump administration has declared war on refugees and immigrants; they are determined to kick out people who are here, either with no status or with an uncertain status," Sharry insisted. "So, this is a historic challenge to those of us who believe that America should be a welcoming nation."

Trump has defended his policies, saying the increases in immigration raids and deportations will protect jobs for U.S. citizens. He visited prototypes for a border wall and maintained that national security depends on its construction.

Attorney Joshua Rosenthal with the National Immigration Law Center said he supports comprehensive immigration reform, but noted there is no provision to help people who hadn't yet applied for DACA.

"It does leave out people who were not able to obtain DACA before the Trump administration ended the DACA program, because they were too young, or they hadn't finished enough education," Rosenthal explained. "And unfortunately at this point, those people are unable to apply for DACA."

California's "sanctuary state" laws prevent local authorities from handing over immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless the people have been convicted of a serious felony. Employers also are forbidden to grant access to their workplace or to employee records without a warrant.

The feds are suing over the issue, but Sally Kinoshita with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center is convinced the laws are constitutional.

"There's nothing in federal law that mandates that states or localities use their own resources to aid federal immigration agents to arrest people or identifying people," said Kinoshita, ILRC deputy director. "The federal government cannot require the state to participate in a federal deportation program."

And Hector Salvador with the California Labor Federation in Los Angeles is organizing rapid-response networks, sending teams of supporters to workplaces during raids.

"Though there is fear and a lot of anxiety because of all these increased levels of ICE raids and threats from this administration, there are groups of immigrants and allies that are fighting back," said Salvador.

Immigrant-rights groups are calling on voters to register their opinions at the ballot box in this fall's midterm elections, in hopes of voting in a new Congress that could be more amenable to the plight of immigrants.



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During last week's Republican National Convention, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Americans are not safe due to immigrants committing violent crimes.

That's just one claim being challenged by leading immigration experts.

Nancy Foner, Ph.D., professor of Sociology at City University of New York's Hunter College, said labeling immigrants as criminals is an old, but persistent, myth.

She pointed to data showing that the vast majority of immigrants are not violent criminals.

"The foreign born, in fact, are much less likely than the native-born to commit violent crimes," said Foner. "And in fact, cities and neighborhoods with greater concentrations of immigrants have much lower crime and violence than comparable non-immigrant neighborhoods."

Immigrants were also blamed for smuggling fentanyl across the 2,000-mile southern border.

But according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 90% of the drugs linked to overdose deaths are smuggled by U.S. citizens through legal ports of entry.

Cruz also said immigrants were being allowed into the U.S. to vote in the upcoming elections - a conspiracy theory about something that never, or almost never, happens.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, pointed out that non-citizens are not legally allowed to vote in federal elections, and don't in part because they could be immediately deported if caught.

"To cast one ballot in an election in which 160 million ballots are going to be cast, it happens exceedingly rarely," said Becker, "largely because the states and federal government already have really good policies in place."

Others claimed immigrants were "receiving welfare."

Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said immigrants are not eligible for the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps), Social Security or other benefits - although they do pay payroll and other taxes that fund those programs.

She said immigrants actually strengthen America's economy, but local governments can feel squeezed if immigrants earn low wages.

"That negative impact, it mostly comes from education," said Orrenius. "K-12 education is expensive. The spending on education is an investment. Those investments are going to pay back many times what's invested."



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Leaders at the 5th annual Immigration Summit, which wrapped up in Los Angeles Friday, have vowed to stand strong no matter what happens with the November election.

The Republican candidate for president has called for mass deportations.

Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, said it alarms many people in a county where more than one-third of the residents of all ethnicities are foreign-born, and about 60% of children have at least one immigrant parent.

"We've been engaged in scenario planning," Santana explained. "We've prepared our immigrant community so that they know their rights, that we have the proper defense, but also, we're advancing comprehensive immigration reform. That is really what's needed."

The summit was co-sponsored by the California Community Foundation, the Council of Immigrant Inclusion and the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California.

Manuel Pastor, director of the institute, said deportations would leave a huge hole in the economy and tear families apart.

"In L.A. County, about a fifth of all Angelenos are either undocumented themselves or living with a family member who is undocumented," Pastor pointed out. "Fear of deportation, problems with accessing services because of status, affect a wide number of families."

Researchers also released the 5th annual State of Immigrants in Los Angeles report, which found naturalizations and wages for immigrants are up over the past few years. It also recommended continued support for county programs providing legal aid and help people access services in their preferred language.


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The Missouri House of Representatives has formed a special committee to look into what the House Speaker refers to as crimes committed by immigrants living illegally in Missouri.

The formation of this committee has sparked a debate between those who see it as a necessary step for public safety and those who view it as a misuse of resources driven by political motives.

House Speaker Dean Plocher - R-St. Louis County - said he's convinced this committee's findings will increase the safety of Missourians.

"The message needs to be," said Plocher, "'If you're not here in the state of Missouri legally, you're going to be detained - and you're going to be deported if you're committing crimes.'"

Data provided by Customs and U.S. Border Protection show last year, there were more than 1,200 violent crimes by committed non-citizens in the U.S. nationwide, and more than 2,000 related to drug trafficking and possession.

The first committee hearing will be in Jefferson City on July 11.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith - D-Columbia - said this isn't an issue in Missouri, and believes the committee is a waste of time and resources. He said it's all being done for political talking points.

"If we are really serious about these issues," said Smith, "we would form a special committee on gun violence to crack down on the shootings that are happening all over our state, that need to be clamped down on."

Studies have repeatedly shown that immigrants - legal and illegal - are more law abiding than people born here.

Research from The Marshall Project has found no correlation between undocumented immigrants and a rise in violent crimes.

However, some committee members believe people living in the U.S. illegally are to blame for an increase in Fentanyl and sex trafficking.




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