Quick Take
In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory Tuesday, a broad coalition of public and private sector leaders, including county officials, law enforcement, health care leaders and educators, is pledging to protect Santa Cruz County’s immigrants. In Watsonville, nonprofit organizations are beginning to navigate the potential impacts a second Trump presidency could have on the city’s large undocumented population and how they’ll reassure the community the next four years.
Community leaders representing county government, public schools, law enforcement, health care and more will gather Thursday to pledge their support of Santa Cruz County’s immigrant population in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s election Tuesday to a second term.
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Justin Cummings, County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios, soon-to-be-Sheriff Chris Clark, County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah and other local law enforcement, school, health care and city officials will gather on the steps of the Santa Cruz County courthouse at 1 p.m. Thursday “to discuss protections for and solidarity with immigrant communities in light of the recent election.”
Officials plan to distribute a letter “outlining some of the legal protections and policies in place to prevent adverse actions.”
Santa Cruz County has an estimated 19,500 undocumented immigrants, and a vast majority of them are farmworkers. They’ve long been part of the social fabric, and increasingly embraced by neighbors. In Watsonville, for example, Measure V on Tuesday’s ballot — which would allow residents regardless of immigration status to apply for positions on city boards — is poised to pass.
The state of California protects undocumented immigrants in various ways, including provisions in state law guaranteeing them rights as renters and in employment. Under the “Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds Act,” law enforcement agencies are required to provide undocumented individuals in their custody with basic due process and information about their rights should federal immigration authorities seek to make contact with them.
Shock and disbelief about what might be in store in a second Trump presidency were common themes Wednesday among advocates concerned about Watsonville’s undocumented community.
The next few months will be dedicated to figuring out safe spaces for people, said Wendy Gabbe Day, development and events director for nonprofit Center for Farmworker Families.
“I would love to say we saw this coming, but maybe it was just denial. We have been through this before. We’ve dealt with the similar administration and issues, and it was scary, and we got through it,” said Gabbe Day.
During the first Trump presidency, Gabbe Day said that the Center for Farmworker Families had to fly under the radar and continuously change the locations of its monthly distributions. In comparison, over the past four years the organization has been able to support the undocumented farmworking community at one location and has felt really safe, she said.
“I think returning to navigating kind of ‘secret’ distributions — I don’t mean secret — but we are really scared of that,” said Gabbe Day. “It was scary, especially during the pandemic as well, just having to support people in hiding spaces.”
The No. 1 priority for Ann Lopez, executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families, is keeping farm workers safe, she said. This community is vulnerable and already deals with deportation anxiety, she said.
Similarly, local nonprofit Community Action Board will also be turning back to strategies from 2017, said its programs and impact director, Paz Padilla. The nonprofit is bringing back red cards that detail what rights undocumented individuals have when encountering certain scenarios, such as not having to open the door if an immigration agent is knocking.
Padilla said that Community Action Board will be discussing its plans and how to navigate the next four years this week.
“I think as an agency, Community Action Board wants to let the community know that we got their backs and we’re going to continue doing the advocacy that we have done for so many years,” said Padilla. “We will continue fighting that fight and protect those most vulnerable in our community. It’s something that we have done, we’ll continue doing it, and in a way that the community feels safe as we move forward with these next four years.”
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