Concerns about ICE, Other News from Sen. Blakespear

Greetings!

It’s impossible to escape ICE arrests – and news about them – across California. Video taken by bystanders of people being snatched off the streets by federal agents without disclosing who they are or withholding judicial warrants to family members is frightening and heartbreaking.

They are traumatizing to those being arrested‚ and their families‚ and to the communities in which this happening. Furthermore‚ video has shown some of these arrests to include excessive force‚ unnecessary brutality or utter cruelty‚ such as tearing people away from their crying children. 

This is inhumane‚ barbaric and deeply disturbing. The President said the aim was to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records‚ but the evidence shows that most of the undocumented immigrants he is arresting have no criminal records. Many are hardworking individuals doing valuable jobs and are devoted to their families and contributing to their communities. 

As the Los Angeles Times reported‚ a recent poll shows that more than two-thirds of Californians disapprove of the way immigration enforcement is being handled. 

We should be working to secure our borders‚ invest in order and public safety‚ and create a path to amnesty for those who are hardworking‚ good people. In a nation that prides itself on civil liberties and constitutional rights‚ as a model of modern democracy‚ and as a nation of immigrants‚ what we’re seeing is unacceptable and frankly un-American. 

Often times ICE agents swoop in without identification or a warrant and simply “disappear” people – shove them into an unmarked vehicle and whisk them away. This is what happens in police states‚ and it should not happen here. 

I encourage Congress and the President to find a smarter‚ more civilized‚ more American way to address our present immigration issues and deal with undocumented immigrants who are here‚ working‚ paying taxes‚ supporting their families and our economy‚ and abiding by our laws.
 

To hear my floor speech on why I voted for this measure‚ click on the image above.

Recently the California Legislature voted for‚ and the Governor signed‚ a measure to hold a statewide election on Nov. 4 on whether the state should draw new lines for congressional districts to counteract what is happening in Texas. 

I know people feel strongly about this – and I’ve heard from plenty of you on both sides‚ those who are supportive and those who are opposed. 

That’s why I’m glad to put the question to voters themselves to decide. 

I hope you will read up on the issue and consider your position carefully‚ and please vote on Nov. 4!

Advocates for keeping Santa Fe Drive safe gathered for a press conference with me and then rode bicycles along the route.

I am glad to see strong support for keeping the key safety features recently completed along Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas. I joined together with local leaders to urge the Encinitas City Council to reject any proposal to remove core safety features along the recently completed $4.1 million western phase of the Santa Fe Drive Corridor Improvements Project‚ which is outside the city’s largest public high school.

The project is a data-driven design that improves safety and circulation along a half-mile stretch of thoroughfare heavily used by students‚ faculty and families at San Dieguito Academy High School‚ which serves 2‚300 students‚ faculty and staff. The corridor and adjacent streets have been the site of multiple tragedies‚ including the death of 15-year-old Brodee Champlain-Kingman in June 2023 while he was riding his bike to the high school.

The Encinitas City Council will be considering tearing out key features of this project‚ which would be unsafe‚ costly and wasteful. That would be a terrible mistake.

MEDIA COVERAGE

San Diego Union-Tribune: Parents‚ teachers and area politicians urge Encinitas to preserve Santa Fe Drive changes

Times of San Diego: Blakespear among those urging Encinitas to commit to safety measures along busy corridor

The Jeannie Hall at UC San Diego (photo on right) was a terrific location to hold a dynamic‚ thought-provoking discussion on how to better tackle homelessness. I moderated one panel (photo on left) with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria‚ San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. 
 

I have hosted an “Ending Homelessness Summit” for three years running now. This year’s event was focused on “unsheltered” or “street” homelessness‚ as that segment is the most devastating and most acute. You can watch the entire summit on the video link below.

I have come to believe that we must make eliminating unsheltered homelessness our No. 1 priority. The best thing we could do is move everyone living on the streets or camping in public spaces into shelter of some kind‚ and we could do that by building tiny modular homes at scale. 

The normalization of street homelessness reflects a collective failure of will‚ not a lack of solutions. This summit demonstrated that. 

Participants included those above and also Dhakshike Wickrema‚ the Deputy Secretary of Homelessness‚ California Business‚ Consumer Services and Housing Agency; Elizabeth Funk‚ Founder and CEO of Dignity Moves; Katie Melendez‚ Vista Deputy Mayor and Councilmember; Stephen Whitburn‚ San Diego City Councilmember; and Summer Stephan‚ San Diego County District Attorney.

Thanks to all who participated‚ and all who attended or watched via livestream. 

VIDEO

Watch the summit or read the program here.

MEDIA COVERAGE

San Diego Union-Tribune: End all homelessness? Some leaders are now more focused on encampments.

NBC 7 San Diego: Local and state leaders hold summit on homelessness

Our event at the University of San Diego not only included a film screening and panel discussion (left photo) but also information sharing from community groups (photo on right).
 

On Aug. 12‚ I hosted a screening of the PBS News Student Reporting Labs documentary Run‚ Fight‚ Hide: Growing Up Under the Gun‚ followed by a panel discussion about what can be done to reduce gun violence through advocacy‚ legislation and enforcement.

We also held a reception with information tables featuring 20 local and national gun prevention organizations prior to the start of the event.

If you haven’t seen the outstanding documentary depicting what it’s like for children growing up with the pervasive threat of gun violence‚ you can see it on YouTube. Go here.

After watching the film‚ we had an engaging panel discussion with Sarah Youssef‚ the student host and creator of the film; Professor Topher McDougal of the University of San Diego; Heather Ferbert‚ the San Diego City Attorney; and Captain Bernie Colon of the San Diego Police Department.

I have worked hard to strengthen California’s gun safety laws‚ but there’s always more we can do. We should not rest until we can raise our children in a society in which we don’t live in fear every day of potentially being shot.

Our panel discussion on medical aid in dying and other end-of-life choices drew a large crowd at the Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center in Mission Viejo. Thanks to our participants (right photo‚ left to right) Mark Greenberg‚ Executive Director for End of Life Choices California; Rev. Madison Shockley‚ who is on the Board of Directors for Compassion and Choices; Donald Moore‚ MD and Founder of Autonomy Health; and Janet Hager‚ Founding Director of A Better Exit.

On Aug. 14‚ I held a forum in Orange County to discuss California’s End of Life Option Act (EOFOA) and associated issues concerning medical aid in dying. This is a topic that many people are very interested in‚ I have learned‚ either because they have friends or family that have had painful terminal illnesses or because they have contemplated what options and personal control they may want if ever confronted with such a situation.

We had an insightful discussion (see video link below) in which many questions from the audience were asked and answered. 

I am a firm believer in continuing with California’s EOLOA‚ which was enacted in 2016. It gives terminally ill adults with less than six months to live the option to avoid the suffering‚ anxiety and uncertainty that comes with a painful disease and take control of their own exit from life.

That is a deeply personal decision‚ of course‚ that should be left to each individual person. Nine years of data show the law is working as intended and being safely practiced. There have been no reported problems or abuses. 

That’s why I have sought to keep the law from expiring. My legislation‚ SB 403‚ would eliminate the 2031 sunset date for the measure. 

Ten other states have similar laws. For many people‚ there is great comfort in knowing they have the right to bodily autonomy at the end of their lives.

I also recently met with Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) visiting the California State Senate to learn more about medical-aid-in-dying laws and my legislation. Here I am with the Scottish delegation. Pictured (left to right) are: Alyson Thomson‚ Annie Wells MSP‚ Michelle Thomson MSP‚ myself‚ Roz McCall MSP and Catherine S. Forest MD MPH.

VIDEO

Watch the forum here.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Orange County Register: California‚ will you really take away freedoms‚ too?

Orange County Register: Will life insurance pay? Does God approve? Burning questions about Medical Aid in Dying

I joined fellow lawmakers‚ recyclers‚ businesses‚ environmental leaders and other advocates at a recent Capitol press conference to call for strong regulations for implementing SB 54‚ legislation aimed at reducing plastic waste and packaging. To my right is Sen. Ben Allen‚ the author of the legislation.

Passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2022‚ SB 54 makes producers responsible for reducing plastic in packaging design‚ investing in effective recycling and compositing infrastructure‚ and paying for the waste generated by their products. The law sets clear education and recycling/composting targets for packaging and foodware‚ and shifts the costs from the public and local governments to the companies that profit from these products.

A recent state analysis estimates implementing SB 54 could deliver $32 billion in net benefits and reduce plastic waste by 1.9 billion pounds if implemented with integrity.

Forcing producers to take responsibility for their packaging is the next logical step in combating California’s plastic waste epidemic. We need CalRecycle to get this right to maximize the benefits to consumers‚ ratepayers and the state as a whole.

VIDEO

Watch the press conference here.

MEDIA COVERAGE

San Jose Mercury News: “The oceans are choking on plastic.” Environmentalists‚ lawmakers urge Newsom not to weaken plastic pollution law.

I joined 25 volunteers to pick 2‚800 pounds of lemons at an Encinitas orchard on a recent Friday.

Every time I join ProduceGood for one of its gleaning events‚ I am impressed! ProduceGood‚ which I honored as Senate District 38 Nonprofit of the Year for 2024‚ has been fighting hunger in San Diego County since 2014. 

The organization recruits backyard growers‚ farmers markets and grocery retailers to create an outlet for surplus produce that feeds individuals and families struggling with hunger. ProduceGood engages in gleaning‚ which is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields and orchards after they have been commercially harvested or when it is not economically profitable to harvest. 

The fruit we picked went to Cape Cod Senior Village in Oceanside‚ Libby Lake Community Center in Oceanside and the San Diego Food Bank‚ providing food security to those who need it and reducing methane emissions from organic material going to landfills.

To volunteer for a harvesting session‚ visit ProduceGood’s website.

Thank you for your support. I am honored to serve you.

In partnership‚

Email me at Senator.Blakespear@Senate.ca.gov
Call my Encinitas district office at (760) 642-0809
Call my Laguna Hills district office at (949) 598-5850
Call my Capitol office in Sacramento at (916) 651-4038