California is continuing its wall of resistance to Donald Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant policies, with three major cities either introducing or passing measures boycotting companies bidding on his border monstrosity (that Mexico isn’t paying for):
Oakland became the second city in the nation to spurn businesses interested in working on the wall after Berkeley passed a similar measure last week. In San Francisco, Supervisor Hillary Ronen introduced legislation Tuesday that would ban companies that bid on the wall from contracting with the city.
Oakland’s resolution directs the City Attorney to refrain from entering any new contracts with or purchasing any professional services from companies providing goods or services to construct the border wall, as long as there’s no significant additional cost or conflict with existing law.
The resolution also calls on the state’s retirement system, CalPERS, to divest from companies involved in constructing the wall.
“Rather than build walls, we need to be building housing,” said Oakland Councilman Abel Guillén, “pointing out that Oakland is a city of immigrants and refugees, with 27 percent of its residents being foreign-born, including many from Mexico. “
Last Friday, observers in Old City Hall chamber cheered when Berkeley became first in the nation to pass a measure divesting from companies colluding with the Trump regime. Mayor Jesse Arreguín:
“We as a community do not stand for building walls, but breaking down walls. We’re not going to stand for what I think are racist and xenophobic policies that marginalize our immigrant population.”
Arreguín, the city’s first Latino mayor, highlighted the undeniable fact that immigrants have helped build this nation (not to mention Trump’s empire):
“The City of Berkeley recognizes the harm and stigma such action causes Latino people in California and throughout the nation. We recognize that immigration has been a part of our country’s history since its founding and do not believe in demonizing people of Mexican and Latin American descent.”
In San Francisco, Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Aaron Peskin introduced their measure earlier this week and should easily get a vote from the board this month:
“What we are saying is that we are not going to spend billions of dollars and line the pockets of businesses that engage in work that goes against the values that we hold most dear. “
U.S. taxpayers stand to be billed up to $50 billion for the wall, at the expense of Meals on Wheels, FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard. That is, if they even can figure out how to physically build the thing, especially when it comes to private land, tribal land, and physical terrain including rivers. Pretty sad for a guy who once claimed “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”