Yesterday, our Republican-dominated Board of Supervisors stood with Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions. They decided to join his lawsuit against California and divide our community. This is politics at its worst. The Board is doing this because 2 of their members are running for higher office — one of them in the 39th district. They have decided that the way to get ahead in the polls is to attack immigrants.
Considering the fact that Hillary won Orange County by nearly 5% and the 39th district by 8.6%, its not the smartest long-term politics, but it is the extreme direction of today’s Republican Party. Their only hope is that our voters don’t show up in November.
It doesn’t matter that our County is rich in diversity and immigrants play a critical role in our economy. It doesn’t matter that turning local law enforcement in to immigration agents stretches public safety resources and harms community trust. This trust is essential for immigrant communities to work with law enforcement in reporting crimes and serving as witnesses. It also doesn’t matter that we have invested in the education of Dreamers and should be promoting their advancement for the enrichment of the entire County. All that matters is their extreme primary politics.
I stood up to the Board before yesterday’s vote. You can watch my remarks here.
During the course of this campaign, I will continue to stand for immigrants against Republican bullies. I am the son of immigrants from South America and the Middle East. My family comes from those “sh#thole countries” that Trump likes to talk about. I believe we are the welcoming America of President Obama, not Trump’s divisive America. But we need to fight to preserve that.
Below is the letter I sent to the Board urging they reject Trump’s backward and divisive politics. The only thing left for us to do now is punish them at the polls.
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Dear Members of the Board:
I am writing in opposition to this morning’s resolution directing the County Counsel to take legal action on the CA Values Act. The Steel resolution and the recommendation for the County Counsel to take legal action sends the wrong message to members of our community while harming our local economy and tying the hands of local law enforcement.
Orange County is one of the most diverse counties in the country. In my community of Fullerton, we have families from all over the world owning small businesses and receiving an education in our schools. Immigrants are adding not only to our economy, but also our culture. Today’s resolution – while claiming to be solely focused on undocumented immigrants – cuts against the community we are building throughout Orange County. The resolution focuses on the undocumented, but the organizations who are advocating for this resolution have a long history of opposition to legal immigration. Likewise, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made it his life’s work to attack and undermine immigrant communities regardless of their legal status. For a County that relies on tourism and is a shining example of the melting pot that is America, the Steel resolution does not send a welcoming message and is detrimental to our community.
The reality is that we have undocumented immigrants working in our stores, picking our fruits, learning in our schools, praying with us on Sundays and parenting children in our community. They are as much a part of Orange County as any of us. The best solution to addressing undocumented immigration is supporting immigrant integration and calling on Congress to do its job and pass bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform. Certainty for workers, families and our business community is essential in any immigration bill.
Supervisor Steel’s resolution not only divides, but also appears to be helping the political agendas of some on this Board. Taxpayers should not be footing the bill to promote the political agendas of candidates for higher office. The cost to the County is not just the use of County Counsel resources, but also the potential use of an outside law firm. If the County decides to intervene as a party to the lawsuit, there is also the risk of costly discovery. Suing to send a political message is a terrible way to govern. Especially when those whom the message is intended to impact are contributing millions to our local economy. Taxpayers deserve better.
The better course of action for the Board is to stand for all residents of Orange County and support smart governing solutions. Law enforcement leaders from across the country have recognized that community trust is key to effective policing. But people are less likely to report a crime if they fear deportation when they come in to contact with local law enforcement. As a result, domestic violence and sexual assault claims go unreported. The very criminal activity that the Board appears to be concerned about also becomes harder for police to investigate because communities – regardless of immigration status – are less likely to trust law enforcement and participate in investigations when local law enforcement is forced to act as immigration agents.
I understand that this is an election year and you may take my comments as solely those of a candidate. I appreciate your skepticism, but, as someone who like you believes in public service, let’s take a step back and look at what’s in the long-term interests of Orange County. Undocumented immigrants are a large part of our local economy. They are the parents of our students and Dreamers are some of the best students in our schools. We have invested in them and they have returned the favor by adding to who we are. While we can’t control when Washington will finally take steps to address our broken immigration system, we can send a united message that we want leadership.
I ask that you reject the Steel resolution and convene bi-partisan leaders from across Orange County to participate in a unified statement that we demand Congress finally act on immigration. We may not agree on all of the details, but we can all agree that the status quo is untenable. This is the type of leadership we need in Orange County in these divided times, not political posturing at the expense of marginalized communities.
Please consider how the Steel resolution will divide us and be a leader in keeping our increasingly diverse community together as one. I can be reached for follow-up at sam@sam4congress.com.
Respectfully,
Sam Jammal
Candidate in California’s 39th Congressional District
Sam Jammal is a former Obama Administration, Chief of Staff in Congress and clean energy entrepreneur. He grew up in the 39th district to working class, immigrant parents from South America and the Middle East. Jammal is the only candidate in the field for the 39th district with experience in the federal government and in the innovation economy. If elected, Jammal would be the first Member of Congress of Latino and Arab American descent. Jammal's first ad of the campaign highlights his unique background. If you would like to support his campaign you can donate here or sign up to get updates from the field.