Immigrant and farm worker rights advocates call on Sheriff Donny Youngblood to honor state law protecting noncriminal undocumented immigrants

Immigrant and farm worker rights advocates call on Sheriff Donny Youngblood to honor state law protecting noncriminal undocumented immigrants 

BAKERSFIELD, CA — The United Farm Workers, UFW Foundation and Dolores Huerta Foundation will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at 800 Truxtun Ave., in Bakersfield calling on Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood to follow the law and enforce California’s TRUST Act, which prohibits local law enforcement officials from detaining noncriminal undocumented immigrants for federal ICE authorities.

"Sheriff Youngblood needs to enforce California’s TRUST Act without trying to undermine the new state law by picking and choosing what sections of the law he wants or wishes to implement," said UFW President Arturo S. Rodriguez.

The TRUST Act states that local law enforcement cannot detain an undocumented person for ICE authorities unless they have been convicted of a felony, with a few exceptions. The TRUST Act affects anyone who the Sheriff or other local law enforcement officers have held for ICE since January 1, 2014.

Earlier this year, Sheriff Youngblood publicly stated he would not comply with the TRUST Act.  He since indicated in a private meeting with the American Civil Liberties Union and members of Kern Coalition for Citizenship (KC4C), which includes the UFW and UFW Foundation, last week that he will comply with the law but said he planned to carve out an exception for individuals that ICE had deemed as “threats to public safety,” which would violate the law and result in the illegal detention of individuals.

At the press conference, the UFW Foundation will also provide “Know Your Rights” information, so community members know what to do and where to call to report any suspected violations of the TRUST Act.

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