Amid political promises of mass deportation under the incoming Trump administration, Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez introduced legislation Monday that will prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering school campuses.
“This is a devastating blow to the years of hard work and advocacy by communities affected by refinery air pollution,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez (D – Long Beach). “Fenceline communities urgently need improved air monitoring, and it shouldn’t be this difficult to establish a system that provides them with the most basic necessities—transparency and information about the toxic chemicals being released into their neighborhoods. I am deeply disappointed by this outcome, but we cannot walk away from this issue. Our communities demand and deserve stronger protections.”
“Students and their families deserve schools that offer a quality learning environment. With severe weather becoming more frequent in recent years due to climate change that also means updating our school facilities to handle these growing challenges.” said Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach). “I am thankful to the incredible organizations and community leaders who have helped us get this far, and I urge my Assembly colleagues for their support on the Assembly Floor for the Climate Resilient Schools Act so that we can help prepare our schools for the future.”
Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, introduced Senate Bill 537 to address injustices committed against Mexicans and Mexican Americans during the Great Depression.
Gonzalez, whose mother is a Mexican immigrant, said that the statue is important to combat “political rhetoric that basically is trying to bring back that history.”
El retiro de las elecciones de noviembre del referéndum SB-1137 patrocinado por las grandes corporaciones petroleras, no solo es un triunfo para las comunidades de justicia ambiental, sino para todo California.
“El éxito del Proyecto de Ley Senatorial 674 hoy es un hito prometedor y motivador para las comunidades cercadas”, dijo la Líder de la Mayoría González (D-Long Beach). “Este proyecto de ley establecerá un sistema estandarizado de monitoreo del aire que exige transparencia a las refinerías sobre los químicos tóxicos que liberan y garantiza que se implementen las mejores prácticas y tecnologías para prevenir los peligros de las refinerías que nuestras comunidades han soportado durante años. A medida que el proyecto de ley avanza hacia su etapa final, insto al gobernador Newsom a que lo promulgue para salvaguardar la salud y el bienestar de los californianos que han sido perjudicados por la contaminación de las refinerías durante demasiado tiempo”.
“The success of SB 674 today is a promising and motivating milestone for fenceline communities,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez (D-Long Beach). “This bill will establish a standardized air monitoring system that demands transparency from refineries about the toxic chemicals they release and ensure the best practices and technologies are in place to prevent the refinery dangers our communities have endured for years. As the bill moves to its final step, I urge Governor Newsom to sign it into law to safeguard the health and wellbeing of Californians who have been harmed by refinery pollution for far too long.”
