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Governor recounts ICE raids' effects on families, says CHP and LAPD investigating journalists' safety
Summary
The governor described raids that detained long-term residents and left children temporarily alone, called for comprehensive immigration reform and said two investigations — one led by the California Highway Patrol and one by the LAPD — were under way into reported incidents involving journalists.
The governor recounted visits to communities affected by recent immigration enforcement raids and described cases in which long-term residents were detained and children were left without caregivers. "I met a 12 year old boy... His mother and father were both detained. They disappeared," the governor said, describing a visit in Oxnard, Ventura County.
The governor gave multiple accounts of families affected: a 12-year-old boy whose parents were detained after more than 20 years in the U.S.; a single mother detained at 5:45 a.m. who was held for nearly two hours before agents allowed her to call her 16-year-old daughter; and a young woman whose husband had "quite literally disappeared," according to the governor. He said the parents had "no criminal record." These were presented as firsthand accounts the governor said he had observed during visits.
The governor said images showed ICE officers running through strawberry fields and Customs and Border Protection helicopters above, and he said the raids were "indiscriminate" and not aimed only at people with criminal records. "It's not about criminals," he said, and added that the raids risked "terrorizing" families.
On reporters' safety, the governor said two investigations were under way: one with the California Highway Patrol and an independent investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. "There's 2 investigations. The 1 we initiated with the California Highway Patrol, and there's 1 that has been initiated independent, by the LAPD," he said, adding that "Reporters absolutely should feel safe, and we'll get to the bottom of it." The governor said he did not want to prejudge the outcomes.
He called for comprehensive immigration reform and "a pathway to citizenship for people being here 10, 15, 20 years," and urged the public to consider the role of immigrant labor in food and construction when they shop or eat. He linked the enforcement actions to broader constitutional and democratic concerns he had been discussing that day.
