PICO California, Faith in Action East Bay, CIPC and local clergy urge Senate to advance AB 2465, a nation leading bill to hold corporations accountable and stop subsidizing the separation of families
UNION CITY, Calif. – Assemblymember Liz Ortega joined PICO California, Faith in Action East Bay, the California Immigrant Policy Center, local clergy, immigrant justice advocates and community members Wednesday at Our Lady of the Rosary Church to call for passage of AB 2465, the ‘No Taxpayer Dollars for Family Separation Act’.
Rooted in the conviction that families are sacred, speakers urged California lawmakers to use the state’s authority over public benefits to protect human dignity and the common good. AB 2465 would make companies ineligible for specified California grants, loans and tax credits when they are materially tied to private detention facilities or defined immigration-enforcement services. The bill would also establish the Due Process for All Fund to support immigration-related services and programs.
“This was never about public safety, this has always been about corruption and money. They are locking up our families for profit and killing our communities, our neighbors, our fathers, our brothers for profit.
AB 2465 says no more. We will not continue to pay for this reign of terror. Our tax dollars will not be used to continue to attack our communities. We will stand up and say no more tax cuts, loans or subsidies for corporations who brag about hunting down our community members.” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro), author of AB 2465.
Faith leaders described detention and deportation as forces that destabilize children, households, congregations, schools, workplaces and whole communities. They framed tax credits, grants and loans as expressions of public priorities and called on California to direct shared resources toward families, dignity and the common good.
“Families are sacred. Families are the core and the source of our nation’s strength. America cannot be great if it is not just. AB 2465 helps America become more just.” said BK Woodson, Senior Pastor Bay Area Christian Connection.
“We all have a moral responsibility to ensure our public resources reflect our values.” Minister Arlington Tugwell, Oakland-based faith leader. “That is why I am asking the California Senate to move AB 2465 forward and vote yes. California public dollars should protect families, not reward practices that tear them apart. AB 2465 offers hope, stability and accountability.”
The coalition presented AB 2465 as a first-of-its-kind nation leading model for addressing the financial incentives that sustain detention and deportation. California controls eligibility for its own public benefits and can set a clear public-interest standard before more harm reaches families.
“ We are a proud co-sponsor of AB 2465, a first in the nation bill to further dismantle the detention and deportation machine. AB 2465 would ensure state resources do not indirectly subsidize business practices that conflict with California’s public policy and values by prohibiting large corporations that invest in, manage or operate private detention facilities from receiving taxpayer funded grants, loans or tax credits. California should not be subsidizing the very corporations that profit from tearing our families apart.” said Cameron Sasai, policy coordinator for detention and deportation at the California Immigrant Policy Center.
AB 2465 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is scheduled to hear the bill on August 3.
The tax-credit provisions in AB 2465 focus on private detention operators and very large publicly traded companies that provide specified covered services under contract. The measure also includes protections for health care providers and qualifying nonprofit housing structures, so services that benefit families remain intact.
Wednesday’s gathering kicked off the coalition’s final push to get AB 2465 through its final legislative committees and to the Governor’s desk urgently. The coalition is calling on Senate Appropriations to move AB 2465 forward on August 3, the full Senate to vote expeditiously, and Governor Gavin Newsom to sign the bill if it reaches his desk as soon as possible to help protect more families from separation.