Fresno politicians hop aboard the Trump Train to blow smoke about sanctuary law, DEI | Opinion
Don’t look now, but the Trump Train is pulling into the Fresno station.
Just the ticket for three locally elected Republicans, two supervisors and the county sheriff, to climb aboard and blow smoke.
While President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Elon Musk can say and seemingly do whatever they wish, regardless of the facts, the Constitution or 238 years of subsequent laws and legal rulings in federal and state courts, local officials don’t get a free pass.
At least not from this crevice of our crumbling democracy.
Trump’s agenda for undocumented immigrants couldn’t be more obvious. He wants them all deported, including tens of thousands of Fresno County residents whose only crime is working crappy jobs.
Trump’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is equally single-minded. He aims to strike out 60 years of civil rights laws and return the country to the phony halcyon days of white male privilege.
Neither sentiment plays well in the central San Joaquin Valley, where undocumented people are a pillar of the economy and the median skin tone is brown.
Meaning our local electeds cannot come right out and parrot Trump on these issues. (Though Clovis councilmember Diane Pearce is sure trying.) But they can certainly draft off his new administration’s locomotive of shock and confusion.
First to board the Trump Train were Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni and Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig.
In a video posted on Magsig’s Facebook page, they took turns criticizing the California Values Act, a 2017 law that restricts the level of cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials over undocumented individuals in their jails. Magsig took it a step further, suggesting he’s “even open to getting involved with a lawsuit.”
State sanctuary law myths
The way Zanoni and Magsig made it sound, SB 54 compels local law enforcement to stay mum when an undocumented person in their custody also happens to be a dangerous and violent criminal. And that they’re prohibited from notifying ICE (U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement) until the individual is back on the street.
“I cannot do a simple thing as just pick up the phone and contact ICE,” Zanoni said at one point. “So, really, it diminishes our ability to provide public safety.”
That’s simply not the case. In fact, SB 54 provides little to no sanctuary for individuals convicted of roughly 800 crimes. People convicted of just about any felony during the last 15 years, from violent offenses to drunk driving, are not protected. Neither are those convicted within the past five years of misdemeanors that are also punishable as a felony. That covers everything from battery to unlawful weapons possession to vandalism.
In such instances and more, local law enforcement are allowed to let ICE know when those individuals are scheduled for release and can even hand them over to federal authorities.
So when Zanoni claims he can’t contact ICE about a “previously deported, aggravated felon” arrested for DUI while driving “two times the legal limit,” his words beg further scrutiny.
Does the Sheriff not know the full extent of the law? Or is he being purposefully misleading?
That doesn’t mean SB 54 can’t be improved. Perhaps more crimes should be added and loopholes closed or tightened. In certain instances when there is clear evidence of guilt, maybe we need not wait for a conviction. Simply deport the person on the spot.
If Magsig and Zanoni share those thoughts, or if they believe the sheriffs and ICE should work hand in hand, come right out and say so. Have an honest conversation with the community. Don’t make distortions that can be easily refuted.
Bredefeld solo tackles DEI
Last week’s third Trump Train passenger was Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, who held a press conference to tell the world he has directed the county’s Department of Human Resources to remove all “DEI language” from its job postings.
“DEI programs unlawfully inject bias into hiring practices and government operations, promoting preferences based on race, gender and identity, rather than merit and qualification,” Bredefeld said.
Bredefeld presented no evidence to back those claims. Nor could he cite a single instance when the county’s hiring practices led to a lesser applicant getting a job over someone more qualified.
But when your primary aim is to carve out 90 seconds on the 6 o’clock news, none of that matters.
Not every DEI program and policy is worth defending. Still, DEI language in job postings and hiring policies didn’t just materialize for no reason. It became necessary because for decades white men kept getting most of the best jobs, and usually at the expense of more qualified women and minorities.
Which couldn’t have been further from the merit-based equality and colorblindness Bredefeld speaks so passionately about.
Perhaps we’ve evolved as a society where DEI is no longer needed or unnecessarily divisive. Those discussions are worth having. But, again, let’s have an honest conversation rather than kowtow to actions of a single politician because he enjoys being the center of attention.
Of course, there’s no room on the Trump Train for checks and balances, nor easily researched facts. It’s full steam ahead.
