Trump deportation threats reduce school attendance

As the setting for John Steinbeck’s 1950s classic “East of Eden,” Salinas has long been known as a working-class, farming community. Nestled between two mountain ranges and located a few miles inland of Monterey Bay, the city’s geographic location lends itself a beautiful, serene setting. 

But recently, CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones explains, Salinas parents, students and teachers have been gripped with fear over President Donald Trump’s threats of mass deportations.

Salinas has one of the highest concentrations of immigrants in the state: In 2023, more than a third of the population was born in another country, and more than 80% are Latino. 

Within the first week of his second term, Trump issued several executive actions to increase deportations and expand the reach of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including authorizing agents to make arrests at schools and other “sensitive locations.” The president recently halted a program that provides legal representation to immigrant children.

Attendance at Salinas City Elementary School District has declined: In August about 95% of students showed up for class daily; by January that dropped to just over 91%.

The district operates four centers that nearly 4,000 families visit annually, which provide families with food, counseling and referrals for legal advice. Its office staff know to ask immigration agents for judicial (not administrative) warrants, and the district is considering remote virtual learning for children whose parents prefer keeping them home. 

• E., a mother of three in Salinas who asked not to be identified due to her immigration status: “I’m not worried about going back to Mexico. I’m afraid of being separated from my kids. My worst fear is that my 6-year-old will end up in a camp. … I don’t know what I would do.”

Read more here.

Last year lawmakers rushed a measure through to change protections for consumers who purchase defective cars, known colloquially as “lemons.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure into law a few months later. The law created new timetables and rules for consumers seeking reimbursement for shoddy vehicles. Proponents argued that the law was vital to reduce the backlog of so-called lemon law cases clogging the state’s court system.

But as CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow explains, automakers were split with their support of the law: Companies facing fewer lawsuits wanted more time to defend their disputes. So instead of vetoing the law, Newsom instead signed the law but included a directive to the Legislature to act quickly and amend it and allow car makers to opt out of the new process.

Because automakers can voluntarily follow the rules or not, there will be two different legal courses for consumers, depending on their vehicle — frustrating and confusing not only consumer advocates, but lawmakers who are now scrambling to revise the law that takes effect April 1.

• Sen. Roger Niello, a Roseville Republican whose family owns several car dealerships, during a hearing last week: “What we have is a messy and frankly — all due respect — illogical resulting situation. I feel like I’m in Alice in Wonderland. … What’s up is down and what’s down is up.”

Read more here.

Some state lawmakers have been busy unveiling environmental legislation:

Forever chemicals: As nearly 400 water systems in California don’t meet state safety standards, Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel of Encino introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the state’s water board to set and enforce water standards to protect residents from “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, linked to increased health risks. Sen. Jerry McNerney, a Stockton Democrat, also has a bill to create a state fund for cities to help them pay for PFAS cleanup in drinking water.

Both bills come after the Environmental Protection Agency, under the Biden administration, enacted rules to limit some of these chemicals in drinking water, which are being challenged in courts by industry groups representing water utilities and chemical companies.

Single-use vapes: Also Wednesday, Democratic Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks and Lori Wilson of Suisun City said they have a bill to ban the sale of single-use vapes in California. Citing a report by CALPIRG, a public health advocacy group, an estimated 4.5 vape containers are thrown out per second in the U.S. In addition to plastic, these containers — which are often used for a couple of days — include electronic components and non-removable batteries that together cannot be discarded sustainably. 

The rate of sales for California’s electric vehicles has slowed in 2024 compared to the year before. CalMatters climate reporter Alejandro Lazo and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on what this could mean for the state’s zero-emissions goal as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.