Newsom vetoes deportation protection bill

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, October 20th.

A plan to keep some non-US citizens out of ICE custody is vetoed.More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines.

California Governor Gavin Newsom will spend today (Friday) in Israel.

He’s the latest high-profile American to visit the U-S ally.

It’s been nearly 2-weeks since Hamas militants carried out a deadly attack on Southern Israel, followed by ongoing airstrikes by the Israeli military on the Gaza Strip.

Newsom’s exact itinerary has not been announced.

The Governor’s office says there are plans for California to send medical supplies to the region, including the Gaza Strip.

America’s newest Senator says her time on Capitol Hill will be temporary.

Yesterday (Thursday), Laphonza Butler announced she will not run for the seat vacated by the death of Dianne Feinstein.

It’s already a crowded field for the 2024 race, which includes several prominent democrats in congress. Butler will continue to serve for about a year, until a new Senator takes office in January of 2025.

It’s a better situation for drivers in the County, as gas prices cool off.

Triple-A says the local average for a gallon of regular has dropped every day for the past 3 weeks.

The drop coincides with a recent decision by Governor Newsom to allow oil refineries in California to switch to a less expensive winter-blend ahead of schedule.

The local average is now 5-67 after topping 6-dollars, earlier this month.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

California passed a bill that would block prisons from handing some non-citizens over to ICE.

But Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed it.

Advocates told border reporter Gustavo Solis they’re deeply disappointed.

Sanctuary laws already limit local police and sheriff’s departments from helping federal immigration agencies deport people. But those laws don’t apply to state jails.

The HOME Act would have changed that. More than 100 organizations supported the bill. And not one single group opposed it. Still, Newsom vetoed it.

“The response is, of course, very frustrated, very discouraged to hear that he’s vetoed. But we don’t give up. We’re not going to give up, we’re going to keep fighting.”

Robert Vivar is with the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium.

He says what happens is people who’ve earned parole are then given to ICE to be deported. That includes veterans, and people who’ve been released under criminal justice reforms. 

“You might say that’s double jeopardy you’re paying twice for the same mistake.”

 In a statement, Newsom says existing law already strikes the right balance in these cases. He says non-citizens are already protected from deportation. And local agencies can communicate with federal ones. 

Gustavo Solis, KPBS News.

Cars can be a lifeline for people experiencing homelessness, but when night time comes, they face the challenge of finding a safe space.

North County reporter Tania Thorne says Oceanside is the next city in the county considering a safe parking site.

Every week, Sunny Soto spends her mornings serving breakfast to homeless and vulnerable individuals. 

She’s been doing this for the past 8 years and in 2021 she started a petition calling for safe lots for RVs in Oceanside. 

These are small little solution preventing people ending up on the streets. Not just aiding people on the streets. 

That is why the Oceanside city council discussed the possibility of a safe parking site at Wednesday’s meeting. 

This could be the third safe parking site in North County. 

Jewish Family Services runs the sites in Encinitas and Vista.

Oceanside staff will begin to identify sites and a provider to run the safe parking site. 

A plan is expected to be presented to council in January. 

TT KPBS News. 

San Diego police continue to enforce curfew with juvenile diversion programs. But reporter Katie Hyson found their records don’t reflect that.

San Diego police records used to report the punishment for curfew arrests. Often a diversion program, sometimes juvenile hall. But beginning in 2019, their arrest records started listing “null” instead.

By that time, most large cities in California had stopped enforcing curfew. When I asked the police department why they changed how they were punishing curfew, they did not respond.

I reported a story about curfew in September and Jill Edwards Pham heard it on the radio. While, she says, she was driving her son to his interview for a juvenile diversion program. For being out after curfew.

Pham reached out to me. I visited her at her home in the Allied Gardens neighborhood.

I'd heard about curfew laws, but I did not realize that there was a punishment .

Was that surprising to you?

Absolutely. Especially with this level of punishment. I think it's absurd.

Police stopped her 15-year-old son who was a passenger in a car out past 10 p.m. His father is Vietnamese, and Pham says the other boys in the car were not white.

San Diego police overwhelmingly arrest Black and Latino youth for curfew. In 2022, they made up more than three quarters of the arrests.

SDPD did not respond to questions regarding curfew punishments and their records.

Pham’s son was sentenced to a diversion program in order to keep the arrest off his record. He has to attend five workshops on topics like decision-making and values, complete 10 hours of community service and handwrite a 600-word essay.

Pham says if he doesn’t complete those requirements within three months, he can be referred back to the police department for a misdemeanor. And, she says, she will be issued an arrest warrant if she fails to appear in court.

How does that feel as a – 

Horrifying. Horrifying. I think that the police are there to protect and not – I would not think that this level of punishment is appropriate for a 15 year old child who is out after 10:00 p.m.

What do you think would be appropriate?

I think the police, if they find kids on the street and they say, okay, it's a bit late, I'll call your parents, parents come and pick you up.

The diversion program is in City Heights, and Pham and her husband both work full-time. She says organizing transportation is a burden. She thinks of the other families who may not have a car, or may not be able to navigate the paperwork as easily.

She says this has been her introduction to what it’s like to grow up in America.

When I was in Queensland in the 1980s, we were considered to be living under a police state. So this may have been I think this was even worse than what we would have experienced.

Mike Males, senior researcher for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, calls curfew a very American policy. And antiquated.

I don't know why San Diego is creating a crime here.

Research overwhelmingly shows curfew is not effective at reducing crime, and Males could not think of another city in California that still enforces it.

In fact, he says –

There's no particular approach to juveniles once they're arrested, that's effective. The truth is, you really just don't want to be arresting people in the first place. That creates a criminal record. It creates a lot of antagonism.

Males also takes issue that SDPD records no longer show the punishments for curfew arrests.

They shouldn't be getting away with just saying we're not going to report what we're doing with them.

When I first reached out to Males, he didn’t know that San Diego was still enforcing curfew. The state’s online records, which are meant to provide transparency, list 0 curfew arrests for San Diego in 2021 and 2022. Despite the hundreds of arrests SDPD recorded.

Pham says this experience has shifted how she and her son view the police.

I would avoid contact with the police because I'm really worried that if something this minor can lead to that level of punishment, imagine if you did actually do something wrong, then it would be catastrophic to a 15 year old child to be in so much trouble. 

And it would be hard to get out of that system, I believe.

In the more than 5 weeks that I have repeatedly asked the police department about this lack of transparency and incomplete records, they have not provided any answers.

Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

Coming up.... we go to a local elementary school to hear how kids are learning about dia de muertos.

We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

The upcoming Dia de los Muertos holiday… is an opportunity to learn more about Mexican culture.

Education reporter M-G Perez tells us how some students are studying the tradition.

November 2nd ….is celebrated around the world as the Day of the Dead.

Dia de los Muertos is a traditional holiday honoring loved ones who have passed away. 

Many students at the Language Academy in the College Area…are immersed in the Spanish language and culture.

In the next week…they are studying altars known as ofrendas…that include memories and favorite items of their lost family and friends.

8-year old Mia Ackerman says incense is important.

“It was something they put on their altar to keep the bad spirits away and so the good ones can be here without any danger or problems.”

KPBS is hosting a digital community ofrenda you can submit a memory celebrating a loved one…at our website -- KPBS dot org slash day of the dead. MG Perez, KPBS News.

Errol Morris is a documentary filmmaker who has tackled topics as diverse as the pet burial industry and capital punishment.

His latest film, The Pigeon Tunnel, starts streaming on Apple today.

Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando says the documentary serves up a compelling conversation with author John Le Carré.

The Pigeon Tunnel opens with filmmaker Errol Morris having the tables turned as his subject asks him, “Who are you?”

This is a performance art. You need to know whether you're performing to the trade union, an elite audience. You need to know something about the ambitions of the people you're talking to.

David Cornwell, better known by his pen name of John Le Carré, worked for British Intelligence and knew how to conduct an interrogation, says Morris.

There was this sort of idea that there were two interrogators in a room. But I wasn't interrogating him. 

Instead Morris wanted to have a conversation. The result is a riveting documentary in which Cornwell  is endlessly fascinating and delightful. Their conversation is so rich and delicious that I was sad when it ended and wished it had gone on for hours. 

Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

It’s going to be a busy weekend for sports in San Diego.

The SDSU football team is back at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night for a game against division rival, Nevada.

And on Sunday night, San Diego Loyal will compete in the United Soccer League playoffs at U-S-D. The match will be broadcast locally on C-W San Diego.

And if arts are more of your thing, we have a full roundup of weekend events curated by KPBS arts producer Julia Dixon Evans at KPBS-dot-org.

That’s it for the podcast today.

This podcast is produced by KPBS Producer Ben Lacy and edited by KPBS Senior Producer Brooke Ruth.

We’ll be back in your podcast feed on Monday morning. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.