Question of the Week: 9/15

The 20th congressional district, which includes San Benito County, is home to an estimated 20,000 Dreamers, undocumented individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children. California is home to 1 in 4 recipients of DACA, a program that gives eligible Dreamers a chance to work legally without fear of deportation. President Trump stated he would stop the DACA program in six months. What should government do to address this issue?

Cesar Flores: Unfortunately the actions of the current administration are leaving the needs of agriculture unmet. Field workers are needed. Fear and distrust is at a high level in our communities. Parents are afraid to send their children to school. This is not what this country is about.

Keith Snow: I feel that it is unconstitutional and unjustified. We need to protect the people. They have worked hard and deserve the highest education just as anyone else. Lots of the Mexican community work in the farms and pick the food that we eat. They deserve to be here and be treated with equality. The program should stay intact. Mr. Barack Obama was a great president and did right by the people, rich or poor, no matter ethnicity. He represented the people with respect.

Ruben Anthony: Ask the parents to step forward for one. Stop putting cameras on college students crying about how it wasn’t their choice to come here and put the cameras on the ones who did make the choice. By the way, I don’t support mass deportation because it’s not economical. Show people the numbers and play on their concerns for the economy instead of trying to play on their emotions.

Richard Place: Pass a legal law so it can be signed by the President. The current executive order was unconstitutional. Both parties should do their job.

Nants Foley: I am not in favor of rescinding DACA and urge everyone to write and call their congress representatives to voice their support of this program.

Mary Zanger:  In the event that Trump rescinds DACA, the Hollister City Council and the San Benito County Board of Supervisors should declare the city and county sanctuaries. Our public schools already have budget cuts and will be unable to teach American values like inclusivity and democracy when our foundational values are under attack. Trump’s action would gag the whole California economy since Mexican immigrants anchor the agricultural and main sector of the economy.  Governor Brown should declare the whole state a sanctuary because an ill-tempered spiteful attack on innocent children is an attack on all of us.

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The Question of the Week was distributed in an email and posted on the Hollister Free Lance Facebook page on Monday, September 11. Thank you to all who contributed comments.