Supervisors Leticia Perez and Jeff Flores went back and forth on the idea of whether released detainees are becoming homeless. Flores argued that they have a home, and Perez argued that home is not here, so they are homeless in Kern County. “You’re a coward Jeff,” Perez told Flores mid-debate. Flores continued with his points, and Perez told him, “I’m done with this.”
On Oct. 27the Kern County Board of Supervisors met to discuss a proposal of $50,000 travel assistance funds to help individuals released from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody to return home.
The proposal was first introduced back in September and then again on Oct. 13, by community organizers and federal lobbyists. Reuters obtained the numbers from the preliminary Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tracking data that said, “In Bakersfield, immigration arrests jumped from one a day for much of the year to nearly 10 per day in mid-October.”
The proposal’s presentation was shared during the meeting, and the data showed an average of 35 detainees being assisted per month by Faith in the Valleywhich is an increase from January’s data.
The proposal, brought by community organizers, is meant to fund the work they are doing to help those released and return them home. In the proposal read by Assistant County Administration Officer Stacy Kuwahara, it said the funding would help decrease the homeless population, as detainees are unable to return home and end up homeless in Kern County.
Data from the presentation said that it costs an average of $693 per detainee to help them return home. This cost covers air travel, hotel stays, food and other necessities that help detainees while traveling home. Community organizers ask that the $50,000 help fund these costs.
Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrants says ICE loses belongings, and detainees are often transferred between multiple facilities, making it hard for loved ones to locate them and for detainees to find a way home. This group focuses on helping detainees through visitation, letters, advocacy, donations, and helping individuals released return home.
The County Administrative Office had contacted lobbyists to identify the needs, services, and impacts of detainees being released in Kern County. Kuwahara said the chief legislative officer and the governmental affairs Officer had connected twice with the federal lobbyists to bring the ongoing issue to the legislature’s attention.
The office had also contacted Congress member Vince Fong’s office, which said they would contact DHS to gather more information. Kuwahara said that ICE is not legally responsible for providing transportation to released detainees.
One of the funding support options in the proposal details using $50,000 of funds that are currently allocated for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 6 (HHAP). These funds are set to support outreach and prevention by moving individuals into temporary or permanent housing in the Oildale area.
Funding option two detailed using 50,000 from General Fund Contingencies. On Oct. 20, the board added $88.29 million to the county’s budget. The money was split between different funds, and the General Fund received $63.8 million, making an increase of $1.7 million.
Ellen Shaffhausera speaker on the item, expressed her view on the proposal. She called out the board for stating at the previous meeting that if these individuals can get across the border, then their families can get them back home. Shaffhauser called it an offensive assumption.
“You and your constituents that you represent make an assumption that these detainees crossed our borders in a way that is illegal, as you tag it. As well as an assumption that now that the government has transported them 3,000 miles from their home, they are responsible to get themselves home.” She continued, “They never asked to be here, they were forced to be here under covert plane flight shackles and prison cells.” Shaffhauser urged the city of Bakersfield to fund getting these individuals home.
Flores was the first to comment. He said there was no evidence that released detainees were becoming homeless, and said that if they were, they could use Kern County’s existing networks for homelessness instead of investing more funding.
Perez spoke after Flores, stating that she believes detainees are being released into homelessness. “…they do not live here; they are not domiciled here. They are domiciled in Florida or other places. This is not home, and they do not have a place to sleep here. So, as a technical matter, I don’t know how we can see this any other way except that they are being released into the technical category of homelessness,” she said.
The AG Law Firm, which focuses on immigration, humanitarian, and federal said, “After release, the government’s main concern is compliance. They want to know you will show up for court and follow the conditions of release. Your main goal is to protect your freedom and strengthen your case.” The site also said that missing one step of compliance can risk re-detention or immediate deportation.
Perez responded to Flores’ suggestion“To me Jeff, your suggestion that people who are not domiciled here who need to immediately return to a different state in order to be in compliance with the Federal government, who sent them here. The idea that they would then use local homeless funds to stay in Kern County when that will make them in violation of federal requirements to get back to where they were. To me that’s nonsensical.”
Perez said that the reason the federal government doesn’t want to fund getting individuals home upon release is because of the costs, and it would cut into the profits involved with ICE. She said that Kern County should help the released individuals get back home because the funds set aside for homelessness are currently stretched thin. Released individuals would have to compete for funds in a county they are not from. She also argued that funding hardly makes it out to the people because top administrators need to get paid.
The Board of Supervisors did the math on individuals released with the 50,000 and found that it would not last more than two months. The board decided to refer the item to the Finance and Administration Committee. The committee will look at how funding should be allocated and how much funding is needed.
Source: therunneronline.com
