Zimmer lashes out at judge’s ruling on federal immigration policy
LA School Report | February 18, 2015
Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.
Steve Zimmer
A ruling by a federal judge in Texas yesterday is forcing the Obama administration to postpone the start of new immigration policies that would lead to work permits and job protections for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
The action by Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Brownsville, means that months of legal maneuvering may stand before the end of the President’s reform efforts or their implementation.
That has a huge impact in Los Angeles, where the school district just passed a resolution to offer pro bono services to unaccompanied minor residing within the boundaries of LA Unified.
Steve Zimmer, a sponsor of the LA Unified resolution, responded with a scathing attack on Judge Hanen’s decision, characterizing it as an extension of “racism, xenophobia, fear and hate [that] are promulgated daily by the Republican House leadership.”
In a statement yesterday, Zimmer said:
“I am angry and disappointed but I am not surprised. Racism, xenophobia, fear and hate are promulgated daily by the Republican House leadership as well as the right media. This hate is directed squarely against LAUSD students and their families. And this is not new. At every juncture of the Civil Rights movement there was resistance. At times the strongest resistance infiltrates the judiciary. But we know that the weight of judicial history is on the side of the President and our school communities.
“As such, LAUSD will continue to prepare for our role in facilitating the expanded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the new DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents) programs under President Obama’s Executive Action. LAUSD understands that our schools have a pivotal role in document preparation and information dissemination. We will continue to work with our partners in labor, immigrant rights and the business community as well as Mayor Garcetti to ensure the Los Angeles leads the nation in guiding our students and their families towards full access to the American Dream.”