Several Southern California counties soon plan to hold forums where they will tell the public how jail officials in their communities worked with federal immigration agents.
The TRUTH Act, which took effect last year, requires the annual public forums where law enforcement discusses the legal interactions with immigration authorities.
While many residents support the forums, some argued the time of the meeting was poorly planned and not accessible for most of the community.
“It’s clear that holding the forum at 9:30 a.m. on a weekday morning is … in no way was designed to ‘maximize public participation’,” said Sameer Ahmed, an attorney with the American Civil Rights Union of Southern California.
“As the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice we are disappointed in the County of San Bernardino and the Sheriff’s Department. We requested for the Truth Act Forum to be hosted in a time accessible to the community… (But) we got no response,” said spokesman Luis Suarez.
All of the forums will be held during regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meetings where representatives from that county’s Sheriff’s Department are expected to make a presentation to the supervisors.
The schedule for the forums are:
- Dec. 4, 9:30 a.m., Orange County Board of Supervisors, 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana
- Dec. 4, 10 a.m., San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, 385 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino
- Dec. 11, 9:30 a.m., Riverside County Board of Supervisors, 4080 Lemon St, first floor, Riverside
- Dec. 18, 9:30 a.m., Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, 500 West Temple St., Room 381, Los Angeles
Read more at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
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