Behind the lawsuit are two candidates for the California Assembly in the November election
Two Republican Latinos from Los Angeles, running for a seat in the State Assembly, sued California Governor Gavin Newsom to block the $ 75 million in financial aid for undocumented immigrants impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed by the conservative group Center for American Liberty, and the legal group Dhillon Law, but the plaintiffs are the Whittier Councilman Jessica Martinez who is also a candidate for the Assembly for District 57 in the southern San Gabriel Valley; and Ricardo Benítez, candidate for assembly for the 39th district of Pacoima.
Governor Newsom intends to give $ 500 per person to approximately 150,000 workers who, due to their immigration status, were not included in the $ 1,200 per adult economic recovery package approved by Congress.
The lawsuit states that Newsom exceeded its legal authority by siphoning off $ 75 million from state funds to give to state nonprofits, which in turn will turn the money over to undocumented immigrants who became unemployed because of the contingency. sanitary.
The opinion He sought Martínez and Benítez, but none of them made themselves available to comment on their reasons for suing the governor, and preventing support for undocumented families.
Who is Jessica ”
Republican Jessica Martinez, the daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, was elected to the Whittier City Council on March 1 for a four-year term, and became the first Latina to be elected to the Council.
According to the biography published on the official website of the City of Whittier, he has a doctorate from the Trinity Law School, and master's degrees in International Human Rights and Bioethics.
She is a teacher in the Whittier City School District where she has lived for over 20 years, the wife of a veteran, mother of five adult children, and an active member of the Anglican Church.
Who is Ricardo?
He is a republican who came to the country as an immigrant from El Salvador in 1975. Already a citizen of the United States, he has always competed to be an Assemblyman for Pacoima District 39 in the Assembly, but has never been able to win an election.
In an interview with The opinion in 2018, when he made the third attempt to reach the Assembly, he confessed that he was still looking for a seat because he always came to the end in the elections.
“I am like a boyfriend that the girlfriend ignores; and that he keeps insisting, until they give him a chance, ”he said.
And he further explained that he was motivated because his district was full of garbage and inattention.
He revealed that he joined the Republican Party encouraged because it was a Republican, President Reagan who gave the amnesty that allowed many immigrants to regularize their immigration status in the 1980s.
However, he made it clear that he was not in favor of open borders.
"You can't," he noted. And he criticized the Democratic party because – he said – the only thing that interests him is that the Hispanic remains poor. “We are going to help you be poorer, is their motto. We can't go on like this. We don't see any change with the Democrats. "
Benítez earns a living as a contractor, residing in Sun Valley, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County.
Improbable
Democratic consultant Mario Beltrán said that it is unlikely that with a person like Ricardo Benítez who was undocumented, he would put himself in a position of hatred towards his own origins.
"Both he and Jessica Martínez are convinced that those who did not enter the country legally do not deserve those incentives. Its ideology is far right and radical. Proof of this is that We see Jessica, posting photos on her Assembly Campaign page, next to Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio; or anti-immigrant congressman, Tim Donnelly", he pointed.
“They are very proud of their absolute hatred for undocumented immigrants. My biggest criticism of councilors like Jessica is that by refusing to support those who have been laid off by the coronavirus, they are forced to go out on the streets looking for a way to earn a living, and they expose the health of an entire community".
A group of neighbors started collecting signatures on the Change.org site to ask Jessica Martinez to back down in what they consider a shameful effort to use immigrants as a scapegoat.
"We believe that immigrants pay a fair share of taxes and provide essential functions through their hard work, especially during this pandemic," the petitioners said.
Engine of the economy
According to a report by the Center for Immigration Integration Studies at the University of Southern California, there are approximately 886,000 undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles County. Meanwhile, 852,000 US citizens live with undocumented family members; and 273,000 permanent residents live under the same roof with a family member without papers.
According to a 2014 New American Economy report, only Hispanic immigrants contribute $ 95.3 billion to the county's economy.
Protests
Over the weekend, a group of about 15 activists held a protest outside Jessica Martinez's Whittier home against their decision to support the lawsuit.
"We will not stand idly by. We will continue fighting for the rights of the undocumented; and we will protest again against Martínez; and we will go to the San Fernando Valley to demonstrate against Benítez so that they desist from suing against the support for immigrants, ”said Whittier activist Patty S. Chávez.
And he completed that by obtaining money from the Republicans for their campaigns, Jessica and Ricardo are able to sell their soul to the Devil. “They are using them as a chess piece to hit their own community. They are treacherous. "
Jesse Melgar, a spokesman for Newson, said California is taking morally necessary actions to assist all those affected by COVID-19.
“These actions benefit the public health and economic well-being of the families and communities hardest hit by the pandemic. We are looking forward to defending in court what we know to be correct. ”
