When I heard about Donald Trumps decision to end DACA, the program that lets young immigrants find a future in this country, I thought about David Campos.
Campos, a former SF supervisor who now chairs the San Francisco Democratic Party, is a graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law School. He has worked as a lawyer for the SF school district, as an elected official, and now as a deputy county executive in Santa Clara County.
He’s also someone who arrived in this county without documentation, at age 14. He was, in 1985, a “dreamer,” although the term didn’t exist back then.
I’m sure Trump won’t look to Campos as an example of how an immigrant can live the American Dream — work hard, get an education, give back to the community — but the rest of us should.
And there are 800,000 young people just like him around the country today.
“They had no say in how they got here,” Campos told me this evening. “That was not their decision. And imagine now saying to them that it doesn’t matter how hard you work, it doesn’t matter how much you try, we are taking away the opportunity to make something of yourself.”
That’s what really hit me: How can you tell a high school kid that they have no future? How can you tell someone to get up in the morning, as Campos did, get on the bus and go to school, do your homework, learn and work hard — when the government won’t give you a chance to use that education? When your only choice is to be ripped form your community, to go to another country that you left as a young kid, that you have no connection to?
And it’s all, as Campos told me, because of the color of their skin.
“We are not talking about large numbers of European immigrant kids,” he said. “Trump didn’t say it outright, but this is done because of his racial animus.”
At least 1,000 people protested outside the Federal Building in San Francisco today. There will be more protests to come. The issue will come up in Congress, maybe.
You can see the story of one Dreamer here, from a video project by Steve Talbot, and get a sense of what is at stake:
State and local government needs to step up. In Santa Clara, Campos told me, the county is funding a major outreach and ad campaign including billboards to tell immigrants that they are not alone and that help is available. The county is considering filing a lawsuit, and I’m sure San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is looking at that, too.
“We can’t let Trump create an atmosphere of fear,” Campos noted.
In the meantime, San Francisco needs to seriously fund legal defense for immigrants, something that Mayor Ed Lee was only reluctantly willing to do and only on a limited basis.
“I think when we look back,” Campos said, “today is going to be a turning point. This was such a cruel, heartless, mean decision.”
Stupid, too: The US is saying that some of the smartest, hardest working kids in the country are not welcome to stay here and build the economy. Mind boggling.
Video of the SF #DefendDACA protest in SF’s Civic Center by David Schnur.
spot on
He's just trying to say that Campos is an example of all the Dreamers (well, some) (well, a few) who came here and … *look where they are now!* – IOW, not banging', unemployed or shooting sea mammals.
Come to think of it, didn't Campos arrive here on his lonesome (parents didn't drag him across the border). If that is true, then he'd not be a Dreamer … more like a Schemer.
But hey, at least THIS schemer doesn't own beauty pageants so he can grouse around in the dressing rooms grabbing crotches.
The role of the city and county in this issue is pretty much moot – immigration is exclusively an area of federal control. Period.
A true success story, riding the public-sector gravy train. Campos now makes $240,000 a year working for Santa Clara County, more than double the $117,000 he earned as a San Francisco supervisor. It’s also a lot more than the $104,000 he would have earned if he had won his 2014 state Assembly race against David Chiu. A winner!
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Ex-SF-Supervisor-Campos-gets-lucrative-new-job-in-10993999.php
you guys are GREAT! really enjoy your perspective re issues in SF – keep up the good work, speaking truth to power……