Andrea Seastrand represented the coastal Santa Barbara County area in the early 1990s, first in the state assembly then in Congress.
Her husband had passed away, and she took over for him in the state assembly and then got elected to Congress after Michael Huffington gave up his seat to run for the US Senate in Miracle Year 1994.
Even though she no longer works in Congress or any other elected position, she still comments on political issues throughout the state from her Central California home.
Check out her latest article, and some of my thoughts on her views:
Liberal California is trying to redefine citizenship. It’s not helping immigrants
It’s a worthy argument to show that Open Borders Marxism hurts immigrants–and hopefully she is referring to those individuals who have entered the country legally.
Otherwise, her misuse of the term amounts to the same political and cultural corruption which the regressive Left has fallen into.
In California, a competition has emerged among liberal politicians to determine who can enact the most extreme laws on immigration and how the state can unilaterally redefine what citizenship is. Of course the irony is that these efforts are motivated solely to further a political agenda that could end up with substantial collateral damage that hurts undocumented immigrants.
Essentially, it’s about doing away with citizenship altogether. I spoke with one Assembly candidate in the Fresno area. He did stress his commitment to any kind of immigration “Reform”, but then he declared his opposition to any efforts to erode and diminish citizenship entirely.
So far, so good–but immigration “reform” which promotes amnesty of any kind eroded citizenship, too, just not as quickly as Sacramento Democrats would like to accomplish.
The most brazen example of this flawed mentality was the passage of Senate Bill 54 last year, which made California a sanctuary state. This law limits what state and local law enforcement can share with federal immigration authorities for people in the country illegally who have previously committed crimes.
It’s a public safety issue from beginning to middle and end. It’s also about the safety of law enforcement as well as the rule of law and constitutional governance.
This increases the danger for both federal immigration authorities and communities alike, yet this doesn’t matter to proponents looking to score political points by passing this law. Local governments across California are rightfully upset about this attempt to shield people who have committed crimes while in the country illegally which is why numerous cities and counties have joined the federal government’s lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 54.
It’s all about getting more voters and keeping the La Raza hatemongers happy. How I long for the times when elected officials care about their constituents, men and women born and naturalized in the United States. In those days, citizenship really mattered.
The false sense of security provided by the so called sanctuary state law is emblematic of how grandstanding by progressive lawmakers produces little real-world benefit and hurts the communities that they are purporting to be helping. We see another example of this in San Francisco, where its Board of Supervisors placed a measure on the ballot that was approved by voters in 2016 that allows undocumented immigrants to vote in school board elections. However, city officials have now issued warnings that voters’ information could be shared with federal authorities and could have implications for future attempts to obtain legal status.
They should not be voting in the first place, and the release of the illegal aliens’ information to the federal government more than serves them right.
This sets up a difficult decision and risk of deportation for anyone looking to vote under this law. The perils of taking these actions also reinforces the reality that the state is not capable of extending citizenship rights in place of the federal government.
Seastrand misses a key point. These illegal aliens should not be in the country, and their safety should not matter to anyone. The safety of American citizens and the sanctity of the rule of law is what matters. I would like to have politicians who cared about American citizens once again. When will they step up?
But legal reality does not mean that numerous other attempts are already under way. Senate Bill 174 was recently introduced in the state Legislature and would change California’s definition of a citizen to allow undocumented immigrants the right to serve on state and local boards and commissions.
Big warning to the two illegal aliens sitting on city commissions in Huntington Park. The fact that State Senator Ricardo Lara is introducing such a heinous piece of legislation proves what We the People Rising had long contended in one city council meeting after another: those two illegal aliens had no right nor legal authority to sit on a city commission, let alone reside in this country without proper authorization.
In any other country, the notion of a non-citizen serving in a governmental position of great importance would be absurd, but that type of logic has no place in California’s progressive dream of a borderless society where there are no rules on who can come into the country. It is clearly an attempt to chip away at the line between citizen and non-citizen.
Thank God that one more pundit has pointed out the absolutely idiocy of Senator Ricardo Lara and his illegal alien ilk. But shock and outrage is not enough. We need the President of the United States and the United States Attorney General to crack down on these sanctuary cities and the non-citizens whom they have unjustly, immorally authorized to sit on city commissions.
This election saw non-citizens serving as election day poll workers due to a 2013 law passed by California Democrats. While at least these individuals have legal residency rights, it still presents a significant policy shift because people who cannot vote are tasked with an important role in our elections process. Given the current sentiments in Sacramento, there will certainly be a future attempt to allow undocumented immigrants to work at polling sites.
What all of this shows is the unending attempt for California to score political points for left-wing voters by attempting to make its own immigration policy and redefine citizenship. These efforts represent an agenda that is completely out of touch with everyday Californians and undermine the possibility of immigration reform at the federal level.
It is out of touch, and yet everyday Californians are still voting Democrat. Would she like to explain why they continue to vote against their best interests? Why do they continue to label themselves “Democrats” when there is nothing democratic, i.e. appealing to the will of the citizenry, in the actions of the current California Democratic Party?
Most would agree there should be sympathy for people coming to the United States to seek a better life, but it must be in rational process to ensure fairness for all those looking to immigrate here.
Fairness for those immigrating here, certainly. But what about what is fair for American citizens? What about the rights, liberties, concerns of taxpaying, law-abiding citizens and legal residents? Those immigrants played by the rules, passed all the tests, paid all the fees, and now they get stuck with the bill of paying for illegal aliens who demand citizenship and legal status to the fullest!
Until lawmakers in Sacramento acknowledge this, it leaves California to deal with the untenable position that led to foolish laws like Sanctuary State that are actually making things more unstable in communities with large numbers of undocumented immigrants. No wonder there is little choice for local governments to resist. The sooner California abandons its piecemeal approach to immigration policy, the better off its citizens and non-citizens will be.
Final Reflection
It is odious to me that pundits on both sides of the aisle get all caught up in the plight of the “undocumented”. That term is so misused, since it suggests individuals who have the proper paperwork but can’t find them for some reason. Those who break into this country are nothing more than illegal aliens. They are not immigrants who happen to lack the proper paperwork, but rather they have no interest in getting the credentials in the first place!
Open Border liberalism hurts immigrants, and yes it even puts illegal aliens in greater danger.
Yet I don’t want their concerns to factor in at all to any politicians’ final equation on what to do about open border and illegal aliens. I want the focus to fall into what is best for the United States: our citizens, our environment, our culture, our politics.
Our language has become corrupted around this matter, too, since Seastrand includes illegal aliens in her discussion about immigrants. I never want to see that term used for anyone who is in this country illegally. Ever. That is very offensive.
Those are the concerns, the ultimate designs which deserve our attention.