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AP17:052

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2017
Contact:
Jesse Melgar or Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575

Secretary of State Alex Padilla Responds to President Trump's Immigration Policy Proposal

SACRAMENTO – California Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the following statement in response to President Trump's immigration proposal:

"Today, Mr. Trump announced his plans to upend our nation’s immigration policy and undermine our global reputation as a nation of hope and opportunity. Trump’s proposal is wrongheaded and lacks the most basic understanding of American history.”

“Often fleeing oppression and poverty, generations of families from around the world have sought out the United States as a beacon of hope and liberty. Our nation is better for it.  New immigrants have always been the power house of our nation. Arriving with a work ethic and a dream, they have built what we know as America.”

“Immigrants are our coworkers, our neighbors, and our relatives. Many are like my father who worked for decades as a short order cook and my mother who cleaned houses in order to provide a better life for their children. Immigrants breathe life, innovation, diversity and faith into America. New immigrants are the embodiment of the American dream.”

“We should reject Trump’s cynical proposal that seeks to erode the very nature of who we are as a country. As a people, we are better than this."

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