On Jan. 7, one day after Congress certified President Donald Trump’s election victory, Gregory Bovino sent 65 of his Border Patrol agents into Kern County. Bovino is the head of the El Centro sector in the Imperial Valley, but the raid agents conducted that day occurred a six-hour drive north of the border.
Bovino said that before setting off for Kern County, his agents had a “predetermined list of targets,” many of whom had immigration and criminal records. At the end of what Border Patrol named “Operation Return to Sender,” the agency said it arrested 78 people.
But an investigation by CalMatters’ Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry, in partnership with Evident and Bellingcat, found that officials misrepresented the very basics of their immigration raid. Data obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reveal that Border Patrol had no prior knowledge of criminal or immigration history for 77 of the 78 people arrested.
Last month the ACLU sued Border Patrol on behalf of United Farm Workers, arguing that the agency detained people without reasonable suspicion, and then deprived them of due process by forcing them to sign self-deportation paperwork.
- Casey Creamer, CEO of California Citrus Mutual, an association of Bakersfield citrus growers: “If they’re targeting a rural operation like this, people that are getting up early in the morning to work, those aren’t drug dealers.”
But to Bovino, there is no difference between going after undocumented field workers or drug dealers.
- Bovino: “If you’re an illegal alien, you’re getting it. A fentanyl dealer, you get it.”
Read more here, or watch our video documentary about the January immigration sweep.
Focus on Inland Empire: Each Wednesday, CalMatters Inland Empire reporter Deborah Brennan surveys the big stories from that part of California. Read her newsletter and sign up here to receive it.
CalMatters events: Fresnoland and CalMatters’ Yousef Baig are teaming up on April 22 to explore the future of the High-Speed Rail project with key decision makers and local leaders at the Fresno City College Old Administration Building Auditorium. Register here.
And on April 24, join CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall and policy leaders as they tackle what’s working to address homelessness and affordable housing — and what’s not. Register today to attend online or in person at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.
Other Stories You Should Know
Federal cuts poised to undermine CA mental health treatment
Under a backdrop of rising opioid-related deaths, Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 laid out a plan to revamp the state’s behavioral health system. But as California begins to make headway addressing its behavioral health crisis, proposed cuts to Medicaid cast a big question mark over the future of these changes.
As CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra explains, Newsom’s plan to pour billions of dollars into new services and support programs includes increasing the number of treatment beds, training new mental health workers and other changes.
The state draws from multiple sources to fund these endeavors, with Medicaid playing a key role: California spends about $161 billion on Medicaid, most of which comes from the federal government. Millions of Californians use Medicaid to access therapy and medication, and the program helps pay for some social support services that help the most vulnerable patients secure housing and food.
But last month GOP members in the U.S. House of Representatives approved a federal budget proposal to eliminate $880 billion in spending over the next 10 years from the committee that oversees Medicaid. That proposal necessitates cuts from Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and the proposal cuts from those areas in order to preserve tax cuts Trump made in 2017 that disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
In March the department that oversees the state’s Medicaid program also received termination letters from the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration that rescinded $120 million in behavioral health grants intended to help reduce overdose deaths at the state and local level.
Trump tariffs hurt CA pension funds
Following the stock market’s $6.6 trillion wipeout last week due to Trump’s newly imposed tariffs, concerns about California’s already underfunded pension funds for state workers and teachers are under renewed focus, writes CalMatters’ Adam Ashton.
The nation’s largest and second largest public pension fund — the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), respectively — hold more than $800 billion in assets and serve millions of Californians.
In the first two days following Trump’s April 2 issuance of the tariffs, CalPERS lost about $15 billion. As of market close on Monday, it has since lost roughly $23 billion with a total market value of $508 billion. CalSTRS updates its portfolio numbers once a month, and it’s likely to have experienced losses at a similar rate to CalPERS.
Though CalSTRS Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan warned the board last month that policy changes under the Trump administration could cause “unprecedented” and “world changing” risks, both pension funds have emphasized that their diverse portfolios aren’t solely reliant on the stock market.
Still, the funds must meet their annual investment targets, which is 6.8% for CalPERS and 7% for CalSTRS. If they are missed, government agencies will have to pay more to fund the pensions.
And lastly: Delta levees at risk of floods
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is facing a funding crisis that has hampered efforts to repair an aging network of about 1,100 miles of levees that protect the region — and roughly a half a million people — from floods. Learn more from CalMatters’ Alastair Bland.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The deadly January wildfires and the Medi-Cal budget gap are already expected to strain California’s budget, but Trump’s tariffs could put further pressure on the state’s finances.
The new CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority has an aggressive, credible plan to accelerate construction, but the project needs serious commitment from the Legislature to secure stable funding, writes Ray LaHood, the U.S. transportation secretary from 2009-2013 and the co-chair of the U.S. High-Speed Rail coalition.
Other things worth your time:
Why CA and the West could face a ‘big fire season’ later this year // The Washington Post
US Sen. Schiff’s first Senate bill proposes tax credit for hardening homes against fire // Los Angeles Times
Sports-gaming companies court tribes for return to CA ballot // Politico
CA signals possible defiance of Trump anti-DEI order that threatens school funding // Los Angeles Times
Trump administration cancels at least nine more student visas in Bay Area // The Mercury News
Feds to investigate potential fraud involving homeless funds in Southern CA // AP News
San Diego business leaders in DC as tariffs hit // The San Diego Union-Tribune
Judge rejects state’s effort to overturn Huntington Beach’s voter ID law // The Orange County Register
An Orange County mother’s battle to protect her son’s care // Capital & Main