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The term “sanctuary city” is a dangerous misnomer.
Living in a city that’s named itself a sanctuary city does not, in fact, mean undocumented people are safe from deportation.
On this week’s episode, hosts Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts explore what elected officials in California are saying about sanctuary cities and what’s actually happening in the places where it sounds like undocumented people are shielded and protected.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Diego Field Office, for example, deported 23,729 people last year. Of those, just 10,872 had criminal convictions. San Diego’s been called a sanctuary city, yet clearly the term is quite misleading for those who actually have to worry about being deported.
Six Degrees of Fake News
Lewis offers his hot take on the whole fake news thing, breaking down six different categories of fake news.
There’s real fake news that’s actually been purposely fabricated, then there’s real news stories that people are simply labeling fake, but there are a few stories that fall somewhere in between.
Journalists make mistakes, for example, but those stories, which are later corrected or retracted by the original source, can quickly spread across the internet like wildfire, taking the falsehoods along for the ride.
Trickling Down From Trump
President Donald Trump tapped Alexander Acosta as his new pick to head the Department of Labor. The announcement came just a day after Andy Puzder withdrew from consideration.
Clare Crawford, the executive director of the Center on Policy Initiatives, and Peter Callstrom, the CEO and president of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, also joined Lewis and Keatts this week to talk about the ways in which San Diegans could feel the impact of major idealogical and philosophical changes at the Department of Labor, a federal organization meant to protect workers.
“It’s a new day,” Callstrom said. “We’ll see what the new nominee brings, but we need people who are fighting for workers … to help people go from where they are to where they can be.”
Also in the podcast, Lewis talks about the joy and hilarity of coaching tee-ball and the city gets a big thumbs up for its drop in crime rate.
Hero of the Week
Jamie Wilson, the parent of a teenage boy who had DNA samples taken by San Diego Police Department officers, is speaking out against the SDPD policy that seemingly skirts a state law meant to prevent officers from doing DNA swabs of juveniles without parent permission.
Goat of the Week
San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn gets a big ol’ goat for this whopper of a quote in a KPBS story this week: “If climate change is bringing us all this rain, I’m all for it.”