During an interview with KQED on Friday, Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez responded to a question on how much pain the city should be willing to take if the Trump administration cuts federal funding to the city over its sanctuary status by stating that “considering how much” illegal immigrants “are of the fabric of the city of Los Angeles,” “we have to do whatever we can to keep our families whole.” And “we can be innovative with our budget and we can find different ways to reassess where we’re spending our dollars to put them into more effective places. Because we cannot afford not to protect these people, not to keep families together, whole economies would break down in the city of Los Angeles if we were to lose a substantial number of our immigrant communities.”
KQED host Saul Gonzalez asked, “And if the Trump administration tries to take retribution against Los Angeles, namely by cutting federal funds for all kinds of things, things that are probably really important to your constituents, how much pain do you think we should endure to make sure the undocumented are protected in L.A.?”
Hernandez answered, “I think, considering how much they are of the fabric of the city of Los Angeles, and how [many] of our families are of mixed immigrant status, we have to do whatever we can to keep our families whole. And I do believe that there are other ways for us to bring in resources. I just think that we’re going to have to be more strategic and go to the drawing board as issues and crises come up.”
Gonzalez then asked, “But let’s say that the Trump administration comes along and says, oh, you want federal money for that rail extension, for that mass transit project, for that housing program? Forget it. You would say, what, that that’s worth the cost?”
Hernandez responded, “To keep families together, I do believe it. We have places to find resources to lean on. We cannot afford to continue to separate families. So, we can be innovative with our budget and we can find different ways to reassess where we’re spending our dollars to put them into more effective places. Because we cannot afford not to protect these people, not to keep families together, whole economies would break down in the city of Los Angeles if we were to lose a substantial number of our immigrant communities.”
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