https://soundcloud.com/talonmarks/falcon-interview-2-42817-322-pm

Hi, I’m professor Dennis Falcon, I been teaching political science here at Cerritos College for 20 year.

The issue there, about the participant of The Supreme Court when that really comes down is, the Trump administration is basically goanna trying to use its immigration cause of enforcement part of the federal government, you know, immigration control.

They’re basically goanna try to use that agency and its recourses to basically identified for the purposes of detention and deportation.

Potentially millions of people in the United States, that’s the ultimate fear.

Because remember, immigration is completely within the authority of the national government.

State Governments, local governments have no authority what so ever, over the immigration issue, none.

So, on that regard, it’s all on the hands of federal government, and right now that means, Donald Trump and his people.

So, if immigration enforcement officials wanted to get access to, for example records of students of Cerritos College, UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, K2-12 schools, any public school’s leverage, across the country.

Immigration officials will be able to basically come to any campus and request access to student’s information.

But, under California State law this is to all, the 50 state to some degree or another, under California State Law, student records are private, okay, they’re private.

They are basically property of the students, and under the supervision of the school they are attending to., whether is K2-12, community colleges, Cal State.

So, those records do not belong to the federal government, they belong to the state, and to the students.

So, the federal agents could request the assistance from the saying Cerritos College personal.

But, if Cerritos College personal or a local high school, K2-12 refused to comply we get the issue there of now having a conflict between the federal government and the state or local government of school district.

Federal government can basically try to force the issue, but the only tool they have is to basically denied federal funding to those schools.

So, the schools were to agree to refuse federal funding for the sake of protecting the students, that take almost all the leverage away.

One other option would be, that the federal agent’s, they’ll be able to use some federal law where they could argue that the school district is obstructing justice, right.

In which case, that requires filling of a complaint, just like with anything, you need a grand jury, you need someone to file charges.

If someone files charges on somebody, even if you are filing charges on the dean of admissions at Cerritos College.

If the federal government file charges of obstruction of justice against our dean of admissions, at that point and time, our entire criminal justice system kicks in.

She has the right to notice, she has the right to an attorney, she has the right to see the evidence against her, she has the right to her, you know, her public trial before jury of peers, and this case is one.

So, in that case, as with any, any case, any criminal case or civil case those things can take years.

So, what could potentially happen is that the federal government could go to the courts and ask for some kind of injunction or court order, to order the dean of admissions to hand over the records, okay.

But, I’m sure what would happen is that the dean of admissions Cerritos College, State of California would file a county suite saying that they don’t have to.

Using state laws, using the U.S. constitution, and so, potentially a case like that could make it all the way to The Supreme Court.

But, let’s remember, cases like that, can go quickly, but usually take years, and that is just one school.

We have, I don’t even know how many thousands, tens of thousands of school’s districts across the United States.

That doesn’t mean the school district city’s, local government, states would have to comply.

The idea of The Supreme Court is, like we were saying, is the eyes power, the high power on the land.

The reality is that The Supreme Court is ultimate authority to interpret the constitution.

The Supreme Court has the authority to issue rulings that, theoretically have power jurisdiction, etc., over every level of government in the United States as far as the constitution concern.

But, just because The Supreme Court order something or makes a ruling, doesn’t mean that people comply, or that they comply in the spirit of the court ruling itself.

As I was telling you earlier, all I have to do is look at the civil rights movement and disaggregation of public schools.

In 1954, The Supreme Court order all public schools in the United States stop discriminating, based on race, to stop segregating students.

But, what we saw after that, and it provably occurs till this day, local school’s districts, school districts in sort states, the state governments themselves across the United States, mostly on the South to be fear.

Till this day, continue to look for ways to deny minority students, students of color, African American, Latinos, etc., that equality of education guarantee by the constitution and under Brown vs. Board of Education.

So, that segregation on public schools, after Brown vs. Board of Education continued at school’s districts across the country, went out of their way to find ways not to comply with The Supreme Court orders.

So, even when you have The Supreme Court and the government of the United States, including congress and the president. State local governments, including school districts don’t want to comply, they’re not, and when a state doesn’t comply or a school doesn’t comply.

Again, we are back to the situation brought up, then the federal government has to go through sort of procedures and polices’, follow the law itself to try to enforce, enforce states and local governments to basically go alone with, you know, marching orders, new law, new policy, standards by The Supreme Court.

So, on that regard, we have enough evidence historically of how you can have a national government and The Supreme Court want something, but state local governments, like on the case of disaggregation, they don’t want to comply, they’re not, and there is almost nothing that the federal government can do, except, withdraw federal funding.

I mean, that’s one of the examples, and so, when I look at some of this historic examples and how the federal government has try to basically imposed itself on states.

And on the case of civil rights that was to do a good thing, in this case, we are talking about what we see as a bad thing, that the federal government wants us to start turning our back on our own neighbors, our own students, our own friends, our own co-workers.

The fact that the states and local governments and cities would resist, refuse to comply is guarantee, and the Trump of administration has only four years at best, eight years.

I’m not that worried, on the other hand, we do have to worry because, detentions and deportations will increased, in sort  parts of the country and in sort states like in sort counties with in sort of states detentions and deportations will probably increase.

There will be some school’s districts, for example in California that will assist immigration officials, there will be some cities were police departments will work with ICE to identified, detain and deport undocumented  persons.

There will be some counties, where the county sheriff’s and the county jails will complied, like for all we know Orange County here in California, Los Angeles county, probably not, San Bernardino County? I don’t know, River Side County? I don’t know.

Other counties through all the state? I don’t know, but even under state law, on our governor and under state legislature, they definitely identifies California as a sanctuary state will not comply.

And cities and counties in the state in California, Have to worry about what the state governor says, because don’t forget, cities and counties get their money from the states.

And the governor office and our state legislation are telling cities and counties, and state school districts, this is our policy, you go alone, you are creatures of the state.

School districts, cities, counties, are creatures of the state, they answer to the state government, much more then then they answer to the state government.

You see what I’m saying, again, to me, in terms of practical like application of Trump policies, I don’t see it been as bad as most people think.

But, every person who is identified, detains, and then potentially deported, under this crime wave of ant immigrant hostility under Trump policy’s, is a violation of our most basic values in this country.

And is in my mind probably criminal, and is a crime against our society, and so unfortunately we don’t know how many hundreds and thousands of people would get cut up,  and who’s families will pay the ultimate price of having their families split apart.

Like today I just heard, that there was a woman, I think in Michigan, somewhere in the mid-west, who’s been here for 15-years, who is been basically working with immigration officials for 15-years doing everything she’s been told to be allowed to stay in this country, they just went  pick her up the street .

Detain her, they are going to deport her, we have something like 700 hundred immigrant who have been detain up in Washington state, who are been held in both county jails and some private jails up in the city of Washington who are on hunger strike as we speak right now.

Because they are protesting the conditions of their detention, been force to work for a dollar a day, in those jails that are been held in.

And some of them are now been split up and sent to detention across the United States for deportation, so, unfortunately, too, many people will get cut up, in this current action by the Trump administration.

So is like, you know, is like, it is bad, it is bad, but I don’t see the night mares in this scenario where we are goanna allowed this to continue in definitely, or for the next four years, and we are hundreds and thousands of millions of people would be deported.

Is not going to get to that point, I’m hoping that even with some of the other issues that are saying that the Trump is already flip flopping, are already violating his campaign promises to the people who voted for him, that over the next few months, first year, second year of his presidency, he will find out that is not as easy, and is more complicated than he thought.

Oh, we didn’t know is so complicated, and by the time we get to his third year, that this immigration, craze, anti-immigrant craze that he helped to start would be basically die down.

And we will be able to find ways to restore many of those who were wrongfully detained, and deported, that will actually start finding ways where we can bring them back to the United States to reunite these families.

And then maybe again we start talking rationally, about immigration reform, in this country, so that we can normalize, and legalize, and stabilize of these millions of people who are been contributing to our society.

The good thing is that there are people, really smart people, really dedicated people who are actively working now, to find ways to support, to assist, and to encourage various student in families and populations who feel like there‘re in more risk right now.

So, whether is people like the dream club, the dream students here at Cerritos College, and faculty, and staff who are supporting the, the faculty and staff themselves who provably have long histories and records, and networks of people who have done this for 20, 30, 40 years.

Who are now coming back together to find ways to fight, using our legal community, using our political community, and the elected officials that for the last 40-years, 30-years, especially in Latinos.

As we continue to take seats in the state assembly, on city council, on school boards across the state, at the state government.

Every level people are starting to see that, you know, we are at the right places now, we have expertise, we got the people on the authority, so that we can do a lot to assist and to support the students and their families.

And that the growing movement of teaching people to be allies, actually allies on campus, in the work place, in the neighborhood, to support these students and their families and communities.

This is only goanna continue to grow, and as this continues to grow, our ability to resist immigration officials the Trump policies, our ability to resist and to offer alternatives to people, will only increase.

And, my only hope is that we be able to convince more of our fellow faculty’s and staff on campus, and other students, who might not think that this is their issue, or is not something that they don’t need to be concern about.

I think that with time, and as more horde stories, and issues arise, we will be able to basically spread the message and get more, more allies, and to grow this community, that is basically promising to provide safety sanctuary, and alternatives, and security to our student and their families.

I’m confident of that.