Transcript Highlights:

• At the same time, every day we interact with immigrant communities around the state.
• We have a... ...time every day we interact with immigrant communities around the state.
• We do not care what your immigration status is.
• You cannot be turned away from certain businesses, for example, because of your immigration status.
• Of course, in this last year, we see this target of individuals that are perceived to be immigrants.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It came to the floor as an amendment that had to do with immigration and illegal immigration and how
• floor as an amendment that had to do floor as an amendment that had to do with<00:07:47.680><c> immigration
• </c><00:07:48.400><c> and</c><00:07:48.800><c> illegal</c><00:07:49.199><c> immigration</c> with immigration
• and illegal immigration with immigration and illegal immigration and<00:07:49.919><c> how</c><00:07:

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House Speaker Lisa Demuth reflected on the 2025 session as a difficult but productive year in a closely divided House, saying the tie forced Republicans and Democrats to work together and empowered co-chairs and committee leaders to negotiate throughout the session. She said her partnership with former Speaker Melissa Hortman showed that both caucuses could still get work done even when neither side got everything it wanted, and she expects to continue that approach in 2026 if the House remains tied. She also said she has a workable relationship with DFL leader Zack Stevenson and wants to maintain respectful decorum while still allowing strong debate and committee input. On policy, Demuth said gun violence and public safety remain major concerns after the Hortman assassination, the Annunciation school shooting, and other high-profile violence. She said Republicans are focused on keeping communities safe, increasing penalties for firearm-related crimes, and expanding mental health supports across the state, especially outside densely populated areas. She also said anti-fraud legislation will be a major priority, noting prior bipartisan steps such as whistleblower protections and added staff for the Legislative Auditor, and she expects bipartisan action on fraud again this session. Demuth said immigration and ICE-related legislation will likely return, referencing last year’s House File 16 and saying cooperation with ICE would make Minnesota safer. She also pointed to budget concerns, saying the state moved from an $18 billion surplus to a tighter fiscal picture and that a $5 billion spending reduction last year was a step in the right direction. She said the February forecast will be important for setting responsible priorities and emphasized that the caucus’s goal is to keep working in a bipartisan way for Minnesotans.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is not about public safety or immigration.
• Where immigrants in Montana only make up 2.2% of our population.
• It is part of a long arc in the immigrant justice movement in this country.
• </c> black businesses and immigrant black businesses and immigrant businesses,<00:33:39.600><c> have<
• </c><00:35:43.280><c> food</c> the same time, we have an immigrant food the same time, we have an immigrant

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The meeting was a multi-state press event and hearing focused on alleged federal immigration enforcement abuses in Minnesota and other states. Minnesota lawmakers and invited legislators from Montana, Illinois, North Dakota, Tennessee, and elsewhere described ICE and Border Patrol activity as warrantless, masked, and violent, citing detentions of residents and U.S. citizens, school lockdowns, hospital disruptions, chemical munitions, and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Brady. Speakers said the actions were terrorizing immigrant communities, communities of color, Native Americans, and families, and argued that the federal government was using Minnesota as a testing ground for broader authoritarian overreach. Several lawmakers tied the situation to constitutional and civil-rights concerns, saying the conduct violated protections related to due process, free speech, and equal treatment. They urged state and federal officials to resist cooperation with ICE, protect schools, hospitals, churches, and courthouses as safe spaces, and support sanctuary policies. One speaker said Minnesota had never before needed a select committee on federal impacts, but that the current situation justified it; another said a coalition of 27 states was coordinating 85 bills to require coordination with local law enforcement, increase transparency, protect against warrantless arrests and racial profiling, and impose consequences for federal misconduct. During the press question period, lawmakers from North Dakota and Tennessee said similar enforcement activity was spreading beyond Minnesota, including reported abductions in Fargo and a large federal presence in Memphis that had led to deportations and business closures. Illinois lawmakers said their state had already passed sanctuary laws and would continue pushing back. The event ended with calls for continued organizing, state-level legislation, and collective resistance to federal immigration enforcement practices described by speakers as unlawful and abusive.

Transcript Highlights:

• in the DEA and the Marshals Service, have been diverted from their mission and conscripted into immigration
• Siralta, I want to start by saying, as the son of an immigrant, when you told me your story, when you
• Immigrants make America better.
• That being said, the Marshals Service have always had a footprint in immigration.
• Yes, so any immigration aspects to it...

Committee: Senate Senate Judiciary

Keywords: fentanyl crisis, DEA, drug trafficking, public safety, Judea Serrata, Terrence Cole, judicial security, social media, drug prevention

Summary: The committee meeting centered on the urgent crisis of fentanyl abuse and the government’s response to the drug trafficking epidemic. Key discussions revolved around the nomination of Terrence Cole as the Administrator of the DEA and Judea Serrata as Director of the U.S. Marshals Service. Cole emphasized his commitment to combating the fentanyl crisis, highlighting the rising number of overdose deaths and the necessity of bipartisan efforts to dismantle drug cartels. Members engaged in dialogue on the effectiveness of various strategies and the importance of education aimed at preventing drug-related deaths among youth. Additionally, the challenges of social media in drug trafficking were highlighted, indicating a need for greater accountability in how platforms handle such issues. Senators voiced concerns about the impact of administration policies on judicial security and the resources available for marshals to perform their critical roles.

Transcript Highlights:

• DeMaio as somebody who is a proud immigrant, as somebody who has just gone through a disaster in Los
• We are a nation of immigrants. We support that. We celebrate that.
• How much money would have been available to illegal immigrants?
• The second answer was no, it has nothing to do with immigration.
• So it does allow for illegal immigrants.

Committee: House Emergency Management

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So any type of employee classification, anything that might be looked at in terms of immigration reform
• After Arizona enacted E-Verify requirements with criminal penalties, among unauthorized immigrants, there
• This bill provides for benefits without verification of immigration status or accurate classification
• This bill provides for benefits without verification of immigration status or accurate classification
• and employment, I think we've crossed the line in some areas and... ...immigration and employment, I

Committee: Senate Commerce and Human Resources

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• While NVD does not in particular track The gender, national origin, and immigration status of its customers
• The gender, sex, national origin, or immigration status of one of MVD's customers.
• It also stated that specifically, MVD information cannot be disclosed for purposes of civil immigration
• This would allow us to redact anything that, again, not for criminal immigration enforcement, that still
• So, on page two, line 14 through 15, it calls out information related to sex, gender identity, immigration

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a state policy advocate with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, CHIRLA.
• For many Californians, immigration enforcement is not just a policy.
• Did you work on any immigration? And then vet them out. We would be open to that.
• President Obama actually deported more undocumented immigrants than Donald Trump.
• President Obama actually deported more undocumented immigrants than Donald Trump.

Summary: The committee heard a series of bills focused largely on labor, education, workforce, and public employment issues. AB 65 would provide public school employees up to 14 weeks of leave with full benefits for pregnancy and pregnancy-related health issues; supporters said current rules force educators to exhaust sick leave and suffer long-term retirement penalties, while the bill’s author noted it mirrors budget trailer language. AB 1818 would change HEERA procedures for CSU bargaining by shifting certain renegotiation disputes to PERB; Teamsters and other labor groups supported it as a way to stop CSU from unilaterally refusing agreed raises, while CSU moved from opposed to neutral after amendments. AB 1940 would explicitly reference menopause, perimenopause, and postmenopause in workplace protections; supporters said it would clarify rights and improve awareness, while business opposition argued existing reasonable-accommodation law already covers these issues and warned of expanded liability. AB 1534 would add guardrails for new short-term Workforce Pell programs, including tuition caps, limits on income-share agreements, and transparency around partnerships with unaccredited entities; the author later said the bill would be amended to include private institutions. AB 1896 would bar people who participated in immigration enforcement from holding California public jobs during a specified period; supporters framed it as a public-trust measure, while police and public-safety groups opposed categorical exclusion and urged a more individualized vetting approach. AB 2300 would streamline distribution of WIOA workforce funds and reduce delays in local workforce board contracting, with supporters emphasizing faster service delivery and no reduction in accountability. AB 2223 would require CDCR to report standardized data on contracted medical and mental health staffing, vacancies, and costs, following an audit that found heavy reliance on contractors and poor transparency. AB 2483 would create a pathway and certification for formerly incarcerated firefighters to move into firefighting careers after release, with strong support from the author and witnesses who described the work as a real career path and reentry opportunity. AB 2142 would require temporary classified school employees working more than 75% of the school year to receive permanent-employee benefits and protections; school administrators and community college groups opposed it as too rigid for grant-funded and fluctuating positions. AB 2367 would require quarterly reporting from state-run health care facilities on vacancies, overtime, registry/contract staffing, and missed staffing minimums, building on state auditor recommendations; health care workers supported it as a transparency and accountability measure. Several measures were voted out of committee or placed on call. AB 1818, AB 1534, AB 2300, AB 2483, and AB 2223 all received do-pass votes to the Senate Appropriations Committee, though each was placed on call after roll call. AB 65 and AB 1940 also advanced on do-pass motions but were placed on call. AB 2142 received a do-pass vote with opposition and was placed on call. S.J.R. 15, a resolution urging Congress to protect California employers from higher federal unemployment taxes tied to the state’s UI debt, drew divided testimony: business groups supported it, while labor and some members argued California should solve the problem itself and keep the unemployment system solvent; the resolution was also placed on call. The transcript also included committee discussion about working with authors on amendments, especially for AB 1940 and AB 1534, and several members noted support or co-authorship while raising concerns about implementation details and fiscal impacts.

Transcript Highlights:

• Most immigrants are in the young working ages, and it would be reflected there.
• And especially concentrations of Hispanic immigrants that tend to come in in the working ages.
• Boston area, I mean, it's really just seeing a lot of them here: children living in immigrant families
• Boston area, I mean, it's really just seeing a lot of them here: children living in immigrant families
• immigrants, in most of the state, do go to the hospital.

Committee: Senate Senate Committee on the Census

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census met on December 8 at 9:32 a.m. to examine the dynamics that drive census undercounts and overcounts, with testimony first from Joseph Salvo and then from Susan Strait of the UMass Donahue Institute. Salvo explained the Census Bureau’s two main evaluation tools: demographic analysis, which uses vital records, migration estimates, and Medicare data to produce a national benchmark, and the post-enumeration survey (PES), which compares a separate sample-based count to the census. He said the 2020 census showed a small national net undercount, but larger age- and race-based disparities, including the highest undercount among children ages 0 to 4, higher undercounts for men, substantial undercounts for Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and overcounts among some older and college-age groups. He also described how self-response, non-response follow-up, administrative records, proxy responses, and imputation affected data quality, arguing that proxies and imputation were especially weak and that outreach remains critical for 2030. Committee members asked Salvo to clarify the methods and error bands, the role of international migration estimates, and how the PES differs from the census address list and LUCA. He explained that PES is based on a separate sample of blocks and can add units within sampled blocks, but it does not measure units missed entirely from the original address list; LUCA matters because it improves that list before enumeration. He also discussed age heaping, duplicate responses among older adults, and why group quarters and COVID-related disruptions complicated the 2020 count. Senator Driscoll briefly interrupted to describe Randolph’s successful appeal of its 2020 count after an undercount in disability care homes, and Salvo noted that the post-census group quarters review helped correct some missed facilities. Susan Strait then focused on Massachusetts-specific results. She said Massachusetts’ 2020 count was strong overall, with population growth above the national average and a PES-based finding that the state was overcounted by 2.24 percent, though she emphasized that this did not mean all areas were accurately counted. Using demographic analysis, she said Massachusetts had an estimated 4.15 percent undercount of children ages 0 to 4, with the largest county-level undercounts in Hampden, Suffolk, and Essex, and she linked higher child undercounts to lower educational attainment and female-headed households. Strait also reviewed operational metrics showing that Massachusetts had relatively strong internet self-response, but that non-response follow-up relied heavily on household interviews, administrative records, proxies, and imputation in different counties. She highlighted higher proxy use in college-heavy counties such as Hampshire and Suffolk, and said counties with more minority residents were more likely to have population-count-only cases and other indicators of harder-to-count populations. The hearing ended with discussion of how these findings could inform outreach and census planning for 2030.

Transcript Highlights:

• and I'm just I would like to immigration and I'm just I would like to know<01:03:10.440><c> copals</
• </c> uh to to uh support illegal immigration uh to to uh support illegal immigration I<01:03:27.559><
• </c><01:05:34.000><c> and</c> were about uh illegal immigration and were about uh illegal immigration
• </c><01:08:09.760><c> should</c><01:08:10.000><c> be</c> is treating immigrants should be is treating
• immigrants should be something<01:08:10.640><c> that</c><01:08:11.000><c> that</c><01:08:11.160><c>

Committee: Senate Jobs and Economic Development

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• universal school meals, career education, and supporting our most vulnerable students, including immigrant
• commitments to higher education by funding the fifth year of the compacts for UC and CSU, supporting immigrant
• This funding is critical for the only state program dedicated to immigrant students and will ensure the
• safety and success of vulnerable students. ...for the only state program dedicated to immigrant students
• continuing to make investments in our Dreamers Resource Centers at a time when we know that our immigrant

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education held its close-out hearing for the 2026 budget plan, with the chair describing the Senate proposal as fully funding Proposition 98 and emphasizing investments in universal school meals, career education, immigrant and LGBTQ+ student supports, higher education compacts, community colleges, and other student services. Public commenters largely supported those priorities, including funding for CalNEW and Dream Resource Centers, educator workforce and English learner supports, community schools, special education, paid pregnancy leave, and the Middle Class Scholarship, while some raised concerns about proposed cuts, borrowing, and the inclusion of non-LEA preschool programs in Prop. 98.\n\nDuring member comments, one senator said many items were supportable but raised concerns about placeholder language, accountability, borrowing for the Middle Class Scholarship, and the structure of paid pregnancy leave and apprenticeship funding, indicating some no votes and abstentions. The chair responded that the budget reflects major investments in K-12 and higher education, including full Prop. 98 funding, elimination of the settle-up amount, expanded student aid, and continued support for immigrant students and resource centers.\n\nThe committee then moved through the vote-only calendar and adopted most staff recommendations by roll call. Several items passed unanimously or with one abstention/no vote, while some higher education and K-12 items drew opposition from one member, including the item on the Middle Class Scholarship borrowing structure and certain proposals related to pregnancy leave, Calbright/common cloud platform, apprenticeship backfill, and other specified issues. The hearing concluded after the chair thanked participants and adjourned the subcommittee.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, leader, the immigrant healthcare issue.
• ><00:04:10.080><c> leader,</c><00:04:10.400><c> the</c><00:04:10.959><c> uh</c><00:04:11.280><c> immigrant
• Well, leader, the uh immigrant the job.
• Well, leader, the uh immigrant issue,<00:04:12.640><c> immigrant</c><00:04:13.040><c> healthcare</c><
• </c> issue, immigrant healthcare issue. issue, immigrant healthcare issue.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our community includes Black, Asian, Latino, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, immigrant, and multiracial
• Our community includes Black, Asian, Latino, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, immigrant, and multiracial
• Anyone who was different, particularly people of color, particularly immigrants, casting aspersions,
• This is the same individual who started his campaign off with lies about immigrants.
• The federal government does not pay for undocumented immigrants' health care.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It protects legal immigrants here in Alabama.
• An immigrant must notify the government agency of their sponsor.
• When you get a sponsor for certain immigrant visas, you have that sponsor... immigrant visas, you have
• So really this bill is, um, in my mind, I think it's pro-legal immigrant.
• I met an immigrant, uh, talk...

Bills: HB43 , SB81 , SB178 , SB138 , SB89 , SB183 , HB27 , HB188 , HB199 , HB190 , SB117 , HB43 , HB27

Committee: House Judiciary

Keywords: criminal procedure, split sentencing, probation, Class A felony, Class B felony, minimum confinement, speedy trial, visiting judge, court administration, violent crimes, Alabama Supreme Court, employment, criminal record, certificate of employability, occupational licensing, negligent hiring, rehabilitation, limited relief, tribal police, law enforcement

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is the ongoing challenges of California's undocumented and immigrant families.
• So many families worry that applying for financial aid could jeopardize their immigration status.
• We have referrals to various services, including immigration services.
• Immigrant international students as gender affirming care as main targets.
• undocumented students and resident immigrant students.

Summary: The Assembly Higher Education Committee held an oversight hearing on how federal actions are affecting California higher education, with opening remarks from the chair and members emphasizing the importance of state-federal shared governance and the need to protect access, affordability, and campus diversity. The first panel included leaders from the CSU, University of the Pacific, California Community Colleges, and UC, who described broad impacts from federal grant terminations, changes to student aid, loan limits, visa and immigration policy, and proposed reductions to research support. Testimony focused on the elimination of Grad PLUS loans, caps on Parent PLUS and Pell-related changes, the loss or suspension of hundreds of grants, and the resulting harm to student support services, research, workforce pipelines, food assistance, and health care training. UC and CSU representatives warned of major losses in research funding, indirect cost reimbursement, and student opportunities, while community college leaders highlighted uncertainty around federal grants and the need to maintain services for low-income, first-generation, undocumented, and other vulnerable students. Committee members asked how the state could respond, including through intersegmental partnerships, dual enrollment, transfer pathways, and support for basic needs and nutrition programs. Witnesses said California could help by sustaining financial aid, protecting minority-serving institution programs, and investing in research, housing, and workforce development. Several speakers stressed that federal changes were creating instability for students and campuses, and that the effects would likely be long-lasting, especially in health care, teaching, STEM, and social work pipelines. A second panel then focused on equitable access. The California Student Aid Commission described state efforts such as the $3.9 billion investment in aid programs, the Cal Grant system, the Dream Act, and possible reforms to better serve adult learners, foster youth, undocumented students, and students with dependents. The Los Angeles Community College District reported that federal cuts and policy shifts are discouraging students from applying for aid, threatening TRIO and MSI/HSI-funded services, and reducing support for basic needs, counseling, and workforce programs. The Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities and the CSU Academic Senate echoed concerns about FAFSA confusion, international student restrictions, grant losses, and the erosion of equity-focused programs. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and discussed possible state responses.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, the immigration pipeline. line is very lengthy.
• This bill will bring a cheating effect on immigration to Texas.
• visa per immigration. law.
• So regarding the domicile, under U.S. federal immigration laws.
• Second, based on the immigration law, whenever an immigrant we enter the U.S., we need to get the entry

Bills: HB17 , HB34 , HB41 , HB 118 , HB 119 , HB 127 , HB 128 , HB 129 , HB 130 , HB132 , HB133 , HB17 , HB41 , HB118 , HB119 , HB127 , HB128 , HB129 , HB130 , HB132 , HB133

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Keywords: foreign ownership, real estate, national security, designated countries, Texas property law, lobbying, foreign adversaries, compensation prohibition, transparency, civil penalties, higher education, foreign adversary, research security, trade secrets, academic partnerships, HB 128, sister city, sister-city agreement, international exchange, municipal diplomacy

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Joint Resolution 8 by Senator Arreguín and others, relative to immigration.
• We know California is stronger because of our immigrant communities.
• S.JR 8 recognizes the need to revisit immigration policy.
• Immigrants start businesses, pay billions in taxes, and fill essential jobs.
• Santos was the son of immigrant farmers. Santos was the son of immigrant farm workers.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're topics of this week: immigration yesterday, National Guard in our cities.
• I think they were good actions in support of our immigrant community.
• I don't want to talk too much about immigration.
• do say some very strong things about immigration.
• The Pew Center says there's only 11 undocumented immigrants in the country.

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• And two, pursue a federal process, if one exists, for the student to obtain lawful immigration status
• Students from the North Star Promise based on their lack of immigration status alone.
• My first point is that it is okay to hate our immigration laws because they suck.
• We should agree that our current immigration laws are disconnected from the modern reality.
• immigrants who provided it with restrictionist immigration laws.

Transcript Highlights:

• My father, Eddie Fisher, the son of Jewish immigrants, grew up in the midst of the Great Depression.
• I am a first-generation immigrant. Help preserve the buildings at Angel Island.
• Wang Gang Yo, who you see on the screen, was one of these immigrants.
• He came to the U.S. with his father in 1919, and the two were separated by immigration officials.
• And as the executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and as an immigrant,

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on how recent federal actions are affecting arts, culture, humanities, libraries, museums, and the creative economy in California. Chair Ben Allen and Vice Chair Chris Ward opened by describing the hearing as a response to proposed and ongoing federal cuts to the NEA, NEH, IMLS, and public broadcasting, as well as grant terminations and leadership changes at cultural institutions. Several members emphasized the economic and civic importance of the arts, while one Republican member argued for greater ideological diversity in the arts and noted the loss of music programs in small schools. Testimony from Aaron Harky of Americans for the Arts and Jolie Fisher of SAG-AFTRA described the impact of federal policy on grants, jobs, and production. Harky said executive orders and the FY 2026 budget proposal threaten arts agencies and arts education, and that rescinded grants are causing hiring freezes, shutdowns, and losses for small organizations, especially in rural and underserved communities. Fisher focused on runaway film and television production, outdated tax rules, and the need for federal incentives, intellectual property protections, and action on AI and digital replicas. Members also discussed bipartisan support, the role of business and tourism partners, and the need to include more diverse voices in arts advocacy. The second panel featured Rick Noguchi of California Humanities, Greg Lucas of the State Library, and Danielle Purcell of the California Arts Council. Noguchi said NEH funding was cut immediately, putting California Humanities’ grantmaking and documentary programs at risk and prompting consideration of litigation and possible state support. Lucas reported that IMLS funding for California libraries was briefly canceled but partly restored, though a budget gap remains. Purcell said the California Arts Council is still awaiting federal award language for state partnership funds, but NEA grant terminations and the proposed elimination of federal cultural agencies create major uncertainty; she also said the council is assessing the damage and tracking impacts on grantees. Members asked about measuring outcomes, AI’s threat to creative work, documentary funding losses, and possible state and national strategies to protect cultural institutions and jobs.