March 2024 Page 14 CDU Newsletter
President ’ s Breakfast continued from page 13 ...
lives have been disrupted by deportations .
“ As a Black woman listening to these stories , I ’ m thinking of mass incarceration . We have a national dialogue around this story when it comes to mass incarceration that we don ’ t currently have around deportation when as you just heard , there is such a strong connection between the two ,” explained Dickerson . “ Very often these same families who had loved ones who were caught up in the criminal justice system based on specious charges or very low-level criminal offenses end up not only doing time in the criminal justice system but then being deported . We understand the systemic challenges the families left behind then face , the economic impact of losing an anchor of your family , the emotional impact of losing an anchor of your family .”
Sonja F . M . Diaz , Founding Director , UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute , addressed the intersections between immigration reform and voting , pointing out a recent Gallup poll that identified immigration as top issue at 28 % whereas a recent UnidosUS poll indicated that immigration is not one of the top issues amongst Latino registered voters .
“ Why for Latino registered voters is immigration not an issue ,” posed Diaz . “ Because of inflation , because of the lack of affordable housing , because of issues with accessing healthcare , because there ’ s a multitude of issues that so many of us face year after year .”
Efrain Talamantes , MD , Senior Vice President and COO of Health
Services at AltaMed , highlighted the physical and psychological impact of immigration policies .
“ Often we see policies that are exclusive and only embolden structural racism . A lot of the immigration policies create not only structural racism but social , economic , political inequalities that create a physical and psychological impact on people ,” shared Dr . Talamantes . “ We have to think about these policies in a broader lens , we have to see them as a human problem and we have to take a leadership role as a country to do better .”
The President ’ s Breakfast is an annual event that serves as a platform for informed voices to engage in thoughtful conversations about topics aligned with CDU ’ s mission , vision , and goals . Click here to view the program booklet from the event .