Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, June 26, 2025…
- A new California bill could force local governments in Imperial County to start translating their agendas into Spanish. The lack of translation has kept many county residents from fully participating in the democratic process.
- An immigrant worker, who was arrested during a raid outside a hardware store in Pomona in April, has been released from ICE custody. Now, immigrant rights advocates are pushing for the release of two other workers still in detention.
State Bill Would Require Imperial County To Translate Key Documents Into Spanish
Last September, dozens of public speakers gathered at the Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting in El Centro. They were there to comment on the county’s proposed lithium spending plan — part of a major discussion taking place across the county about future tax revenue from the burgeoning industry. But some of the speakers also wanted to talk about something else.
“There’s no Spanish translation of the updated plan,” said Fernanda Vega, an organizer with the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition. “We cannot continue to push aside Spanish-speaking residents, especially when their health and livelihoods are at stake.” Nearly 3 in 4 Imperial County residents speak mostly Spanish at home, and more than a quarter don’t speak English fluently, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But the county government and many cities often don’t publish translated versions of agendas and other key documents. Without consistent Spanish translation in local government, these residents are in essence locked out of the democratic process.
Now, a new California bill could force the county government and the region’s two largest cities to start offering Spanish translations of their meeting agendas, which are currently published only in English. Among other changes, SB 707 would require that certain counties and cities with large communities who speak languages other than English translate their agendas and also provide translated instructions for tuning into meetings remotely. In a speech on the California Senate floor earlier this month, the bill’s author, state Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), said it would make it easier for non-English speakers to follow local government meetings and strengthen access to the democratic process.
Pomona Day Laborer Released From ICE Custody Faces Work Ban
A day laborer arrested during an immigration enforcement raid outside a hardware store in Pomona in April has been released from custody, but now faces release conditions that immigrant rights advocates call punitive. They’re also pushing for the release of two other workers still in detention.