Policy and Community Under Pressure

Marisol Alarcon described the profound cruelty and inhumanity of recent federal policy changes. Contrary to promises to target only criminals, enforcement now regularly involves racial profiling, leaving law-abiding residents—especially in mixed-status families—living in fear. One major change: anyone who ever entered the U.S. unlawfully is now ineligible for bond (bail), meaning more people are held in detention for extended periods, reducing their chance at justice. Even those actively working to fix their immigration status—by legal means—can be targeted and referred to immigration court. The financial, emotional, and mental toll, especially on children, is immense.

Marisol shared a powerful example of a male breadwinner detained in Carpinteria last month, leaving his wife and two U.S.-born children without any income. This situation forces women to make a devastating choice: stay in the U.S. and try to be a single parent without a financial safety net, or follow her partner back to Mexico, where their children, as U.S. citizens, may lose access to critical opportunities and a higher quality of life. The psychological toll is immense, with Marisol reporting that this fear is trickling down to children, who are struggling with their mental health and daily activities.

Monica Solorzano echoed these concerns, sharing stories of local businesses reeling as employees are detained or too fearful to show up. She emphasized that these disruptions destabilize not just individual families but businesses and the very fabric of the community. She recounted her personal experience supporting both residents and local entrepreneurs fearful for their livelihoods.

Gaps and Immediate Actions

Marisol identified financial barriers as the largest gap—filing fees and legal expenses deter eligible families from pursuing relief. Expanded public education, legal consults, and family preparedness planning are urgently needed. Marisol advocated replicating programs like Oxnard’s Swap Meet Justice, which offers free legal consultations, referrals and information, and direct services—a model that could greatly benefit Santa Barbara County.

This conversation makes it clear that the fight for gender equity cannot be separated from the fight for humane immigration reform. The safety, economic independence, and well-being of women in our community are directly tied to these policies.

Local Protections and Programs

Despite the fraught federal landscape, Carpinteria City Council is taking action and recently joined an ACLU lawsuit challenging indiscriminate immigration raids based on race or ethnicity, sending a clear message of solidarity. Vice-Mayor Solorzano is one of the members of a new ad hoc committee that advises the city’s response to ICE, and emergency grant funding—at least $10,000—has been allocated to nonprofits serving immigrant families, with a larger annual fund of $150,000 prioritized for organizations supporting immigrant and Latino communities.

Public institutions are vital anchors. The city library runs citizenship classes, financial literacy workshops in Spanish, and English tutoring, while community organizations like the Carpinteria Children’s Project provide crucial support. The need outpaces resources, but the commitment remains strong.

Legal Pathways, Persistent Barriers

According to Marisol, immigrant women facing domestic violence or other gender-based threats, options like the U visa, T visa for trafficking victims, and VAWA protections for those abused by citizen or resident spouses technically exist. Yet barriers are steep: long waitlists, confusing forms, high fees (adjustment of status alone exceeds $2,500 in filing fees), and widespread fear of government retribution all limit access and effectiveness. Many are too afraid to apply, knowing government scrutiny could result in detention.

“I actually had a woman who was a victim of very serious domestic violence,” Marisol shared, “and even though we spoke multiple times, she opted to not do anything because she’s really scared.”

What Can SBWPC Members Do?

• Stay informed about local developments affecting immigrants in your city.

  • https://www.805undocufund.org/california-undocufund-network.html
    

• Support nonprofits—through donations, volunteering, or attending public meetings.

  • Rapid Response Network

  • Drivers Listos

  • Immigrant Legal Defense Center

  • Helping Hands Fund

  • La Casa de la Raza
    

• Use your voice: speak at city council meetings, engage in policy advocacy, and join community events.

  • Write Letters to the Editor

  • Advocate for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and a Pathway to Citizenship:

Congressmember Salud Carbajal

Senator Adam Schiff

Senator Alex Padilla

• Champion family, financial, and mental health services that strengthen immigrant resilience.

  • 211
    

In closing, our speakers called for ongoing education and compassion: continued advocacy for humane policy, resources for women and families, and a community-wide commitment to justice and inclusion. The challenges may be daunting, but together, we make progress—one act of awareness and solidarity at a time.

The time for action is now. Our immigrant neighbors need our support, advocacy, and solidarity more than ever.

Rapid Response Network

The Constitutional Crisis

Professor Georgene Vairo, who taught federal courts and constitutional law for 35 years at Loyola and Fordham Law Schools, sees the current moment as potentially catastrophic. “I see the Voting Rights Act as sort of a metaphor for everything else that’s going on,” she explains.

With the Supreme Court having already eliminated preclearance requirements, Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act now stands as the last major protection against discriminatory voting practices. The pending Louisiana v. Callier case threatens to gut even this remaining safeguard.

If Section 2 falls, Vairo warns, it could lead to as many as 19 additional congressional districts leaning Republican, potentially establishing “one party rule.” But her deepest concern involves an even greater threat: Republicans currently control 29 state legislatures. If they gain five more—reaching 34 states—they could call a constitutional convention to completely rewrite the Constitution.

“That’s my biggest fear,” Vairo states. “They will get a constitutional convention. They will allow a president to serve for as many terms as he wishes.” If Section 2 falls and allows unchecked gerrymandering of state legislative districts, reaching that 34-state threshold becomes frighteningly plausible.

Gerrymandering: The New Poll Tax

Assemblymember Dawn Addis, who represents California’s 30th District, identifies redistricting as “the most pressing” threat, calling gerrymandering “really a new poll tax on Black and Brown voters who are now going to not have the opportunity to vote for somebody who is truly representative of their community.”

She recounts a powerful encounter in Boston with Texas legislators who had fled their state to prevent a quorum for voting on extreme gerrymandering legislation. A North Carolina legislator described how her state went from a 50-50 split to 70-30 Republican control overnight due to gerrymandering.

“The Texas legislators almost begged us to put this on the California ballot,” Addis recalls, explaining the urgency behind Proposition 50, which would strengthen California’s independent redistricting commission.

Addis has also worked to strengthen voting rights through improved transparency. Her bill AB 808, signed by Governor Newsom in October, modernizes California’s campaign finance disclosure system and addresses modern threats like AI-generated disinformation.

Multiple Forms of Suppression

Both experts emphasize how voter suppression tactics disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Addis sees the impact directly: “It can be very hard for people... having a hard time getting an ID, particularly for people who are low-income or who have transient housing.”

San Luis Obispo County has already experienced voter intimidation with “Trump trains” during the 2020 election. Addis shares “widespread fear that we’re going to have militarized people sent by the Trump administration... showing up at polling places to scare people away.”

Vairo anticipates similar tactics nationally, particularly “in minority-heavy districts” across all major cities. Yet both remain hopeful about voter determination. “Just like in the South after the Voting Rights Act was first passed, people will walk five miles to vote,” Vairo says.

The Legal and Legislative Response

Despite the dire landscape, Vairo finds encouragement in coordinated legal resistance. She praises attorneys like Mark Elias and Norm Eisen for filing numerous cases challenging gerrymandering. State-level action offers another avenue—states can enshrine voting rights in their own constitutions even if federal protections fall.

Chief Justice Roberts remains a wild card. “I keep waiting for him to atone for his opinion in the immunity decision,” Vairo says. “Will he grow a spine and say no? We’ll see.”

The Power of Individual Action

Both experts emphasize that legal and legislative battles alone won’t save democracy—citizen engagement remains essential.

Addis offers a powerful framework: “There’s large actions we can take—people are out in the streets, they’re protesting, they’re signing up as poll watchers. But there’s also those day-to-day conversations that are very impactful.”

She shares a recent encounter with a young woman who didn’t know where her polling place was and her friends didn’t know that an election was happening. “Even something as simple as a conversation in your day-to-day to check in with your neighbors can be very, very powerful.”

Vairo advocates for civil conversation even with those on the other side. “The point is to have discourse, to see whether there’s any common ground and respect each other. That’s what this country has to do.” She draws a crucial distinction: “Yell at Donald Trump, but don’t yell at somebody just because they voted for Donald Trump. If you can engage them in conversation, you can reduce the temperature.”

Coalition-Building for the Future

Vairo suggests connecting women’s organizations across California to create a statewide network that can “be exported to other states that need more help.” She also advocates collaboration with national organizations like Indivisible as “a vehicle for combining the energy, the efforts and the ideas from the local levels on their way up.”

Addis emphasizes engaging with representatives: “Much of our legislation comes directly from our constituents... it really makes a difference when you speak up.” Her own experience proves the point—she’s the first Democrat to represent her district in 100 years, and her presence made possible the co-authorship of legislation creating an independent redistricting commission for San Luis Obispo County.

Determined Hope

Despite acknowledging “really dark times,” both women refuse pessimism. Addis insists: “We need to double down on both having hope and doing the work.”

Vairo notes encouraging signs: young people’s approval of the current administration has plummeted; Republican lawmakers face constituent anger; demographic shifts may undermine gerrymandering efforts as Latino support collapses in places like Texas.

“Just as cowardice is contagious, courage is contagious,” Vairo observes. “When you see people getting out there... you throw the pebble in the lake, and it ripples out.”

Their message is clear: this moment demands everything we have—legal challenges, legislative action, grassroots mobilization, coalition-building, and everyday conversations.

“Every chance you get to stand up and push back, you have to do it,” Vairo urges.

“We know elections matter, we know stories matter, we know person-to-person contact matters,” Addis affirms.

The fight for voting rights is the fight for democracy itself. Keep hope alive. Keep having conversations. Keep coordinating. Because person-to-person contact matters.

Democracy needs you. Every voice, every action, every vote counts.

This is not just a personal dilemma for parents, it’s a systemic barrier to gender equity. Recent data from the California Budget & Policy Center reveals that 67% of mothers in California have had to reduce hours or leave their jobs due to childcare challenges. For women, particularly women of color, the lack of affordable childcare continues to limit workforce participation, leadership, and financial stability.

At our Presidents’ Circle event in March, childcare emerged as a central focus in our 2025 Feminist Playbook. To bring this issue into sharper focus, we held a powerful conversation with Teresa Alvarez, Executive Director of the Carpinteria Children’s Project (CCP), and James Kyriaco, Goleta City Councilmember, both of whom are deeply engaged in solving this crisis.

Teresa Alvarez: A Voice from the Front Line

Teresa began with a reality check on what’s happening in local early-education centers.

“We’ve had to rely heavily on fundraising. CCP lost access to State Preschool funds because the school district gave up their contract. SB County Education Office took over those slots, but not all families will be served. We’re hoping to subcontract with them, but meanwhile, we have to cover families with scholarships.”

She detailed how hard it is to balance rising costs with the need to support teachers: “We’ve had to raise tuition to pay our staff better, but the state’s Alternative Payment Program won’t cover the higher rates. That means fewer families can qualify for help, and we’re stuck trying to fill in the gap.”

The lack of substitute teachers adds to staff burnout.“We follow the school district’s schedule so staff can rest during breaks, but the Alternative Payment Program doesn’t cover that time, which puts a financial burden back on families.”

And infant care? Nearly impossible. The regulatory nightmare continues: “We had 20 infants on our waitlist and were ready to open an infant center. But there was a fire code barrier—the school district wouldn’t install sprinklers because that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the whole building, not just one classroom.”

James Kyriaco: The Policy Perspective

James offered a broader picture on why local governments must step up.

The Alternative Payment Program, offered through Social Services, provides crucial vouchers for working families—but few know it exists. “Not enough people know about it, and there are waiting lists. It’s hard to get into situations where you can always take advantage of it,” Kyriaco explains. “Childcare has to be treated as economic infrastructure. Without it, families leave. Workers quit. Businesses lose staff. It impacts everything.”

The City of Goleta has taken the initiative by removing zoning barriers for home daycare providers and dedicating $250,000 annually to early childhood education from its general fund.

“We provide scholarships through United Way and Santa Barbara Foundation, and we partner with Women’s Economic Ventures to train and license new teachers. Still, childcare providers earn less than fast-food workers. That’s unsustainable. There’s a great movie called ‘No Small Matter’ about childcare workers who work 2 or 3 jobs and still can’t afford to stay in the sector.” James emphasized how policy choices shape real outcomes.

“A major challenge is the broken market for infant care. You can’t just raise prices—it’ll price families out. But lowering quality by increasing ratios is also unacceptable. There’s just not enough public funding in the system to make it work.”

The Hidden Economic Impact

This isn’t just about childcare—it’s about economic survival. Kyriaco, raised by a single mother who sometimes relied on inadequate care (”their solution to everything was, take a nap”), explains the ripple effects: “When a family decides to grow and have a child, to a great degree it falls to the woman in that relationship. She takes a step back from work for a while, or for years. That impacts how much money goes into their Social Security over their lifetime, how much they’re putting into their 401K, the savings that doesn’t happen.”

Meanwhile, unlicensed care fills the gaps. Alvarez notices the impact: “We’ve seen more families using family friends and neighbors. We’ve seen delays in speech, behavior issues. When kids have been with family members who rely on screen time, it’s harder for them to make the transition to structured care.”

The regulatory maze makes everything worse. “Regulatory offices aren’t speaking to each other,” Alvarez notes. “It’s been really difficult to navigate all these different barriers that come at you.”

The Advocacy Imperative

“If we feel like an issue isn’t about us, it’s still about us,” says Alvarez. “These systems are interconnected.”

The invisibility problem is real. “People don’t understand that early childhood education access is an economic development issue,” Kyriaco emphasizes. “If I could get into the heads of policymakers—the amount of effort, preparation and competence required to deliver an early education curriculum daily... on some level people think of this as babysitting. They don’t get just how much goes into it.”

Both advocates stress the need for sustained attention. Kyriaco notes that Governor Newsom initially had early childhood experts high in his administration, “but that’s gone away, so I don’t know that he’s consistently hearing from voices that understand the system holistically. I honestly think the best thing that we can do is continue advocating with people like Gregg Hart, who has a personal understanding of the system, and Monique Limón, who’s been such a champion for education in general and early childhood in particular. And then I think it’s working with our local government and trying to find ways to get the county and our cities to put more money into increasing opportunities.”

What SBWPC Members Can Do

We asked them how our members—and SBWPC as a whole—can help move the needle.

James: “It starts with attention. That’s one of the most powerful things we have. Show up. Speak out. Hold elected officials accountable. If cities can talk about funding affordable housing, they should also talk about funding childcare—because they’re linked.”

Teresa: “Even if it feels like it’s not your issue, it is. All these systems are connected. Childcare is tied to education, the workforce, and equity. Advocating for better support for childcare workers, providers, and families is essential.”

Where We Go From Here

We at SBWPC remain committed to pushing childcare forward as a feminist and economic priority. We ask our members to:
Advocate for public funding at all levels of government
Support local centers and scholarships
Attend public meetings and make your voice heard
Join our Legislation & Advocacy Committee to stay engaged

Our Takeaway

If Teresa or James alert us to pending legislation or budget changes, we’ll mobilize immediately—and we ask you to stand with us.

We envision a future where caregiving is valued, supported, and shared, and where no woman is forced to choose between her children and her career. Because when we invest in childcare, we invest in women’s economic freedom, children’s futures, and our community’s prosperity.

— Lisa & Elsa

Co-Presidents, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee