ALAMEDA
California Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Alameda, alongside a coalition of 60 organizations, on Tuesday introduced Assembly Bill 2600 to create a state program providing legal representation to all Californians facing deportation proceedings, with priority for people held in immigration detention.
While defendants in criminal court have a constitutional right to an attorney, no such right exists in immigration court — one of the most complex legal systems in the country — and most of these individuals face those proceedings alone, with severe and irreversible consequences.
“Every person deserves their day in court, with a lawyer by their side,” said Bonta. “In California, thousands of our neighbors are being swept into one of the most complex legal systems in the country, often in a second language, without an attorney or a fair shot.
“The Trump administration’s mass deportation machine is accelerating that injustice. AB 2600 represents California’s chance to stand up for our values: a commitment to due process, dignity and the principle that justice shouldn’t depend on what you can afford. Representing one of the state’s most immigrant-rich communities, I am proud to fight for every Californian’s right to a fair hearing.”
More than 8,250 Californians were deported in the first nine months of 2025 alone, triple the pace of 2024, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents separated families across the state. Research has found that immigrants with legal representation are five times more likely to win their cases than those who go unrepresented, yet most people in California’s immigration courts face them without a lawyer.
Many of those targeted also faced detention in facilities like CoreCivic’s California City facility, where individuals in ICE custody have asserted that conditions are inhumane, including inadequate food and medical care and denial of access to lawyers.
AB 2600 would unlock state legal aid funds for qualified public defender offices, nonprofit legal organizations and private immigration attorneys — using existing resources and expanding the legal defense network across California. While the bill does not guarantee a specific outcome, it does guarantee legal representation.
Bonta represents California’s 18th Assembly District encompassing Alameda (where she lives with her husband, California Attorney General Rob Bonta), Emeryville and parts of Oakland. She also chairs the Assembly Health Committee. Visit bit.ly/3Piurnt for further details on AB 2600.
— Asm. Bonta’s office
Kiwanis Club honors local Hope of America eighth-graders
The Kiwanis Club of Alameda (KCA) on March 11 celebrated eight exceptional eighth-graders as Hope of America awardees for 2026. The club invited the students, their teachers and their families to a luncheon held at Alameda’s Elks Lodge.
Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Ryan LaLonde, the Alameda Unified School Board’s president, presented their congratulations with remarks. Each student received a plaque from KCA President Laila Grassley and an official certificate from the mayor.
The honored students were Shea Chhoth (Wood Middle School), Carver Cruz (Nea Community Learning Center), Dylan Cruz (St. Joseph Elementary), Josephine Gilmore (Encinal Junior & Senior High), DeVonn Harding (Academy of Alameda), Isabelle Kim (Coastline Christian School), Elena Svec (St. Philip Neri) and Kairi Williams (Wood Middle).
The Hope of America Award is given to outstanding eighth-graders who continuously demonstrate leadership, character, peer outreach, community service and school spirit. Every school in Alameda with an eighth-grade class invites teachers to nominate students matching these criteria. These young Hope of America awardees inspire their peers to respect and welcome all students. For more details visit k01025.site.kiwanis.org online.
— KCA
The Kiwanis Club of Alameda on March 11 honored eight local eighth-graders as 2026 Hope of America awardees in a luncheon for the students, their teachers and their families at Alameda’s Elks Lodge. (photo courtesy Al Wright Raintree Studios via Patricia Bowen)
‘Napa Nick’ to speak at Hornet on Vietnam War Veterans Day
USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum officials invite the public to join them in commemorating National Vietnam War Veterans Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29. In conjunction with the Alameda Veterans Affairs Commission, the main event starting at 1 p.m. will feature keynote speaker Nicholas “Napa Nick” Sanza.
Sanza conducting dangerous underground missions during the Vietnam War in Viet Cong tunnel systems in search of American prisoners of war and the remains of missing service members. Sanza says that, armed with a 3.5-foot bamboo stick with a slit cut on one end, a 14-inch World War II Japanese bayonet and a silenced .38 Special revolver pistol, he was deep underground in the tunnel system, wearing the same clothing and eating the same food as the enemy and using their skills to hear in the dark what his eyes could not see.
After the war, Sanza says he built a successful career in film and television as “Napa Nick,” working on the CBS series “Falcon Crest” and numerous network productions as a producer, production manager, stuntman and investigative journalist. For more details on the Hornet’s activities for March 29, visit uss-hornet.org/event/national-vietnam-war-veterans-day-2026.
— USS Hornet
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