How Tijuana is preparing for a 2nd Trump presidency

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, January 20th

How Tijuana is preparing for a Trump presidency. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

Almost 70-percent of South Bay households interviewed in a recent survey believe crossborder sewage is impacting their health.

C-D-C surveyors talked to 189 households in October about the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

80 percent said the sewage has negatively impacted their quality of life … More than half think their health has gotten worse in recent years … while 18 percent sought medical help due to the crisis.

A fire weather watch is in effect from now until tomorrow (Tuesday) evening for San Diego County valleys and mountains due to low humidity and strong Santa Ana winds.

Fire weather watches are issued if forecasters think weather conditions could become a red flag warning — a severe weather alert.

Because of Santa Ana winds last week, the county was under a red flag warning.

Alex Tardy of the National Weather Service says Santa Anas aren’t uncommon in December and January.

That is not new news, but it is unusual to see so many of them all on top of each other. 

Strong winds, low humidity and dry vegetation create a bigger potential for wildfires.

There’s a new parking scam to watch out for.

Some San Diegans have received text messages telling them to pay a “parking invoice.” The messages look like they’re from the city of San Diego but are not.

To check if you have a citation, the city advises going to their website sandiego.gov/parking/citations.

You can also call the city’s Parking Administration department Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

THE SAN DIEGO FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT IS TRYING SOMETHING NEW TO PROTECT HOMES FROM WILDFIRES. REPORTER JOHN CARROLL TELLS US HOW ONE NEIGHBORHOOD MAY NOW BE SAFER FROM FIRE.

The sound of nozzles spraying out liquid could be heard Friday morning at the base of Cowles Mountain, along Wing Span Drive.  But it wasn’t water being sprayed… It was a product called Mighty Fire Breaker that’s designed to keep fire from burning dry brush, or anything else for that matter.  The product is citrus-based and approved by the EPA.  Former San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman says he believes in the product… especially after he conducted his own test on a dead Christmas tree he’d sprayed with the product five weeks ago. “It’s as dead as dead can be, and we put a 3,000 degree torch on it and it wouldn’t burn.  A dead Christmas tree won’t burn.  I’ve never seen anything like it.” Once, and if, fire comes - the hope is this Mighty Fire Breaker product will be the ultimate example of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. John Carroll, KPBS News.

ON THE DAY OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S INAUGURATION, TIJUANA MIGRANT SHELTERS SAY THEY ARE NOT PREPARED FOR MASS DEPORTATIONS. BORDER REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS BRINGS US THIS DISPATCH FROM CASA DEL MIGRANTE.

“Buen probecho. Gracias.” Father Pat Murphy loves Casa Del Migrante. He especially enjoys giving visitors a tour of the migrant shelter in Tijuana’s Buena Vista neighborhood. “This is the patio where people hang out.” Father Pat, as he’s affectionately known, has lived here since 2013. Back then, it was mainly a place for deportees adjusting to life back in Mexico. “Everybody that comes here, we do an interview and we say, Look if you stay here we’re going to give you up to 45 days but you have to be willing to go out to work and we’ll help you find a job. Some people accept that right away.” But in recent years, Casa Del Migrante has become a place for families trying to seek asylum. Father Pat says the shelter is now louder … more energetic and full of life. “Hola gritton. No tiene frio con estos?” “When we started taking care of families, we had to find a place for the kids to have activities and be able to play.” Apart from the hustle and bustle that comes with children … things are calm … for now. There’s plenty of room for more families. And Father Pat has noticed fewer deportees seeking help. But this calm may not last after today. President Donald Trump is beginning a second term … and has promised an unprecedented crackdown on immigration … including mass deportations. “In a cruel sense, it means 4 years of torture. I just came from the doctor and the valet in the parking lot said to me you’re going to be really busy.” Father Pat worries that Tijuana isn’t prepared for mass deportations. Migrant shelters are underfunded and city officials haven’t offered any direct aid. “And so, I expect if they don’t help us it’s going to be people in the streets. And the weather is getting cold, some day it’s going to rain, it’s going to be really bad.” In recent weeks, officials in Tijuana and Baja California announced ambitious plans to open a shelter for 10,000 people. Tijuana Mayor Ismael Brisueno says it will be a dignified space where deportees can get access to social services and job training programs. Queremos darles el mejor resultado posible y tratar como merece la gente que son deportados. But as of Friday, the mayor still hadn’t disclosed where the proposed shelter would be. Or when it would open. A spokesperson for the mayor says the update was postponed to next week. This lack of detail or even a basic timeline doesn’t inspire confidence. “The government has not met with the shelters. They keep saying they have a place for five thousand, three thousand, two thousand, in the end they have nothing. They have us.” Father Pat and other experts say deportees need more than just promises of shelter beds. They’re a vulnerable population in need of services. Anny Lopez is a trained psychologist specialized in helping deportees and migrants. Her office in Tijuana is decorated with colorful drawings from kids saying “I love you” and “Merry Christmas.” She says the transition is hardest on people who have spent decades in the United States. “Lo que yo e visto en la consulta es este cambio de tanto tiempo aya y que va pasar aqui.” Helping deportees readjust to life in Mexico is hard work. First come the most pressing needs – clothes, food, shelter and a job. Then comes the hard part. Addressing the mental toll of deportation.  Many are separated from their families … and just lost everything from their life in the United States. “Van a estar solos, vulnerables, su familia lejos, si tienen consume o addicciones – son muchos factores que en el caso de los hombres los pone en mucho riesgo.” Lopez is especially worried for deported men who don’t have healthy coping mechanisms. Without a support system, she says they’re at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse. Father Pat says the people of Tijuana will need to step up. As they have in the past. “Tijuana is very hospitable. There are a few people here and there who have a little xenophobia in their blood. But they should remember where they came from. Because most of Tijuana is not from Tijuana. It’s from people who come from other parts of Mexico and the migrants here have really built the city.” There’s still a lot of uncertainty over what Trump will actually do. He’ll need Congress to approve funding to hire the personnel needed for mass deportations. But he could issue executive orders that block access to asylum. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News

SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS AND STATE LAWMAKERS ARE RESPONDING TO FEARS ABOUT MASS DEPORTATIONS UNDER THE INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS THEY’RE PROPOSING POLICIES TO LIMIT ICE’S ACCESS TO SCHOOLS.

The San Diego Unified School District board adopted a resolution last month reaffirming that it’s a welcoming district for all students. It says the district will not permit ICE to access its facilities without a warrant. State lawmakers are proposing additional requirements. Assembly Bill 49 would require a warrant, a written statement of purpose and permission from a superintendent. Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi is a Democrat who represents the South Bay area of Los Angeles. I introduced Assembly Bill 49 to send a message to all of our immigrant students, immigrant families throughout the state of California, that we have their backs. Current ICE policy says officers should avoid arrests and searches at schools and other places where children gather. Immigration attorney Tammy Lin says even without changes to policy, threats of mass deportation can reduce attendance. When you have this rhetoric, it scares these communities into not sending their kids to school, which impacts everything else, right? Enrollment rates may drop, which impacts the funding for that school, which impacts the district. It goes all the way down the line. San Diego Unified has also published a webpage with resources for immigrant and refugee students and families. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

THE SECOND INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS SOME SCIENTISTS CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH COOPERATION BETWEEN THE U-S AND CHINA. SCI-TECH REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE SPOKE WITH A UC SAN DIEGO PROFESSOR ABOUT HOW JOINT RESEARCH CAN CONTINUE.

Hostile rhetoric toward China is easy to find in Donald Trump’s speeches. Lots of talk about them ripping us off and raiding our factories. But UCSD professor of innovation David Victor says the mistrust toward China is bipartisan. Victor is co-author of a commentary about that mistrust in the journal Nature, written with senior scientists in China and the US. He says it’s affected the two countries’ vital academic cooperation with a sharp drop in American students studying in China and a reduction in co-authorship of scientific papers. Victor says both sides need to cool the rhetoric and clearly identify safe zones for joint research, where scholars need not be concerned about impacts on national security. “We need a strategy for that. Right now there’s nobody providing that kind of guidance. What we argue in the paper is that the US National Academy for Sciences along with its counterpart in China could help offer that strategy.” Life science research is often co-authored by Americans and Chinese and renewable energy is another field of cooperation. Victor says restricted areas should include AI, advanced computing and anything related to military technology. SOQ.  

KPBS will have on-air coverage of President Trump’s inauguration. NPR starts its coverage at 8 a.m.

Then at 11 a.m., tune in to special coverage from the California Newsroom, a California public media collaboration. We’ll talk about what a second Trump presidency will mean here in California.

You can stream it at kpbs.org.

The San Diego Republican Party is co-hosting an inauguration watch party today (Monday) at the Legacy Center in Mission Valley.

The event runs from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tickets start at 47 dollars. Proceeds will go towards supporting Republican political candidates in California.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day.