While other politicians are taking a break this Memorial Day weekend, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders marches forward with his campaign in California. The Democratic underdog spent the last two days learning about farmer working conditions in California’s Central Valley.
Sanders held several rallies in the state between Saturday and Sunday, including an intimate meeting with Latino Leaders in Bakersfield. Audience and panel members shared stories of the struggles they face working in the San Joaquin Valley.
When asked how he would handle the “deportation machine that has destroyed lives,” the senator pointed to legislation he introduced that would end private ownership of detention centers and prisons.
Sanders reiterated his disagreement with the Obama administration’s deportation practices, which splits families across borders, and acknowledged that the U.S.’s immigration system is in need of reform.
On the topic of contaminated drinking water, Sanders noted that the water crisis in the U.S. extends beyond Flint, Michigan, and stated that Americans should not be paying for poisoned water.
When asked if he would join a boycott against Driscoll, a produce company that allegedly pays undocumented workers $6 a day for labor, Sanders said that he was unaware of the boycott and that Driscoll would hear from him.
“Workers here and in the valley are being exploited, as are farm workers all over the country,” Sanders said.
