The now former chief of staff of the San Mateo County Sheriff's OfficeVictor Aenlle, who claimed to have been removed from his position “without apparent reason” and in an “illegal” manner, said the order was sent by County Executive Mike Callagy, and he will take his case to court.

This was stated by Aenlle himself in an interview with Marcos Gutiérrez and Manuel Ortiz during the radio program Península 360 Press on Hecho en California, where he said that they have kept in office elements who do not want Christina Corpus as sheriff, joining Mike Callagy to remove her.

"They know they should have removed me, because I have always supported Sheriff Corpus since day one when they wanted to remove her," he said.

“Mike Callagy thinks he is God, that he has a lot of power, and if you are not on their side, if you do not think like them, then they take you away, push you away and use the county attorneys, the power and our money to advance their opinions and agendas that they have,” Aenlle said. 

Christina Corpus, was accused of abuse of power, retaliation, intimidation, homophobia and racism in her office, through an independent investigation. When facing the charges, her immediate resignation was requested, even in December 2024 she was offered one million dollars and four years of health insurance in exchange for leaving her position; it is currently unknown whether this figure has increased, however, other means have been sought to remove her from office. 

“Now they are trying to get rid of her with 5.5 million dollars for an election that would not be legal, because it is only a proposition for the general election,” explained Marcos Gutierrez. 

The media fight between San Mateo County and Sheriff Christina Corpus has been marred by inconsistencies with interviews and dubious evidence; despite the accusations, the community has shown its support for the sheriff on several occasions.

For his part, Marcos Gutierrez said that the San Mateo County administrator has manipulated several administration supervisors to campaign against Sheriff Christina Corpus, questioning why they do not like her. 

Aenlle responded that Corpus went so far as to change the administration and all the plans that the county supervisors had, who have not agreed with the sheriff, as they want to continue operating in a bad manner.

The former official experienced the death of his brother, who was murdered in San Mateo County, experiencing the injustice that exists among the authorities, which is why he decided to make a difference, dedicating 17 years of his life to service to generate change. 

“We came in with passion and heart to generate change. We started looking for police officers, people who were police officers with good hearts, so that they could truly serve the community, but they don’t want that change. They were saying that with Sheriff Corpus there are too many Mexicans, Latinos, Chinese or blacks, they don’t want that, they stick with the mentality of racism,” he said.

He also commented that Mike Callagy wants his friend Ryan Monaghan to take over as Corpus: “Ryan is not a leader and he does not do things right, he only does what people want, and what I have heard is that he only wants to put his friends in.”

For the former Corpus Chief of Staff, the sheriff represents the Latino community, she has compassion and reflects it in her treatment of people and her way of speaking, “it is seen in the affection of the people and in the programs that have been generated in the community, the commitment to others.”

He also expressed his disagreement with what they want to do with Corpus and the community, because “just trying to remove a sheriff who was elected by the community itself, with 760 thousand people in the county, only to put 5 people that they want is not right.” 

In the investigation, Aenlle said that of the 40 people who were interviewed, half no longer worked at the Sheriff's Office, and the other half are against Corpus' position, which casts doubt on the report "which is based on many lies," putting into question the real interests behind the conflict. 

Finally, Aenlle explained that she will file the corresponding complaints so that her rights are respected. 

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California Congressman for District 15, Kevin Mullin, has joined 153 House Democrats in sending a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging the Trump administration to disclose a full list of initiatives affected by frozen federal funding, which directly impacts local governments.  

The Trump administration announced a plan to freeze virtually all federal funding for essential services, harming communities across the country and increasing costs for Americans. 

This reckless action, Mullin said in a statement, blocks funding to pay teachers, support first responders, sustain life-saving medical research and more. 

The San Mateo County native noted that, according to federal data from last month, at least $675 million in pending grant funds for California District 15 alone could be withheld, and billions of dollars are at risk for future programs.

Much of this funding has already been allocated to communities, Mullin said, adding that Trump's directives to the Office of Management and Budget greatly exceed their constitutional limits by blatantly ignoring the fact that Congress, not the president, has the power over the money.  

“The Trump Administration’s decision to freeze federal funding approved by Congress is dangerously cruel and incredibly damaging to communities that rely on aid for critical services and necessary infrastructure improvements,” Mullin said. 

She added that this freeze will have direct negative consequences for programs in California's District 15, such as early childhood education and community college programs, affordable housing developments and rental assistance for low-income housing, and support for advancements in the life sciences.

“Much of this funding had already been awarded to cities and grant recipients, and the Trump Administration’s failure to honor these federal commitments is an unlawful disgrace. This is a reckless decision that will ultimately hurt hard-working Americans and increase costs for communities across the country,” he explained.

In addition, he said, it will disrupt popular projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL). 

In that regard, Congressman Mullin explained that communities across the country depend on this essential funding to build new roads and bridges, expand access to broadband, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more. 

“Neither the vaguely worded executive order nor a subsequent memo from Trump’s acting Office of Management and Budget director Matthew Vaeth and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett make clear what projects, programs and activities are frozen,” he said.

Rep. Mullin will also join his House Democratic colleagues to determine appropriate steps they can take to defend against this presidential overreach.  

On Tuesday, January 28, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's freeze on federal funds until Monday, February 3, 2025.

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Two men were arrested quickly and without explanation at the King & Story Target in San Jose last Sunday; personnel from the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered the premises exclusively to carry out the arrest.

Federal authorities arrived at the Target in white vehicles without any logo or signage alluding to the government, got out and entered the establishment to make the arrest; however, people who were there told television stations that the arrest had taken place at the Tropicana Foods establishment, which led to the circulation of false information.

In that sense, misinformation has generated economic losses in local establishments, said Aaron Ruelas Reséndez, a prominent leader and activist from San Jose, California, to Manuel Ortiz during the Península 360 Press radio program on Hecho en California, with Marcos Gutierrez.

Resendez said he has credible eyewitnesses from businesses around where the arrest took place; the two boys are of Colombian origin and worked at Target. The witnesses say that these two people were the only ones who came to the place.

“They did not bother other people in the audience, they were just coming for what they were coming for and they took these people away quickly,” explained Aaron Ruelas Reséndez.

After the incident, Ruelas received the news and immediately called someone at Tropicana Foods. When they began to contact and corroborate the facts, they realized that the misinformation had spread.

The owner of Tropicana expressed his displeasure, since it had not happened in his business; however, he was sure that it was in this place: “The first thing they say is, what happened in Tropicana? But this was on the other side of the street, so people stop going and that is why their sales have dropped by 30 percent,” said Ruelas.

Given the concern, a meeting was held in the community attended by about 25 people who have businesses in the area to discuss this issue. Another meeting will be held next Thursday with the people from the establishments to talk exclusively about this case and how to join forces to resist and prevent misinformation again. 

The incident occurred at Target, but there has been misinformation saying that it happened at Tropicana. “We want them to say where the incident really happened,” Reséndez said.

On the other hand, the participation of the Sheriff and the councilors is worrying, since it has been publicly stated that they will not cooperate with immigration, however, they were present during the arrest, remaining in the back of the place. 

"We cannot change the federal government, but we can change the local government and demand the necessary support," the activist concluded.

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The recent fires in Los Angeles, California, have left regrettable damage, destroying homes and evicting thousands of people; however, support from various parties was forthcoming and the immigrant community was present from the efforts to put out the fire, to the labor for reconstruction, which would not be possible without this sector of the American population, experts expressed during a briefing heldfor Ethnic Media Services.

President Donald Trump's speech has generated fear and uncertainty among the immigrant community, as they fear mass deportations, but also for the well-being of their own lives.

And although immigrants are the backbone of the American economy, becoming a key part of many sectors, such as construction and other relevant basic services, hate speech does not stop. 

Yet, in the Los Angeles fires, as has been the case in every catastrophe in the United States, immigrants were hard at work from day one, as well as in the clean-up tasks, since effective recovery will be key not only for the people who lost their homes, but also for the insurance sector and the economy in general.

During the session, it was said that business leaders have been looking for ways to avoid being affected by low employee attendance due to fear of deportations, trying to cushion some of the impetus of mass deportation plans, given that many industries are already at a point of worker shortage. 

Nik Theodore, a professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, said that the anti-immigrant rhetoric is real, as it is not only heard, but is also experienced through the fear and insecurity it has generated among communities. This rhetoric is seen in the workplace, as employees are now afraid to complain about low pay, long hours or poor conditions, which is putting the safety of workers at risk.

Pablo Alvarado, executive co-director of NDLON, the National Network of Day Laborer Organizations, said that there are 70 day laborer centers in the country, and every time there is a climate catastrophe, these centers are activated and become information centers and support for the community.

“The work centers have become a great support, every day around 500 people come for donations, the center serves around a thousand people daily, it is probably the largest community operation that has responded to a disaster in the area,” said Alvarado.

He also commented that in times of crisis, it is when you can see who you can count on, it is when support is most needed and currently migrants are the first to offer support, since today they manage 15 brigades that are throughout the city that are cleaning.

“There is no way Los Angeles can be rebuilt without the essential force of migrants, they have always been important, before the pandemic, during and after, that is why they are needed now more than ever and it would be impossible without immigrant workers,” Alvarado concluded. 

Anabella Bastida, director of Membership and Membership Services for the coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), said that she is working together with the Mexican consulates to obtain the necessary support for those who require it.

Bastida has experienced first-hand the immigrant community that comes to the United States to work, making a positive contribution to the country. In the face of disasters, she recognizes the solidarity of people who, regardless of their country of origin, have come forward to donate diapers, water, food and other things to support those affected. 

Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said many fields of employment rely on immigrants, including caregivers, the construction industry, agriculture and more.

In addition to the fires, Bastida spoke about the preparations for the Olympic Games, where immigrants will be an essential part of the great work that will be carried out, which is why it is impossible to make it possible. 

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