Swalwell Faces Cheers, Jeers at CV Town Hall
More than 120 people attended a community town hall at the Castro Valley High School football field last Friday to hear from US Representative Eric Swalwell in person, for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The congressman covered a wide range of topics from the US departure from Afghanistan and support for Afghan refugees to his work on providing financial support for families, building projects to stimulate economic growth in the Bay Area, and combating the spread of COVID-19.
Cheers for the congressman included crowd support for drone strikes against those behind a suicide bombing last Thursday that killed 13 service members at the airport in Kabul. The majority of those assembled also applauded Swalwell’s pledge to end the congressional filibuster, a political procedure designed to delay or prevent the House of Representatives and/or Senate from passing laws.
A smaller portion of the crowd supplied vocal jeers based on their skepticism about Swalwell’s record on immigration, his stance on vaccinations, and displeasure that Afghan refugees would be getting help while people in Castro Valley and other parts of Swalwell’s district struggle to make ends meet.
“Why are we helping people from Afghanistan when we need you to do your job here?” shouted one woman from the crowd.
Swalwell retorted that he absolutely is in support of American assistance for any Afghan refugees who aided the military and that they should be completely vetted before coming to the United States.
“This is what we do. This is who we are. We are a vibrant economy because this is an economy made up of immigrants and refugees. This is the best economy in the world, here in the Bay Area, and it’s not in spite of us being an immigrant community, it’s because we are an immigrant community.”
"This is what we do. This is who we are. We are a vibrant economy because this is an economy made up of immigrants and refugees. This is the best economy in the world, here in the Bay Area, and it's not in spite of us being an immigrant community, it's because we are an immigrant community,” Swalwell said to a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd.
The majority of Swalwell’s town hall was a recap of a town hall earlier this month where he pledged support for refugees from Afghanistan and their families who are fleeing the country, especially those who have aided the United States military efforts over the last 20 years.
Swalwell reported that his office has taken on more than 6,000 immigration cases which roughly represent about 20,000 people. The congressman’s district, which includes Castro Valley, Dublin, Pleasanton, and Hayward also includes the Centerville District of Fremont, which is locally referred to as Little Kabul because it has the largest number of people of Afghan ancestry living there. More than 66,000 people of Afghan descent live in California, according to 2019 US census data.
In an earlier press briefing, Swalwell was approached by a man who asked to only be identified as Azid. The man with family in Hayward said prior to the US military leaving Afghanistan, he worked with the international USAID organization within their human resource department. He told Swalwell he was lucky enough to make it out of Afghanistan. He said he wanted to meet up with the congressman in hopes of helping bring the rest of his family to the Bay Area.
“I was just in Kabul Airport two weeks ago and it was very chaotic. I am worried that my family won’t be able to get through the airport,” Azid said. “I have been looking for help so I wanted to ask the congressman if he might be able to assist me.”
Swalwell’s staff did approach the man and took down his information.
Closer to home, Swalwell said his goal for Bay Area infrastructure projects includes funds to extend the Dublin BART line all the way out to Stockton. The congressman also noted his role in providing childcare tax credits which took the form of checks being sent out to eligible taxpayers as of last week.
While taking questions from the audience, Swalwell said he fully supports free community college and zero interest on student loans; mandates for wearing masks in public as it pertains to fighting back the spread of COVID-19; and encouraging the public to get vaccinated. He also acknowledged his support for East Bay Stand Down, a four-day bi-yearly event to assist homeless and at-risk military Veterans living in the Bay Area.