SACRAMENTO
500+ fast-tracked projects have restored nearly 200,000 acres and improved 700 miles of streams
California is making it faster, easier, and more affordable to launch environmental restoration projects across the state, thanks to a program the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife established in 2021 called Cutting Green Tape.
It’s a simple idea: streamline the complex red tape – ‘green tape’ in the case of restoration work – that often delays or blocks habitat restoration projects. Instead of forcing good environmental work to get stuck in paperwork, Cutting Green Tape removes unnecessary barriers and helps important conservation projects get approved more quickly.
And it’s working.
Since 2022, the program has helped more than 500 restoration projects move forward by reducing costly delays and making the approval process easier to navigate. These efforts have already contributed to the restoration of nearly 200,000 acres of habitat, the reconnection of 5.5 million acres of land, and the improvement of over 700 miles of California streams. All of these projects are critical for fish, wildlife, and clean water.
By removing red tape, the state is saving time, money, and precious ecosystems. Faster restoration means healthier rivers, cleaner water, stronger fish populations, and better protection against climate impacts like wildfire and drought. It also means public funds and community efforts go further and have a bigger impact.
CDFW estimates the program has already saved nearly $10 million in permitting costs — savings that go right back into protecting the environment.
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WASHINGTON
Padilla joins colleagues demanding answers, return of Maryland father wrongfully deported to El Salvador
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined 24 Senators in urging Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father who was living legally in Maryland with his family until the Trump Administration wrongfully deported him without due process last month to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The Administration has admitted that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was the result of an “administrative error.”
“We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an ‘administrative error,’” wrote the Senators. “It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.”
“Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible,” continued the Senators. “And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens.”
Earlier today, Padilla joined Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) to meet with Abrego Garcia’s family and wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, to discuss the ongoing effort to secure his immediate release. Padilla promised to keep fighting for Abrego Garcia so he can be reunited with his family.
In their letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Tedd Lyons, the Senators called on the Trump Administration to comply with the court order requiring that they facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland ordered Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, and the Trump Administration’s ensuing motion to stay the order was denied by the Fourth Circuit on Monday. The case now remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Senators also asked about ICE’s enforcement policies that may have led to this grave error as well as what measures they will take to ensure such an incident did not happen to others and does not occur again.
A number of Senators also signed the letter.
Senator Padilla is a leading voice in Congress opposing President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and anti-immigrant actions and rhetoric. Yesterday, Padilla, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07) issued a joint statement condemning the Supreme Court’s decision to lift a hold on removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Padilla previously issued a joint statement with Senators Durbin, Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) slamming President Trump for his attempted invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport noncitizens without due process. Last year, Padilla emphasized the dangers and immense economic costs of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation plans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Full text of the letter is available online at https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/4-8-25_letter_to_dhs-ice_re_abrego_garcia.pdf
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