This bill is insanity, and I’m torn on what the real goal is. They use the ruse of illegal immigrants who might have had parents deported, but I’m thinking it’s primarily about allowing someone to take a child out of school to get sexual dysphoria mutilation “care” which is big money for the medical and pharmaceutical complex. But Demonrats have also passed legislation that was about allowing child sexual exploitation while also protecting those trafficking them, so probably a combination of the two. This is the Demonrat party on full display of what they’re really about and how they view children as something to be exploited, and not protected. And remember, they think children belong to the community and not the parents, who are a hindrance to their deranged agenda.
“Presto, Someone Walks Away with Your Child”: Critics Slam AB 495’s Threat to Parental Rights
As California lawmakers recess for the summer, Assembly Bill 495, dubbed the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025,” sits poised in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Authored by Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (San Fernando-D), the bill claims to provide compassionate solutions for immigrant families facing sudden separations due to detention or deportation. But critics—including attorneys, parental rights advocates, and faith-based organizations—warn it dangerously redefines guardianship, strips away parental rights, and creates legal loopholes that make kidnapping children easy.
The Author’s Intent: “No Child Should Face Uncertainty”
Assemblywoman Rodriguez and her supporters argue that AB 495 ensures children are not left vulnerable if a parent is detained unexpectedly by federal immigration officials. Her bill attempts to create streamlined guardianship by allowing a “nonrelative extended family member,” defined broadly as anyone with a “mentoring relationship,” to assume control over a child through a one-page affidavit. No court review. No notarization. No parental consent required.
Rodriguez defends the bill by highlighting that existing tools like Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits lack clarity and enforceability. She insists AB 495 enhances child welfare by giving caregivers legal recognition and children access to essential services without unnecessary disruption.
But opponents argue the exact opposite.
Erin Friday: “Presto, someone walks away with your child.”
Erin Friday, an attorney and president of Our Duty-USA, a parent-led advocacy group, called AB 495 “a child trafficker’s and kidnapper’s dream bill.”
“There is no background check, no welfare check, no court oversight, and no verification. All you need is a piece of paper and some form of identification, with no obligation for the adult handing the child over to verify the identification, and presto, someone walks away with your child,” she warned.
Friday also rejects Rodriguez’s claim that this bill is narrowly tailored to immigration emergencies. The bill’s language applies to any child for any reason, regardless of immigration status, and grants temporary legal rights to individuals with no blood relation, including people who may not even be known to the child’s parents. The stranger can consent to medical treatments for the child, and the bill absolves the doctors from any liability should the adult consenting not have any actual legal connection to the child.
“We’re talking about a legal pathway for predators to operate in plain sight,” Friday said. “This bill is not about immigration. It’s about relinquishing parental rights to unvetted strangers under the guise of compassion.”
Nicole Pearson: “This is not fear-mongering.”
Attorney Nicole Pearson, founder of Facts Law Truth Justice, echoed these concerns in her testimony before the Senate Human Services Committee:
“California wants to let someone that is not related to your child remove her from school, enroll her in any other school in the state, authorize any medical treatment of her, including mental health services and drugs, without the parents’ notice and knowledge or consent. This is not fear-mongering. I’m not being hyperbolic… . These unintended consequences are terrifying, and they are unavoidable.”
Pearson, who has represented immigrant families and trafficking survivors, noted that the bill’s vague definitions and lack of procedural safeguards are eerily similar to federal mishandlings that led to over 600,000 unaccounted-for unaccompanied minors in 2021.
“Yet AB 495 goes even further,” Pearson warns. The bill co-opts the term “non-relative extended family member” from dependency (foster care) court, but since its “Caretakers Authorization Affidavit” will not be used in connection with any official legal proceedings, completely sidesteps the system’s safeguards, such as background checks, fingerprinting, home visits, welfare checks, interviews, hearings, and liability if the child is harmed. “This is not a compassionate bill designed to help the children of undocumented immigrants. It is a license to take vulnerable children and make them disappear,” she said in a later interview.
What the Bill Actually Does
While AB 495 is promoted as a compassionate safeguard for children of detained immigrant parents, it in fact:
- Expands who qualifies as a “caregiver” to include “nonrelative extended family members,” defined as any adult with an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child, or with a relative of the child—a broad and loosely defined category.
- Authorizes the use of a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit by these individuals, allowing them to assume decision-making authority over a child’s schooling and medical care without a court appearance, notarization, or parental signature.
- Grants caregivers the legal ability to enroll a child in school and authorize medical, dental, and mental health treatments, including treatments related to school participation. This includes sex trait modification procedures.
- Does not require schools or day care facilities to verify the identity, relationship, or legitimacy of the adult presenting the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit, while absolving them of any liability should the child be handed over to a stranger or traffickers.
- Requires court documents related to joint guardianship arrangements (appointed in anticipation of a parent’s temporary unavailability, including immigration-related detention) to be kept confidential and only accessible to parties in the case. Disclosure to immigration authorities is prohibited without a court order based on compelling necessity unrelated to immigration enforcement.
In short, AB 495 significantly reduces oversight and verification in assigning authority over children, introducing the potential for confusion and misuse in situations where parental rights and child safety are at stake.
The Real Path Forward: Safety and Compassion
California Family Council’s Vice President Greg Burt summarized the concern succinctly:
“We affirm the importance of keeping children safe and families together if you can in times of crisis,” Burt said. “But compassion without guardrails is not mercy, it is madness.”
California already has mechanisms, such as temporary guardianship through the courts, that provide for these scenarios with safeguards intact. The notion that compassion must come at the expense of parental rights and child safety is a false dichotomy.
A Call to Action
With lawmakers back in their districts, now is the moment for parents, pastors, and citizens to speak up.
📞 Call your State Senator and urge a NO vote on AB 495. 📢 Share this article on social media and alert your community. 🙏 Pray for the protection of California’s children and the restoration of biblical parental authority.
For Life, Family, and Liberty—stop AB 495.