Trump is calling for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents by 5,000. What could possibly go wrong? Could history provide some guidance? John Oliver reminds us that in the aftermath of 9/11 there was a surge in the hiring of Border Patrol agents, doubling the force from 10,000 to 20,000. Might that experience provide some guidance for today? For example, what happens when the demand to boost numbers results in lax screening process? Hmm, might that result in hiring applicants that are unfit and in fact a danger to the force? John, with his engaging and wry delivery, calls up footage from that period as well as post-mortem studies of the events that show “Corruption and excessive force skyrocketed …” , including the case of an agent whose brother was in the Gulf cartel! But John believes we can learn something from this episode in border enforcement and presents his vision of a hiring campaign designed to recruit the right kind of applicant. [Read more…]
A Journey of Self Discovery and Giving Back
When Juan Martin Sajche left his small village in Guatemala in 1997 at the age of 15, he never dreamed he would one day be a respected Spanish teacher at Morse High School in San Diego. The past twenty years have been quite a journey! [Read more…]
Border Patrol Confirms National City Parents In Custody, No Criminal Charges Filed
Special to North of the Fence
Last Friday, North of the Fence published information about the apprehension of the Francisco Duarte and Rosenda Perez who are currently in custody pending immigration hearings, leaving their four children on their own in National City.
The facts unfolded almost moment-to-moment last week, not all of them immediately accurate. On Wednesday morning, the National City Elementary Teachers Association, run by volunteer teachers who also work full-time, received calls and information saying a mother and father had been detained by ICE while dropping their students off at Las Palmas Elementary School.
Later, it was found ICE was not involved. Instead, U.S. Border Patrol confirmed they were the ones who arrested Francisco Duarte at 7:30am as he was exiting a liquor store near the intersection of Palm Avenue and E. 18th Street in National City. [Read more…]
Discrimination Lawsuit Over Rejecting Refugee Children Taps Escondido Treasury
The City of Escondido has settled a two-year-old discrimination lawsuit, filed by the ACLU following denial of a permit to operate a group home for refugee children fleeing violence and persecution in Central America.
The terms of the agreement, whereby Escondido will pay $550,000 without admitting liability were approved at a closed session of the City Council on Wednesday evening.
The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Brancart & Brancart, Cooley LLP and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law made the deal public via a press release issued on Thursday, May 25. [Read more…]
How Crossing the US-Mexico Border Became A Crime
Kelly Lytle Hernandez / The Conversation
It was not always a crime to enter the United States without authorization.
In fact, for most of American history, immigrants could enter the United States without official permission and not fear criminal prosecution by the federal government.
That changed in 1929. On its surface, Congress’ new prohibitions on informal border crossings simply modernized the U.S. immigration system by compelling all immigrants to apply for entry. [Read more…]
Wanted: 1.5 Billion Immigrants
Surely any country that hoards a planet’s wealth should expect to care for a proportional number of that planet’s people.
By Mona Younis / OtherWords
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump famously promised to deport every person living in this country without proper papers. I have another idea: The 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. should be granted citizenship immediately in a mass induction.
Why?
It’s simple. Let’s say a country consumes 10 percent of the planet’s resources. Well, then it should be home to 10 percent of the world’s people. We have about 4.4 percent of the global population, which means we can consume that much of the planet’s resources guilt-free. [Read more…]
Sessions Wrongly Says Sanctuary Jurisdictions Have Put Gang Members Back On Streets
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions tags Escondido wrongly for immigrant crimes
By Special to the Grapevine / The Escondido Grapevine
Escondido last week entered the national dialogue over immigrant rights and Donald Trump’s big, bad border wall, but in an unexpected, and counterfactual way.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighted Escondido to illustrate how jurisdictions that limit cooperation with immigration authorities jeopardize public safety.
The only problem was Sessions got everything wrong. [Read more…]
Undocumented Filipinos Are Living a Special Nightmare in Trump’s America
Under fire from Washington, rejected by Manila, and overlooked by many Americans, undocumented Filipinos are linking arms with others in the anti-Trump resistance
By Alyssa Aquino / Foreign Policy in Focus
As paranoia spreads over the Trump administration’s promised immigration crackdown, there’s a video circulating around California’s immigrant communities.
In it, two people — Lolita Lledo, an immigrants rights activist, and Steve Angeles, a reporter — are making rounds in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Lledo has of late been bombarded with rumors of immigration officers poking around local businesses. To keep the hysteria at bay, the two have been investigating the claims. [Read more…]
Seeking ‘To Create a Police State,’ AG Sessions Threatens Sanctuary Cities
By Andrea Germanos / Common Dreams
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday took aim at sanctuary cities, saying such communities must end and that his Department of Justice would deprive them of federal grants—a move that prompted the New York attorney general to vow his continued resolution in resisting the Trump administration’s “draconian policies.”
“Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the streets,” he said during a White House press briefing.
“We intend to use all the lawful authorities we have to make sure our state and local officials … are in sync with the federal government,” Sessions said.
[Read more…]
Working with ‘New Americans’: Catherine Holmes’ Speech at the Women’s Leadership Symposium at Kent State University
On January 27, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that banned immigration from seven Muslim majority countries. That weekend, San Diego International Airport was packed with people who raised their voices against the order. When Trump’s revised travel ban was issued on March 6, 2017, again, hundreds of protesters gathered at San Diego International Airport to show their support for refugee and immigrant populations. I recently attended an event that increased my understanding of the refugee problem and the falsehoods that the ban is based upon.
On March 1, 2017, I attended the 4th Annual Women’s Leadership Symposium: Framing Art and Protest at Kent State University, Kent Ohio. The keynote speaker was Catherine Holmes, manager of the Office for New Americans (a New York State funded program) within the Catholic Charities of Onondaga County. [Read more…]
Long Delays in Bringing Detained Immigrants, Asylum Seekers Before Judges
ACLU Files Class Action Lawsuit Against DHS: Thousands Are Incarcerated For Months In Remote Facilities Waiting To See A Judge
Cheryl Alethia Phelps / ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties
Every day, immigration agencies incarcerate tens of thousands of longtime U.S. residents, victims of persecution, and others in remote detention centers, ripped from their families and without access to legal support. None are serving time for a crime – and no judge has determined that there is probable cause to detain them – yet they are held in these deplorable detention facilities while they pursue legal avenues to remain in the U.S.
In San Diego and Imperial Counties, these detainees can languish for months before they are brought before a judge just to begin their case and learn for the first time why they are being incarcerated, what they can do to help present their case, or whether they can take steps to seek their release and get back to their loved ones. [Read more…]
The “Freedom Cities” Campaign: Resistance Through Progress at the Local Level
By Ronald Newman / Speak Freely ACLU
On Saturday night, people at more than 2,200 events around the nation tuned in for the inaugural event of People Power, a new platform harnessing nationwide grassroots resistance to the Trump administration’s assault on our Constitution and our values. At the event, we announced “Freedom Cities,” a campaign that provides a concrete plan for the People Power team to play offense in cities and towns across the country. [Read more…]
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