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[caltrek]

Second Trial for Arizona Activist Accused of Harboring Migrants

 

https://www.latinore...rizonaactivist/

 

Introduction:

 

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Jury selection started Tuesday in the second trial against an Arizona border activist accused of harboring migrants who sneaked across the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

Scott Warren, 37, contends he was fulfilling his mission as a humanitarian when he helped two Central American men at a camp run by the border group No More Deaths, which also drops off water jugs in the desert. But prosecutors have said the men were not injured and that Warren conspired to help them evade authorities.

 

The first trial ended in a mistrial last June when the jury deadlocked. Following jury selection, prosecutors were expected to make their opening statements Tuesday afternoon.

 

Warren and his supporters have said the government under President Donald Trump has increasingly scrutinized humanitarian groups at the border—and prosecutors have asked the judge to prohibit Warren from mentioning Trump during the trial, according to court documents.

 

They have argued that any mention of the president or his administration would be irrelevant and that doing so would pose the danger of unfair prejudice.

[caltrek]

Trump continues to bravely lash out at his number one political enemy: defenseless children.  

 

U.S. Jailed 69,500 Immigrant Children So Far This Year

 

https://www.courthou...-far-this-year/

 

Introduction:

 

COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) — The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks cradled in her father’s arms, as he set out to seek asylum in the United States. Now she won’t even look at him.

 

After being forcibly separated at the border by government officials, sexually abused in U.S. foster care and deported, the once bright and beaming girl arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry, convinced her father abandoned her.

 

He fears their bond is forever broken.

 

 “I think about this trauma staying with her too, because the trauma has remained with me and still hasn’t faded,” he said, days after their reunion.

 

New government data show the little girl is one of an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children held in U.S. government custody over the past year, enough infants, toddlers, children and teens to overflow a typical NFL stadium. That’s more children detained away from their parents than any other country, according to United Nations researchers. And it’s happening even though the U.S. government has acknowledged that being held in detention can be traumatic for children, putting them at risk of long-term physical and emotional damage.

[caltrek]

Undocumented Farmworkers: NOW They Are Essential?

 

https://www.latinore...rsnowessential/

 

Introduction:

 

(Lation Rebels) LOS ANGELES — In late March, American agricultural employers began distributing a curious letter to their field hands. The letter, published by the Department of Homeland Security on March 19, identified agricultural workers as “essential” to the food supply chain and affirmed their “special responsibility” during the COVID19 crisis. Indeed, field workers cultivate and harvest fruits, nuts, and vegetables all throughout this vast country, sustaining the agricultural sector and stocking markets and bodegas from East to West.

 

Despite their shiny new label, however, the dystopian reality hidden in the letter is that half of all agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented. Each resides in this country without any political rights, working to exhaustion sun up and sun down, vulnerable to detention and deportation at any given moment. Once this is grasped, the publication of the letter, which some believed would offer some sense of safety to the undocumented against detention, only seeks to prevent the collapse of this nation’s productivity, an understandable position but one which places the undocumented at center stage.

 

Indeed, while the letter might offer some relief to the undocumented, it is completely devoid of any serious protections. Those of us with intimate knowledge of field work and those with family in the sector can’t help be angry, frustrated, even furious with this letter. Why did it take so long to see field workers, who for decades have toiled to feed America, as essential? Why did it take a health crisis to acknowledge their work, their labor, their contribution, even their existence?

 

Beyond frustrating, the letter is irritatingly puzzling. The undocumented, who just yesterday were rapists and murders and criminals have been transformed, quite literally overnight, into heroes. But wonder —just wonder for a minute— what must pass through the minds of the undocumented upon learning of their new status. Despised yesterday and treasured today. There isn’t an undocumented individual in this country who has not been scarred in some way by this nation’s schizophrenic policies, often from a very young age. What will their label be tomorrow? Will they revert back to animals?  Deported by the hundreds of thousands again? Will they continue to be imprisoned and separated from their children?

[Raklian]

 

Trump continues to bravely lash out at his number one political enemy: defenseless children.  

 

U.S. Jailed 69,500 Immigrant Children So Far This Year

 

https://www.courthou...-far-this-year/

 

 

 

Now there's nearly 70k people who will carry grudges against the United States.

[caltrek]

Court Rejects Trump Bid to End Young Immigrants’ Protections

 

https://www.latinore...8/dacadecision/

 

Introduction:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to end legal protections for 650,000 young immigrants, a stunning rebuke to the president in the midst of his reelection campaign.

 

For now, those immigrants retain their protection from deportation and their authorization to work in the United States.

 

The outcome seems certain to elevate the issue in Trump’s campaign, given the anti-immigrant rhetoric of his first presidential run in 2016 and immigration restrictions his administration has imposed since then.

 

The justices rejected administration arguments that the 8-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program is illegal and that courts have no role to play in reviewing the decision to end DACA.

 

Conclusion:

The Supreme Court fight over DACA played out in a kind of legal slow motion. The administration first wanted the justices to hear and decide the case by June 2018. The justices said no. The Justice Department returned to the court later in 2018, but the justices did nothing for more than seven months before agreeing a year ago to hear arguments. Those took place in November and more than seven months elapsed before the court’s decision.

[caltrek]

PEW: 75% of Americans Support Permanent Status Pathway for Undocumented Population

 

https://www.latinore...ermanentstatus/

 

Introduction:

(Latino Rebels) A new Pew poll released on Wednesday said that 75 percent of American favored a pathway to permanent status for the country’s undocumented population, with Democrats and Latinos showing the highest levels of support.

 

Pew asked the following question in the poll: “Which comes closer to your view about how to handle undocumented immigrants who are now living in the U.S.?”

Respondents were given three choices:

1. “They should not be allowed to stay in the country legally.”
2. “There should be a way for them to stay in the country legally, if certain requirements are met.”
3. “No answer.”

According to Pew’s poll, 75 percent of Americans chose answer 2. Among Democrats or those who lean Democrat, that number increased to 89 percent. Among Latinos, the overall support was at 87 percent, with foreign-born Latino support at 94 percent and U.S.-born Latino support at 82 percent.

 

Pew also noted that Republican support was at 57 percent, a number that didn’t really change much from August 2019. In addition support was at 81 percent among Black Americans, 76 percent among Asian Americans and 70 percent among White Americans.

[caltrek]

Support for More Immigration Reaches a Record High. Thank Donald Trump.

 

https://www.motherjo...k-donald-trump/

 

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) For the first time in more than 50 years of polling, Gallup has found that more Americans want to increase immigration than reduce it.

 

The obvious person to thank is President Donald Trump. His administration’s goal has been to slash immigration, both legal and unauthorized, but his persistently racist remarks and xenophobic actions have driven support for immigration among Democrats and independents to record highs.

 

In a survey released Wednesday, Gallup found that a record-high 34 percent of Americans want more immigration to the United States, compared to 27 percent last June. The share who want to cut immigration fell from 35 percent to 28 percent during that period, the lowest level since Gallup began asking the question in 1965. A little more that a third of people believe immigration should stay at the current level, a proportion that’s remained relatively stable during Trump’s presidency.

 

The news that support for immigration has—once again—reached a new high under Trump comes as his administration is banning many immigrants and temporary workers from coming to the United States. In theory, the goal is to protect American workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic from competition. In reality, Trump was already trying to drastically cut immigration while he was boasting about record lows in unemployment. 

[caltrek]

The White House Just Caved on Its Plan to Kick Out Thousands of International Students

 

https://www.motherjo...students-caved/

 

Entire Article:

(Mother Jones) The Trump administration is rescinding its controversial new policy that would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools did not return to in-person classes this fall.  

 

On Tuesday afternoon, the Justice Department was supposed to be in court to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead, Judge Allison Burroughs announced at the hearing that the government had agreed to rescind the policy only eight days after it was unveiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

The abrupt reversal means that students will be able to remain in the United States regardless of whether their schools decide to reopen in the fall. More than 200 universities were supporting the lawsuit brought by Harvard and MIT.

 

Students walk past the "Great Dome" on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2017.

Charles Krupa/AP