Posts Tagged ‘California’
Half of California DREAM Act Passes
11:58 am By Maegan La Mala · California|DREAM Act|Education|Immigration · 26 Comments
15 Jul 2011Yesterday the first half of the California DREAM Act, AB 130, passed 26-11 and included the support of one Republican, Anthony Canella. The bill, which is headed to Governor Jerry Brown for a signature (and he is expected to sign), allows undocumented college students access to privately funded financial aid in the form of scholarships and other assistance as overseen by state colleges and universities. According the Change.org, 40% of undocumented high school graduates reside in California, meaning potentially thousands of students could stand to benefit.
AB 130 was the less controversial of the two companion bills that make up the CA DREAM Act. AB 131, which will come for a vote in August, is facing an uphill battle for passage because it would provide undocumented students access to state-funded public financial aid that U.S. citizen and legal resident students are entitled to.
As I have stated before, calling these state bills DREAM Act bills, is a little bit of a misnomer since they offer no legal status for undocumented students.
Via / MultiAmerican
California Prison Hunger Strike Set to Start Today
6:41 am By Maegan La Mala · California · 2 Comments
1 Jul 2011Today, prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, CA have started an indefinite hunger strike to protest inhumane and torturous conditions inside the Security Housing Unit (SHU). SHU prisoners are kept in windowless, 6 by 10 foot cells, 23½ hours a day, for years at a time. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) operates four Security Housing Units in its system.
Among the prisoners’ demands are an end to long-term solitary confinement, collective punishment, and forced interrogation on gang affiliation.
California High Court Rules for Undocumented College Students
11:33 am By Maegan La Mala · California|Education|Immigration · 1 Comment
17 Nov 2010
On Monday, the California State Supreme Court ruled that undocumented college students can receive the in-state resident tuition rate, overturning and earlier lower court’s decision. Specifically, the ruling stated that undocumented students who have been studying in California high schools for at least three years fulfill the requirement for in-state tuition even if those students are undocumented because this same benefit is given students with legal residence in the United States and with citizenship.
From Martinez v. UC Regents (PDF here) :
The section 68130.5 exemption cannot be deemed to be based on residence for the simple reason that many nonresidents may qualify for it. Every nonresident who meets section 68130.5‟s requirements — whether a United States citizen, a lawful alien, or an unlawful alien — is entitled to the nonresident tuition exemption. Attending high school in California for at least three years and meeting the other requirements are not the functional equivalent of residing in California. Some American citizens who are not residents of California may also be eligible for the exemption.
U.S. Justice Department Investigates Southern Cali City for Targeting Latinos
6:12 am By Maegan La Mala · California|Immigration|Justice · Comments Off
11 Sep 2010
Early this year we told you about how law enforcement in parts of California were setting up sobriety checkpoints that seemed to be more about racial profiling than public safety.
Yesterday, the U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation targeting the Southern California City of Bell. The investigation will determine whether city officials violated civil rights of Latino residents by aggressively towing cars and charging residents exorbitant fees to get their vehicles back.
From Southern California Public Radio:
Some Bell residents have complained police officers pulled over motorists and towed their vehicles if the drivers didn’t have licenses. Bell has a large immigrant population, as well as many illegal immigrants.
Image Via / by ChrisDag
Proposed cuts in California would end assistance to legal residents
8:48 pm By la Macha · Immigration · 32 Comments
2 Mar 2010How many times have we who work with immigrant populations heard that line–the “We don’t mind *legal* immigrants! Ones who come here according to the rules and assimilate and speak English…I *love* those immigrants!” line?
Well, in spite of how much everybody luuuurvs that honest legal eagle immigrant, we are still doing what we can to punish the shit out of him/her. From California comes the news that in an effort to deal with the hard economic times the state is collapsing under, it is proposing an end to assistance programs for legal citizens.
“How are we going to live?” asked 70-year-old Yong Hak Cho, who emigrated from Korea four years ago and is raising two grandchildren in Los Angeles. “Immigrants pay taxes like anybody else. So why do they want to eliminate programs for us? It is unfair and it is un-American.”
State officials say the cuts are painful but necessary, and there was no attempt to single out any population group in the proposed budget.
“The fact that we have to close a $20-billion budget gap, on the heels of a $60-billion gap last year, means that we have had to make the difficult decision to propose curtailing or eliminating many state-only programs, and these fall into that category,” said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Finance Department.
When families petition to bring relatives to the U.S., they are required to sign affidavits agreeing to support them financially for up to 10 years. But many of these families have fallen on hard times. Affidavits are not required for people entering the country under various other programs.
Federal benefits have been restored to some recent arrivals, but most are not eligible for supplemental security income, food stamps, transitional assistance for needy families or Medi-Cal until they have lived legally in the U.S. for five years. Exceptions are made for refugees and a few other categories.
You know–there comes a time in an activist’s life where she just has to admit: the other side is not arguing with her in good faith. I think this is that moment for me.
The New Way to Make Money Off of Immigrants : Car Checkpoints
3:01 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · California|Immigration · 11 Comments
25 Feb 2010NYC isn’t a huge driving city, at least not for too many locals with access to public transportation but in other parts of the country, especially in California where driving is not just a way of life, but a way to access opportunities for work, sobriety checkpoints may be used less to protect people from drunk drivers and more as a way to generate revenue, especially when the check points are set up in immigrant communities where driving without a license is a necessity in order to survive.
The Investigative Reporting Program reviewed hundreds of pages of city financial records and police reports, and analyzed data from sobriety checkpoints during the past two years. The data revealed that police departments across the state are seizing a growing number of vehicles from unlicensed drivers. In the last fiscal year, the police seized approximately 24,000 such cars at sobriety checkpoints, up from 17,900 in 2008 and 15,700 in 2007.
Law enforcement officials say demographics play no role in determining where the police establish checkpoints. But records show that cities where Hispanics make up a majority of the population are seizing cars at three times the rate of cities with small minority populations.
The Obama Administration’s Latest Comprehensive Immigration Reform Move: Treating Migrants as “Terrorists”
11:23 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration · 3 Comments
7 Dec 2009Our communities are told that the immigration “issue” will be dealt with after health care reform. But what we are seeing is that while there may not be a bill in play, there are moves being made by the Obama administration and the latest is to treat immigration the same way the U.S. has treated Iraq and Afghanistan.
Predator drones, the unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, will soon be employed to track illegal immigrants on the Mexico-California border.
The drone, which will be unveiled later today, will be operated out of the Antelope Valley by the military contractor General Atomics. The drones will fly above the border region with advancing electronic tracking equipment looking for illegal immigrants crossing into California
Villaraigosa Bows Out, Won’t Run for Governor of California
6:53 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · California|Los Angeles|Politics|society · 1 Comment
22 Jun 2009Along with celeb Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, L.A.’s Latino mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (and co-star of telenovela-like love dramas) had his sights set on becoming the Governor of the great state of California, but today has announced that he’s bowing out:
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on national television today he would not be running for California governor in 2010 after flirting with a bid for higher office for months.Elected to a second, four-year term in March, the mayor told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he wanted to devote his full attention to Los Angeles, which is facing its worst fiscal crisis in decades.
Villaraigosa’s decision adds a dash of clarity to the race for the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nomination which, at the moment, appears will be between state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Brown has yet to say if he will run, while Newsom already has announced his candidacy.
The L.A. Times attributes the bow-out to the Mayor’s low approval ratings – 55% on the job he’s currently doing as mayor in L.A. — and the fact that historically, Los Angeles mayors have had a very hard time at gaining support in their quest for Governor of California. Oh, and the $530 million deficit for the city in fiscal year 2009.
Meanwhile, Mr. Villaraigosa was just re-elected as Mayor of the great city of L.A., which apparently means he has a lot of trabajo to do.
Any L.A. reader want to let us know the real deal? Is L.A.’s crisis just an excuse? Did Villaraigosa ever even have a chance to be governor? What’s his report card for L.A. looking like? Let us know in the comments.
Via / Los Angeles Times and Politico
Ex-Miss California: I Lost my Crown Because of the Gays
6:28 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · California|Controversia|GLBT|society|States · Comments Off
12 Jun 2009
Wow, I basically saw this one coming yesterday, word for pathetic word:
Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean says she lost her crown because of a comment she made about gay marriage and not because she had been skipping appearances.Prejean told Matt Lauer on NBC’S “Today” show Friday that she “absolutely” had been dethroned because of the comment, when she said marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Nice try, Carrie. But in another captivating display of my psychic prediction powers, pageant officials are saying exactly what I predicted yesterday: you couldn’t keep your commitments because you were too busy making anti-gay marriage appearances for the Evangelicals. And having hangovers.
So, bye-bye, La Jolla, Viva Miss Malibu!
Via / AP – Yahoo News
Latinos the Target of Kidnappings in San Francisco
11:05 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cities|crime|Immigration|San Francisco|society · Comments Off
5 Jun 2009
Some disturbing news out of San Francisco. In the city’s Mission District, Latino neighborhood par excellence, Latinos are reportedly being forced into cars and kidnapped. SFist has the frightening story:
Mission Loc@l reports that there have been three documented cases this month of Latinos being forced into a vehicle with the intent of mugging them, while walking in isolated parts of the Mission late at night. Police speculate that day laborers might be the target both because they carry cash and are often undocumented and are afraid to go to the police for fear of being deported.The most recent attack occurred on Friday around 1 a.m., in which a 27-year-old Latino male was picked up near 20th and Bryant streets. He refused to give the assailant’s money, was hit over the head with a blunt object, and dropped off at 25th and Vermont Streets. Instead of going to the police, the victim went to San Francisco General Hospital, where a staff member then reported it to the police. Luckily, his injuries were not life-threatening.
Assailants are reportedly also using tasers to attack victims and steal their valuables. What pathetic excuse for a person preys on vulnerable people too afraid to report the crime to police? I’d like to know.
Via / SFist
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