A California lawsuit has ended with a settlement that bans U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from leaning on private contractors to arrest immigrants at state prisons and jails and send them to deportation proceedings.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California arrived at a settlement with ICE in a joint lawsuit with the Asian Law Caucus alleging that immigration enforcement officers “routinely and systematically” directed third-party contractors to arrest immigrants at county jails and prisons. The settlement prohibits ICE from using private contractors to carry out arrests in regions covered by the agency’s Los Angeles and San Francisco field offices. Federal law allows federal immigration officers to make arrests related only to immigration. In its suit, filed in February 2021, the ACLU said that ICE has “willfully flouted” the law since at least 2016 and allowed private contractors hired through G4S Secure Solutions Inc. to make arrests without an ICE immigration officer present. “The state of California is well aware that G4S has a long history of abusive practices yet continues to voluntarily collaborate and turn people over to the private contractor,” Vasudha Talla, the former program director of the ACLU of Northern California, said in a statement. “We believe today’s settlement is an important step toward dismantling its cooperation with ICE.” Representatives from ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The settlement, which also orders ICE to pay $197,600 in legal fees, includes no admission of wrongdoing on behalf of ICE. The ACLU said in its suit that immigration officials have used G4S Secure Solutions Inc. since 2012, and in 2016, shifted its policy to further depend on private contractors to detain and arrest immigrants at county jails and prisons. The lawsuit alleged that private contractors were tapped to transfer immigrants from county jails and prisons at the same time California passed its “sanctuary state” law. The law, which was signed in 2017 under Senate Bill 54, restricts the ability of local law enforcement to notify immigration authorities of an individual’s release date. The lawsuit was filed by the two advocacy organizations on behalf of a Montebello resident, Gabriela Solano, who was detained by private contractors on behalf of ICE after being granted parole following 22 years in prison. Count Angel Salazar of Staten Island among the New Yorkers disappointed by a state Supreme Court justice’s ruling throwing out a measure that would have allowed noncitizens in New York City the right to vote in municipal elections.
Salazar, 22, a Mexican-born recipient of the immigrant-protection program DACA, or deferred action for childhood arrivals, who would have gained voting rights under the new law, said last week’s ruling was “disheartening.” Due to Republican political control of much of Staten Island, where the case was heard, many people in his community “are ignored by a government that they pay taxes to through their jobs,” Salazar said. He added: “We felt that we needed someone to represent us.” Immigrant rights advocates say they plan to appeal New York Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio’s order striking down the law passed by the New York City Council late last year. It took effect in January, granting an estimated 800,000 to 1 million noncitizens the right to vote in municipal elections, including next year's races for Council seats. The judge’s ruling was celebrated by Republicans, a group of whom filed a lawsuit shortly after the law was passed. “Voting is a sacred right of U.S. citizens,” wrote U.S. Representative and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin of Long Island on Twitter. “No way should noncitizens be allowed to vote!” The lawsuit, brought by both local and national Republicans, was filed against Mayor Eric Adams, among other defendants. Adams, a Democrat, had not supported the law, but didn’t oppose it either. His predecessor, Bill de Blasio, expressed misgivings about the measure’s constitutionality, but let it become law without his signature. Porzio, sitting on Staten Island, ruled the measure violated the state constitution. Immigrant rights advocates argued that the granting of voting rights to “citizens” did not strictly mean American citizens but something broader. “Based upon a plain reading of the New York State Constitution,” wrote Porzio, "'every citizen,' in this Court’s opinion, means every citizen of the United States.” Proponents of the law, including the group Latino Justice, which joined the litigation in support of intervening defendants who would gain voting rights, said they planned an appeal. Earlier, the New York City Law Department said it was disappointed in the result and was evaluating its next steps. Noncitizens were allowed to vote in school board elections in New York City until the school boards were abolished in 2002, and currently, a number of municipalities across the country allow noncitizens to cast their votes, including 11 jurisdictions in Maryland and two in Vermont. San Francisco only allows non-citizens to vote in school board elections. Porzio sided with the plaintiffs, adding the measure violated New York State election law and the municipal home rule law as well. Local advocates for noncitizen voting rights said they weren’t surprised by the New York ruling. “This is not an issue that has been litigated ever before,” said Cesar Ruiz, an attorney at Latino Justice. “It presents some really novel and new issues.” The Supreme Court today released decisions limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate how power plants source fuel for electricity generation and allowing the Biden administration to discontinue the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or Remain in Mexico Policy, a Trump-era policy requiring individuals applying for asylum to wait in Mexico while their immigration case is processed. Each ruling may have widespread repercussions in rural America. The EPA decisionNational Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson said the ruling in West Virginia v. EPA “clearly acknowledges that EPA overstepped its regulatory authority in the Clean Power Plan.”
“The court’s decision resets the agency to its appropriate regulatory path, requiring it to set achievable emissions guidelines that can be accomplished at existing power plants while also allowing states to consider local factors and have the final say on compliance options. “The energy decisions we make today will determine whether there are sufficient resources for the lights to come on tomorrow. Electric co-ops are investing in a diverse energy mix to keep the lights on reliably and affordably for American families and businesses. As our nation depends on electricity to power more of the economy, policymakers must recognize the need for time, technology development and the importance of always available energy sources to maintain reliability and affordability. “That’s particularly true in light of recent warnings that dozens of states may struggle with rolling blackouts this summer due to policies that promote the disorderly retirement of existing generation resources,” Matheson said. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said the court had ruled “that the EPA acted outside its congressionally-granted authority by issuing burdensome, sector-wide regulations that force states to change their fuel sources for electricity generation.” “North Dakota is a leader in producing more energy with good environmental stewardship, and it is important that states continue to have flexibility to reduce emissions in a way that maintains the affordability and reliability of the grid,” said Hoeven. “Today’s SCOTUS decision affirms our work to both reinforce the role of states as the primary regulator of energy development within their borders and to push back on the needlessly burdensome rules that the Biden administration continues to impose on our energy producers.” Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., the ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Pipeline, Rail and Haz-Mat Subcommittee, and a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said, “For too long, presidents, courts, and even Congress itself have yielded too much law-making authority to executive agencies, contrary to the genius of our Constitution and its separation of powers among the three branches of government.” “It’s right there in the first sentence of Article One, Section One of the U.S. Constitution: ‘All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States ….’ “But just as courts can be tempted to become lawmakers, federal agencies under the control of the president also continually try to encroach on Congressional power, often simply because Congress has not passed legislation a president wants. “With the court’s decision today, the EPA, and ultimately other Agencies, will have their wings clipped, returning power to the American people through their elected representatives, and away from unelected bureaucrats. “Today’s news is also a big win for our economy and for agriculture in America, as the EPA has been among the worst offenders of usurping congressional authority.” Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., said, “As someone who voted for the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, I strongly disagree with the court’s decision today.” “Continuing the troubling precedents in recent days, once again ideology trumps reality as this extreme court chips away at EPA’s ability to address climate change. “While EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources under the Clean Air Act remains the law, the court’s decision is way out of step with reality,” Carper said. “This ruling hampers our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a rapid and cost-effective way, which is bad for our economy and planet.” “While utilities have exceeded the emissions reductions goals called for under the Clean Power Plan, we must do more. The court seeks to restrict EPA from using flexible and low-cost approaches to address greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Still, I remain resolute in my commitment to passing legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions across our economy. Our future depends on it.” End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller said the EPA decision “is the result of a relentless lobbying effort by the fossil fuel industry to forestall action on climate change by pumping money into political campaigns and shaping the Supreme Court.” “Since Citizens United, the fossil fuel industry has become one of the biggest spenders to elect Republicans, who in turn confirmed the radical conservative majority. The industry’s efficacy and strength is directly tied to its ability to spend unlimited and undisclosed money. “At a time when the majority of Americans are demanding more action to curb the impacts of climate change and protect the environment, the Supreme Court is yet again showing how wildly out-of-touch it is. Until we sever the ties between special interest money and the Supreme Court, the radical majority will continue to side with monied interests that helped confirm them.” Indian Country Today published an analysis of the potential impact of the EPA ruling on Indian reservations.
Siding with immigrant mothers, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday revived a lawsuit challenging a state rule that allowed two immigration detention centers to house asylum-seeking families in the same bedroom with unrelated adults and children.
The high court rejected a ruling by the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals, which tossed out the lawsuit in 2018 after determining that a group of immigrant mothers and the nonprofit Grassroots Leadership lacked standing to sue because they did not show that they were harmed by the rule. On the contrary, the Supreme Court said, the mothers alleged "concrete" injuries — including a probable risk of harm and privacy violations — that should allow their legal case to continue. "The plaintiffs have alleged that at least one detained child was sexually assaulted by an unrelated adult with whom she shared a room," the Supreme Court said in an unsigned opinion. "Based on this concrete allegation, the plaintiffs allege harm in the form of increased risk of such assaults to minor detainees sharing rooms with unrelated adults, as well as the invasion of the children’s privacy from such room-sharing." The ruling returned the case to the 3rd Court of Appeals to determine a central question: Was state District Judge Karin Crump of Travis County correct when she invalidated the rule that allowed unrelated families to share bedrooms at detention facilities in the South Texas cities of Dilley and Karnes? "The (Supreme) Court made the unremarkable conclusion that having children share bedrooms with unrelated adults poses a danger," said Jerome Wesevich, a lawyer for the immigrant mothers with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. "We think it's a pretty basic question about what is appropriate care for children, and that seemed to bother the Supreme Court." More importantly, Wesevich said, the 3rd Court can now examine a deeper question about the legality of detaining children for longer periods as a way of deterring other asylum-seeking parents from bringing children to the United States. LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that democracy is an “essential ingredient” for the Western Hemisphere’s future as he welcomed leaders to the Summit of the Americas, an implicit rebuttal to those who boycotted the gathering because authoritarians were not invited. He also drew sharp contrasts around one of the issues central to the summit, immigration, saying “safe and orderly migration is good for all of our economies” but “unlawful” forms are unacceptable. “We will enforce our borders through innovative, coordinated action with our regional partners,” Biden said at the opening ceremony of events that run through Friday in Los Angeles. Biden has tried to ease many of the hardline immigration policies instituted by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and used his first days in office to propose a sweeping immigration proposal that would have created a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of people in the U.S. illegally. But it has stalled in Congress and the president’s attention has largely turned to other issues, including spiking inflation and Russia’s war with Ukraine. His administration insists the summit can be successful despite the absence of several key leaders, as officials sought to highlight efforts on food security, climate and other areas of common interest. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other leaders are staying away because the U.S. excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — all countries that send large numbers of migrants to the U.S. and neighboring countries — because they are led by authoritarians. “Our region is large and diverse. We don’t always agree on everything,” Biden said. “But because we’re democracies, we work through our disagreements with mutual respect and dialogue.” He also promised that the gathering would involve ”bold ideas, ambitious actions” that would “demonstrate to our people the incredible power of democracies to deliver concrete benefits and make life better for everyone.” Despite that call for unity, a stark reminder of the boycotts came when the president and first lady Jill Biden stood on the red carpet to greet foreign leaders attending, and few of the arrivals were heads of state. Instead of Guatemala’s president, Biden shook hands with the foreign minister. He next greeted the minister of public affairs for El Salvador, the foreign minister for Honduras and the Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs. With migrants increasingly coming from Colombia, Ecuador and other countries outside Mexico and northern Central America, Biden was appealing directly to leaders whose support is critical to any regional strategy on a complicated problem with no clear or immediate solutions. His broad appeal to other leaders to work together on migration marked a contrast with Trump, whose unilateral demands for cooperation included a threat to Mexico to close the border and raise tariffs. Many top Republicans are eager to make an election issue of Biden’s failure to meaningfully address large numbers of people fleeing violence and poverty by entering the U.S. through Mexico, even though Trump offered few lasting fixes either. Biden also told those assembled that “all of our nations have a responsibility to step up and ease the pressure people are feeling today.” Among the new programs he is expected to unveil in the coming days are a $300 million food security financing initiative, a new Caribbean climate partnership that will help Caribbean countries access low-carbon energy sources, and a program to train 500,000 health workers in the Americas over the next five years. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the White House “will be putting specific dollars into producing tangible results.” “When you tally all that up and look at the practical impact of what the summit deliverables from the United States will mean for the public sphere, it is significantly more impactful on the actual lives and livelihoods of the people of this region than the kinds of extractive projects that China has been invested in,” Sullivan told reporters Wednesday aboard Air Force One. The “Los Angeles Declaration,” to be announced while Biden meets with his counterparts from North, Central and South America, is a brief call to action that supporters hope will guide countries on one of the most pressing issues surrounding migration — hosting people fleeing violence and persecution and searching for more economic stability. A northern research report has found that while the main immigration stream used by permanent residents in Northern Ontario’s five largest cities is economic, the jobs the newcomers have applied to fill don’t quite align with labour market vacancy rates.
Part of the new series by the Northern Policy Institute (NPI) called All Roads Lead Home: Immigration flows into Ontario’s north and what this means for RNIP impacts, Mercedes Labelle, author and Lead Analyst at Northern Policy Institute, lays out current immigration levels and characteristics for each of Northern Ontario’s five Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program cities: Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Timmins, and Sudbury. The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) was created in 2020 as a three-year program to encourage newcomers to Canada to settle in rural areas and Northern Ontario, rather than in big cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. It is based on the applicant securing a job offer before they apply. The newcomer candidates need to demonstrate their intention to reside long-term in the city, to become a part of the fabric of Northern Ontario. They must also complete extensive paperwork, as well as numerous interviews, in-depth evaluations of the job offer and review by the selection committee. If the applicant is successful, they will be recommended to Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residency. The RNIP program has been implemented across the five largest communities in Northern Ontario as they are experiencing job vacancy rates between five and 55 per cent in some occupations. But as it turns out, Labelle said at the moment, there is a disconnect between targeted occupations under the RNIP and what is really needed. “RNIP is a community-driven economic development immigration stream, where the community identifies the occupations that have the most need,” Labelle told Sudbury.com. “What we found in this paper is that there's little alignment between occupations of recent immigrants and occupations that have the highest vacancy rate.” The ‘highest vacancy rate’ is calculated by comparing job postings to the total labour market and “identifying data-driven labour market statistics,” said Labelle. She said while the RNIP program has shifted the focus to more demand-based targeting, there is still considerable variance between jobs in highest demand and the occupations targeted by RNIP. Jean Boulet, Quebec's immigration minister, says the province is prepared to accept Ukrainian migrants.
"Quebec has a great deal of empathy for the people of Ukraine," Boulet said on Monday. "We want to let them know that Canada and Quebec are welcoming places, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they have a successful stay in Quebec." However, he stated that he had no idea how many people would attend or when they will arrive. "We'll make sure we have the capacity to welcome and integrate them as much as possible," Boulet added. At a news conference on Monday, Boulet discussed the possibility of an influx of Ukrainian refugees while announcing a $5 million investment in Montreal-based community organizations that help immigrants and refugees assimilate into the city. Some of these organizations have stated that they are preparing to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, but that they do not anticipate a significant number. "Most refugees will likely travel to other European countries before arriving in Canada," said Jean-François Veilleux, a representative for the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI). A total of $59.2 billion financial loss and a 53 percent decrease in contribution to GDP has been caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to Canada’s travel and tourism sector last year. In addition, the devastating situation provoked by the COVID-19 left 373,000 people engaged in the country’s travel and tourism sector jobless, facing many difficulties. According to WTTC’s Senior Vice President, Virginia Messina, such losses revealed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) ’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) have left “huge numbers of people fearing for the future”. Based on EIR’s report, in 2019, Canada’s travel and tourism sector contribution to GDP was $111.6 billion or 6.4 percent, while just 12 months later, it marked a 3.2 percent decrease to $52.4 billion. In addition, the number of women, youth, and minorities employed in the travel and tourism sector in the North American country declined from 1.8 million in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2020, or (20.9 percent decrease).
Domestic visitor spending decreased by 51 percent last year. In comparison, international spending dropped by 71.1 percent due to stringent travel restrictions imposed to prevent the virus’s further spread. Even though the decrease in the travel and tourism sector was profound last year, the figures could have been worse if not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme, which helped employers keep their jobs amid the COVID-19 situation, EIR’s report stressed. “However, the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme which supported up to 75 percent of wage subsidy to eligible employers and in turn, allowed many to keep their jobs in the suffering Travel & Tourism sector,” WTTC’s Senior Vice President pointed out. Read more details about this news here. Traveling can be a fun adventure. When you plan carefully, your trip won't be full of stress and headaches. These are the things you need to check before leaving. When away from home, don't use a public computer to access sensitive information. There may be malware that takes your information When traveling abroad, keep a note of all important information. This should include the address, phone number and website of your consulate or embassy in the country in which you are traveling. This is the place to contact should you run into any issues while traveling. If you encounter any issues on your trip, they can help with these issues. Consider your food allergies, if you have them, when you are traveling to foreign countries. Especially if your allergies are severe, you should learn the names of the foods in whatever language is necessary. That way you can ask the waitstaff if their selections have the allergen in their ingredients. When looking for the best prices for a flight, look at each airline's official website offering flights into your final destination. Sometimes they have the best price. Keep track of your important belongings when traveling. When carrying a purse, make sure you keep it tucked under your arm. Don't carry a bag with a zip that someone could easily open in a crowded area. Select a travel bag that will help you keep your belongings safe. Identify every piece of luggage that you bring on your trip. Tags can fall off en route. Should it be that your bags go missing and no tag is attached, airline employees will look for identification you have placed inside so that they can get your bags to you. Just keep in mind you will probably pay more and it doesn't really save that much space. Try rolling shirts instead of folding them to save room and lessen the chance of wrinkles. You may even find some techniques which permit you to pack two or three times as much contents in your bag! When making a hotel reservation, ask if the hotel is doing any renovations. Nothing is more annoying than to be woken early in the morning by construction equipment, especially when you are on vacation. The hotel staff is powerless about such noise, so your best bet is just avoiding potential construction dates altogether. A desert contains lots of interesting places to look at as well as animals most people never get to see in their lives. No one should live their entire life without at least once experiencing the desert and its austere majesty. Find out as soon as possible whether you require a visa to enter the country you are travelling to. Acquiring a visa can be a lengthy process, so do not wait until the last minute to apply. Keep in mind that if you lack the proper visa, you will not be allowed to enter certain countries. These tips are great to help you prepare for a great trip, but few trips are without frustrations. Sit back and have fun anyway; that's what vacations are all about. |