Latest news with #familyseparation
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Faith leaders come together to defend immigrant communities amid federal raids
More than a dozen religious leaders from an array of faiths marched to the steps of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night, flowers in hand, calling for an end to the federal immigration raids they say have torn families apart and resulted in racial profiling. At the start of the procession in Plaza Olvera, the Rev. Tanya Lopez, senior pastor at Downey Memorial Christian Church, recounted how last week she watched as plainclothes federal agents swarmed a constituent in the parking lot of her church. Despite her attempts to intervene, she said, the man was detained, and she doesn't know where he is now. 'All of our faith traditions teach us to love our neighbor, to leave the world with less suffering than when we find it, and this is creating trauma that will be unable to be undone for generations,' Lopez said. Federal enforcement actions have played out across Southern California this week as the Trump administration carries out its vows to do mass deportations of immigrants in the country without documentation. Initially, President Trump focused his rhetoric on those who had committed violent crimes. But shortly after he took office, his administration made clear that it considers anyone in the country without authorization to be a criminal. The raids — which have spanned bus stops, Home Depot parking lots, swap meets, farms and factories — have prompted many immigrants to go into hiding, and in some cases, to self-deport. The religious leaders marching Wednesday called for a halt to the raids, saying immigrants are integral to the Los Angeles community and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of documentation status. Read more: PHOTOS: Faith leaders in Southland gather for family unity prayer walk They carried their message through downtown, marching from Plaza Olvera to the Federal Building, dressed in colorful garb reflecting Jewish, Sikh, Muslim and Catholic traditions, and uniting in song and prayer, in Spanish and English. They called out to God, Creator, the Holy One, and prayed for healing and justice. They prayed for the hundreds of people who have been detained or deported and the families they've left behind. In the crowd, Talia Guppy held purple flowers to her chest as she sang along. Guppy said she learned that members of her Episcopalian church, St. Stephen's Hollywood, had been detained during the raid of the Ambiance Apparel factory in downtown L.A. Her church has since moved its services online to accommodate people afraid to venture from their homes. 'We're out here for them," she said. 'We're going to keep the hope and keep the faith until we get justice for them.' At the end of the procession, the marchers approached the steps of the Federal Building. Officers from the Department of Homeland Security poured out of the building and guarded the entrance as clergy leaders lined the steps. Inside, behind semireflective doors, rows of U.S. Marines stood at the ready. The leaders called for peace and laid flowers on the steps in tribute to those who have been detained. 'We come with flowers, and we will keep coming with flowers as long as our loved ones are held in cages,' said Valarie Kaur, a Sikh leader. She turned her attention to the officers at the doors, who stood stoic, and questioned how they wanted to be remembered by history. Then she placed flowers by their feet. In the crowd, protesters held signs with images of the Virgin Mary and Mexican flags. The clergy asked them to be ready to defend their neighbors in the coming days. Father Brendan Busse, a Jesuit priest at the Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, said he has felt the impact of the raids within his church. Devoted members are no longer in the pews. Others call asking whether it is safe to come to church. The fear is palpable. 'We need to be a safe space for people, not just in our church, but in the whole neighborhood,' he said. 'I can't guarantee to anybody that we are a totally safe space, but to at least give them a sense that in the difficult moment we're at, that we stand together.' This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Los Angeles father speaks out after wife, 9-year-old child detained during immigration appointment
A Los Angeles father is speaking out after his wife and stepdaughter were taken into federal custody in early June during what he says was a routine immigration check-in. "One moment we're laughing, we're together, to now ... I have to adapt to a sudden change," said Roberto Gutierrez. He says that the last two weeks have been filled with confusion and heartache after his family was torn apart on June 4. His wife and nine-year-old daughter, both from El Salvador were seeking asylum in the U.S., but had their request denied. Still, they held out hope that something would change for the better. "We're trying to do it the legal way, so we set up a family petition. So, if we don't check in, it's bad for the whole petition," Gutierrez said. "We had no other choice. ... We could have chosen to not show up, but we didn't want to do it that way." They filed the petition in December 2024 and were told that it could take up to two years to process. Even though they followed every rule, Gutierrez said the two were taken into custody anyway, separating his wife from their 16-month-old baby. "I hear my baby screaming, 'Mama, mama,'" he said. "It's at least three, four times a day." Gutierrez says that both were transferred to a detention center in Texas, more than a thousand miles from home and their daughter. They're only able to connect over phone, while he and the baby, both of whom are U.S. citizens, are left waiting for answers. "There's enough criminals you could deport. People with DUIs, whatever," he said. "But the people trying to do it the right way, just give them a chance." He said that his choice to speak out isn't about politics or paperwork, but about his family. "Every baby needs her mom, and every mom without her baby ... they're going to be suffering," he said. CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a statement on the matter but has not yet heard back.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Why families separated during Trump's first term face new risks as legal aid remains in limbo
A US district judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore legal services for potentially thousands of migrant families after officials violated a historic settlement agreement that had forced the federal government to repair some of the devastating impact of the family separation scandal from the first Trump White House that sparked bipartisan uproar at the time. Judge Dana Sabraw has mandated that the executive branch resume services by an independent contractor advising parents and children who were separated during Donald Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy at the US-Mexico border in 2017 and 2018, when accounts of traumatic scenes spread around the world and a secret recording was made public of terrified, sobbing children being torn from their parents by federal agents, to be detained separately. These legal services help families apply for permission to stay in the US, having been allowed to return or remain years after they were broken up by the first Trump administration for crossing the southwest border without authorization. It is unclear when or if the federal government will comply with Sabraw's decision last week. At stake are the families' futures in the US, and even whether they will be vulnerable to Trump's current mass deportation campaign, which is now leading to similar scenes, this time across the US interior, where other children and spouses scream and sob as their family is effectively separated amid escalating immigration enforcement. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the Trump administration in court this spring over its 'sudden and unexplained termination' of contracted legal services for those covered in the 2023 settlement that had finally emerged, during the Biden administration, from the ACLU's lawsuit 'on behalf of thousands of traumatized children and parents' from Trump 1.0. That settlement provided the formerly separated families with assisted access to basic legal help, and the Biden administration complied with its requirements last year by hiring an independent contractor – the Washington DC-based Acacia Center for Justice – to run a new program, Legal Access Services for Reunified Families (LASRF). Trump then failed to renew Acacia's contract – and the court ruled breach of settlement. 'This is not a minor or technical breach. In the absence of lawyers to assist them, these children who have suffered so much at the hands of the first Trump administration will be in real danger of being separated again,' ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement. 'This ruling will help make sure that doesn't happen.' Through LASRF, formerly separated families aren't guaranteed free, full representation. But they are given limited support that can be gamechanging. For instance, with filling out forms that could help stop them from being deported from the US, or make getting jobs possible, or reopen an immigration court case to pursue the protection they had hoped to ask for years ago when they were criminalized by Trump 1.0. However, this spring, Trump 2.0 abruptly 'federalized' the LASRF program at the suggestion of Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency (Doge). In practice, that meant the responsibility of orienting, informing and referring out formerly separated families to a small number of pro bono attorneys now fell to staffers at the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which houses the immigration courts (in the executive branch of government not the judicial branch). These are the same immigration courts where people are increasingly afraid to go now, because of rampant arrests nationwide by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in a highly unorthodox collusion between court and enforcer – as judges are allowing government attorneys to quickly dismiss potentially meritorious cases for protection, so that the administration can deport families with ease. And these are the immigration courts that will eventually adjudicate the formerly separated families' fate, even as its parent sub-agency provides legal help. In its court challenge, the ACLU had pointed out that EOIR providing these legal services itself signified 'a clear conflict'. And, in his decision, Sabraw slammed the government for failing to provide the quality and quantity of services required, ordering the Trump administration to rehire Acacia. Turnout has been low in recent weeks – three or six attenders – for virtual group orientations hosted by EOIR's version of the LASRF program, even as the sub-agency said it would primarily focus on those kinds of group services, not the individualized help that is so often necessary to successfully apply for legal relief in the US. And if families tried to look elsewhere for free legal advice, they were likely to come up short after the Trump administration defunded other programs such as immigration court help desks and detention-based legal orientation programs across the country. 'It's particularly indicative of how cruel and anti-children this administration is. You know, they seem to have no interest in a fair day in court for people, including those living with lifelong trauma caused by their [previous] policies,' said Jess Hunter-Bowman, a senior attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the independent subcontractors that has provided services through LASRF. Thousands of families were separated at the US-Mexico border during the first Trump administration, including a Guatemalan father and his 10-year-old son in Texas. When the father – whom the Guardian is not identifying for his safety – learned he was going to be deported, his son was off playing with other kids at the detention center where they were being held. Agents had refused to let father and son say goodbye. The kid played on, oblivious as his father was chained as if he were a dangerous criminal and removed in tears, forced to leave his son behind. The boy was also eventually sent back to Guatemala. Several years later, as they were barely scraping by, they received an unexpected invitation for their family to come to the US, as part of the federal government's attempt, now under the Biden administration, to answer for family separations like theirs. Despite the previous mistreatment and trauma, the pull of the American dream remained unassailable, and in a matter of months, the father, son and their loved ones touched down stateside. Although their first days in a new country were difficult, they soon found work and community. And, when they eventually needed help with their next steps in the immigration process, they turned to a lawyer who, through LASRF, patiently guided them through complex application forms they needed to fill out in English – a language they don't speak. Because of the program, their entire family has been able to preserve humanitarian permissions and can continue to live and work legally in the US while they pursue more permanent status. 'If it hadn't been for the attorney's help,sincerely, I wouldn't have been able to do anything,' the father said. The Trump administration has not yet contacted Acacia about the ruling, which means services have not been able to resume. For good measure, judge Sabraw flayed the original 'zero tolerance' strategy at the border. 'The policy resulted in the separation of thousands of parents from their minor children, many of whom remain separated to this day,' he wrote. 'The policy caused lasting, excruciating harm to these families, and gratuitously tore the sacred bond that existed between these parents and their children.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
British woman laments Brexit rules that would stop her Italian husband moving to UK
A British woman whose family cannot return to the UK because of Brexit visa rules has said she feels 'forgotten and rejected' by the country of her birth. Sarah Douglas moved to Italy to teach English in 2007 before marrying Matteo Ricci, an Italian software developer, in 2010. The couple had always planned to settle in the UK, where Douglas wants to be closer to her parents, who are in their 70s. But under the current, post-Brexit immigration regime, she must earn more than £29,000 and have been working in a job paying that for at least six months in the UK before she can apply for a family visa that would allow her husband to move here, or have £88,500 in cash savings. The rules mean she would have to return to the UK from the family's home in Perugia, Umbria, with their three children – Alba, 13, Mirryn, 10 and Arthur, five – before Ricci could join them. On Tuesday, a review by the migration advisory committee (Mac) raised the hopes of families separated by the rules. The panel suggested ministers could cut the amount a British citizen or settled resident must earn to apply for a partner's visa and suggested scrapping a Tory plan to raise the minimum income requirement to £38,700, saying it would conflict with the right to family life (article 8, EHCR). 'It sounds really promising so far, but I still can't get hopeful,' Douglas, who grew up in the Scottish Borders, said. 'We're very secure, but this visa policy would push us into instability by being separated, funding two households, being a single parent home, essentially, for at least six months,' she added. Ricci earns more than the income requirement, but under the current rules, his salary is not taken into account. 'The other crazy thing is that my children are also British citizens,' Douglas added. 'We could come anytime alone and be completely dependent on the state for benefits, but we're not allowed to bring my husband who would work to support us. 'It's an awful lot of hoops to jump through to be able to live in my own country. It's really upsetting for my kids. Most of their family lives in the UK. They speak English fluently. They really don't understand why they can't live in their own country close to their cousins. 'We just basically feel forgotten about, rejected. We can't make any concrete future plans. But we would not be considering moving if we didn't think we would be financially independent.' Until April 2024, the income requirement was £18,600, or two and half times that figure in cash savings. The couple were close to meeting the savings requirement when the threshold was changed. Caroline Coombs, the executive director of Reunite Families UK, said families' voices had been 'ignored for too long', adding that the policy had 'caused untold damage to those whose only 'fault' has been to fall in love with someone born abroad' with a 'horrendous impact on children'. 'We appreciate Mac's reference to the fact that should the government decide to maintain an MIR [minimum income requirement], this should be lowered … however we firmly believe that there shouldn't be an MIR. Any threshold, even at minimum wage would still separate people who just want to be a family.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are now considering [the Mac review's] findings and will respond in due course. The government has already committed to legislate to clarify the application of article 8 of the ECHR for applicants, caseworkers and the courts.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will mom get detained? Is dad going to work? Answering kids' big questions amid ICE raids
By the time Josefina and her husband sat down to talk, the immigration raids had been going on for days, and protests over the federal actions had turned violent in parts of downtown Los Angeles. At night, they could hear the helicopters from their Boyle Heights home. The couple couldn't afford to put off the conversation any longer — fear was mounting over the potential separation of their family. Josefina's husband, a garment worker, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided the Ambiance Apparel garment factory June 6, the couple's 15- and 19-year-old children had texted their father in a panic. He, too, works at a garment factory. Should he go to work? That's what they had to hash out Tuesday night. The couple was seated in the dining room. Their children were engrossed in a movie in the living room. The parents had not wanted their kids to hear the conversation — and figured they were out of earshot. They weren't. 'Dad should just stay home,' the teenagers insisted. And with that, the whole family was part of a difficult conversation. It was not how the couple had scripted it, but Josefina came to terms with keeping the kids in the know. 'I've done my best to shield them, but they have a lot of questions,' said Josefina, who like others in this report asked that she and her family not be fully identified over safety concerns. 'They're trying to understand what happens after this. So what I've been offering them is that this isn't how things are going to be forever, that there's power in community.' Conversations like the one in Josefina's dining room are unfolding across the Los Angeles region, as families with undocumented members grapple with fraught questions pushed to the fore by the Trump administration's chaotic crackdown on what he has called a "Migrant Invasion." Could mom be arrested? What happens if dad can't go to work? These and other queries are sparking excruciating — and potentially life-altering — discussions centered on planning for the possible deportation of a family member. Parents are often conflicted about how much to tell their children — even when dealing with ordinary issues. But the intense anguish some feel at this moment has exacerbated the dilemma. Child psychologists and counselors said children should be brought into the fold for these crucial conversations in age-appropriate ways. Doing so, said licensed clinical social worker Yessenia O. Aguirre, will help kids reckon with a moment suffused with anxiety. "I would counsel people to have the conversations from early on," said Aguirre, who is co-developing a coloring book for parents to help them navigate fears and anxieties related to immigration. "Kids can know about real dangers and still have a joyous childhood. We don't have to protect our kids from things they are already going to hear from the news, social media, and from just going to school." If there was ever a week in which children might have heard about issues related to immigration, it was this past one in L.A. Aggressive sweeps by ICE were met with fierce resistance by protesters and others beginning June 6. A Home Depot in Paramount became a flash point after border patrol agents began massing there early on June 7. Eventually, the scene erupted, with demonstrators clashing with authorities, leading to multiple arrests. The episode was one of the triggers that led the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to L.A. over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. ICE forays deep into neighborhoods have continued, sparking new outrage. On Wednesday, The Times reported that a 9-year-old Torrance Elementary School student and his father were deported to Honduras. The cascading events have made it a profoundly uncertain time for immigrant families. And that can spawn anxiety, said psychologist Melissa Brymer, a director at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. But there are, she said, simple actions parents can take to help children, such as organizing a comforting family meal or arranging for other relatives to check in on a youngster to increase their sense of security. Even asking kids if they are getting a good night's sleep can spark a wider discussion about how they are faring. "Kids are usually willing to talk about it from a sleep perspective," Brymer said. Crowded around the dining room table, Josefina and her husband told their children that they would decide whether he'd return to work by Friday. Even though the kids were now part of the conversation, it was still going to be the adults' decision. They had to weigh the risk of a workplace raid and the husband's possible arrest against the financial implications of losing a vital source of income. The family was trying to save money to pay for a legal defense, Josefina said, should her husband be detained. 'We don't have the money to be like, 'Oh yeah, quit your job,'" Josefina said. Until the teenagers overheard their conversation, Josefina hoped they knew enough to draw comfort from the family's plans. She said, for example, that the kids know what to do if ICE officers come to their house and which lawyers to call if their father is detained. That, experts said, is the right instinct. Aguirre said that preteens and teenagers "pick up on our moods," and may understand more than parents realize. "They are sensing our anxiety, they are looking at our behaviors," she said. "They may want to listen in and see what's underneath if we aren't speaking up." When broaching a tough topic, older kids should be given "space to vent," Aguirre said, and parents should resist the urge to immediately tell their children not to be scared or worry. Instead, they can empathize, telling them, "It makes sense — we are all so scared." Parents can also convey that they have a plan, and clue the kids in on it. "At that age," Aguirre said of teenagers, "it is more of a family dynamic — where they are included." Some scenarios — such as detainment of a parent — are dark. But kids should be made aware of them, Brymer said. "I think it's truly important that we talk to kids about potential separation," she said. "Kids are worried about that, and so let's make sure we talk it over with them. How may a potential separation impact them?" As for Josefina's family, they decided that her husband — who immigrated from Mexico when he was in elementary school about 40 years ago — would return to work. "He decided, 'I still have a responsibility, and I still want to help provide,'" she said. For their 15-year-old daughter, having a plan has made her feel safer. 'I feel like out of my whole family, I'm the least afraid of the stuff that's happening," she said. "I think it's because I have hope in our people in L.A.' Read more: Fears of ICE raids upend life in L.A. County, from schools to Home Depot parking lots Ana's son was set to graduate from eighth grade on Tuesday, and amid the ongoing ICE sweeps, her family had wrestled with whether to attend the celebration at his Mid-Wilshire area school. Her husband is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. And she is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the 2012 policy that provides protection from deportation to immigrants without lawful status who came to the U.S. as children. The program has been the focus of a lengthy legal challenge and could eventually be ruled illegal. Their 14-year-old son knew the stakes. 'He understands what's happening — that there are arrests,' Ana said. Still, the family decided to attend the graduation. Even so, on the morning of the event, their son wanted to revisit the decision, asking his parents if they were comfortable with it. He even suggested they could watch the ceremony from home on a livestream the school had arranged. 'I told him, 'No, we're going to accompany you,'' Ana said. 'And we did. In the end it was worth it to be with him and applaud his successes.' Read more: Graduation day at Maywood Academy High, where students are 98% Latino, 100% all-American Experts could understand her decision. Maintaining a sense of normalcy — when it is safe to do so — helps kids stay on an even keel. Brymer recommends encouraging them to continue to go to school and summer activities if possible, and to participate in their typical social events. 'Kids do better with routines,' she said. "They should be allowed to play and interact.' Aguirre, however, noted that children crave "a sense of safety and connection with loved ones" more than they desire a "sense of normalcy." She added: "It might not be the best time to keep that normalcy — that puts a lot of pressure on parents." If attending a public event or milestone celebration presents a big risk, Aguirre said, parents might consider opting out, and making plans to ensure their presence is felt from afar. "Prep the child ahead of time and say, 'We are not able to physically be there, but we are so proud of this accomplishment,'" Aguirre said. She said parents might tell their child, "We are going to ask [a friend at the event] to blow this whistle, and when they blow it, know that we are there." "For eighth-graders, there would be heartache around not having parents there, but I can also imagine if anything were to happen, they would feel a lot of guilt," Aguirre said. On the day of Ana's son's graduation, the school auditorium opened hours early, so that families did not have to wait on the sidewalk. But the celebration was bittersweet, she said. Fear was palpable among both the students and the crowd. And familiar faces were absent. 'It's a little hard to face sometimes,' Ana said. 'But at the same time we have to be with them in these important moments in life.' Paige and her 8- and 11-year-old daughters stood in front of Long Beach Civic Center on Tuesday evening, alongside roughly 400 other protesters. They chanted slogans near the Port Headquarters building amid signs and swirling American and Mexican flags. 'Seeking safety is NOT a crime,' one sign read. 'Humans are not illegal,' said another. Read more: Immigration raids have shaken communities across Los Angeles County. How can you help? The family isn't new to protesting. Paige and both daughters took to the streets in 2020 after George Floyd's murder sparked outrage. But this time the issue is personal: The girls' father is an undocumented Mexican immigrant. 'Now that it's impacting our family significantly, it's a bit harder for her,' Paige said of her younger daughter. 'She's fighting for her family.' Paige is separated from the girls' father, and he lives elsewhere. It's been difficult for the kids to spend nights apart from him, she said. To allay their worries, he's stayed over a couple of nights. And attending the protest provided additional comfort, because it showed the children that they were part of a supportive community. In times of crisis, giving kids the chance to express themselves by participating in the moment helps them process their feelings, Brymer said. "People are out protesting because they love their culture, and they're trying to advocate for their rights and for rights of" others, she said. But participating doesn't necessarily have to mean protesting, which may not feel appropriate for some, Aguirre said. Instead, children can help in other ways, such as helping to deliver groceries for a vulnerable neighbor, she said. It's important, Brymer said, to acknowledge that children "really want to be those agents of change." Sequeira reports for The Times' early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
