Blog: Multi-American | 89.3 KPCC

Multi-American blog says goodbye, and thanks

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 21:23:00 -0700

The flag burrito photo that started it all. Accompanied by Cajun sauce, of all things. We promise not to use it again - not in this blog, at least.; Credit: Photo by Joe Goldberg/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Leslie Berestein Rojas

In the summer of 2010, KPCC partnered with NPR to launch Multi-American, a blog created to take different kind of look at immigration in Southern California.

We'll no longer have Multi-American as a stand-alone blog, but the good news is that you’ll still find all of our immigration and emerging communities coverage on KPCC’s main website.

I’d like to thank all the readers who helped make the blog a success. Five years ago, digital storytelling was a relatively new approach for us here at KPCC. Multi-American's devoted base of readers helped inspire us to do much more of it.

Your comments fueled new stories and rich conversations online. Some of you shared deeply personal stories, like, for example, those shared by readers living in families of mixed immigration status.

You helped us explore the many ways in which generations of immigrants have shaped Southern California – and how it has shaped them, and their children and grandchildren. You joined us in conversations about identity, race, family, money, language, culture, food, roots and much more as it's lived in a region like this one. We couldn't have done it without you.

We'll keep the stories coming on air and online - you'll find me on both these days. You can also find me at lberesteinrojas@scpr.org. We still want to hear from you, so please keep the comments and suggestions coming.

And if you ever want to look up any vintage Multi-American posts, they'll live on in our archives.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Vendors ask cops to limit who they issue citations to

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:28:00 -0700

A street vendor prepares bacon-wrapped hot dogs in downtown Los Angeles, May 2013. ; Credit: Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

As they wait for City Hall to revisit a proposal to legalize their trade, some Los Angeles street vendors and their advocates are trying an alternate tack.

They're hoping to convince law enforcement to stop issuing tickets to vendors who aren't breaking the law beyond street vending - which isn't legal in Los Angeles - and ticket only those who are breaking other laws.

"We're asking one, LAPD, to stop ticketing vendors who are not blocking sidewalks or impeding the entrance to businesses, or selling illegal goods, like pirated goods," said Cynthia Anderson-Barker with the National Lawyers Guild, one of the groups backing the vendors. "And we are asking them to please forgive some of these little tickets."

Anderson-Baker said the tickets run from $300 to $500, too much for vendors who she called "the poorest of the poor."

Vendors and groups supporting them rallied Tuesday at Los Angeles police headquarters, where they also pleaded their case to officials.

Today, they took their request to City Attorney Mike Feuer's office; a spokesman for Feuer confirmed a meeting took place, and that "there is a dialogue."

An LAPD spokesman said in an email that the vendors' group also met with a police commander Tuesday, but that "we are currently working with and waiting for the city attorney's decision on enforcement action."

In December, the city's Economic Development Committee weighed a proposal that would legalize street vending citywide, but kicked it back to staff for revisions. According to the proposal, spearheaded by City Council members Curren Price and Jose Huizar, vendors would pay a fee for a permit that would let them operate legally on the sidewalk.

Permit fees would help pay for enforcement of the program, but committee members raised concerns about how much enforcement would cost. There are an estimated 50,000-plus street vendors in the Los Angeles area.

Opponents of legalized street vending say street vendors have an unfair advantage over small brick-and-mortar businesses. Much of the opposition to the legalization effort has come from downtown Los Angeles, where new development and foot traffic has drawn vendors seeking business.

Blair Besten of the Historic Core Business Improvement District said she wasn't aware of vendors asking for ticket relief - but she doesn't like the idea.

"There are some pretty egregious offenders of health code issues," Besten said. "To ask our city to refrain from enforcement is pretty risky."

The push from vendors comes after what some say has been a rash of heavy ticketing. Mariposa Gonzalez, who sells fruit near Cal State Los Angeles, said several nearby vendors' items were confiscated last Sunday. She said she was lucky to be a couple of blocks away.

"Me personally, I'm just asking for the cops to stop bugging and harassing us," said Gonzalez, who grew up with street vendor parents. "As far as we see it, we're not doing anything illegal. We're providing for our families, we're providing for our kids, we are paying our bills."

Street vending has been illegal in Los Angeles for decades. A push to make it legal in the 1990s led to a small vending district in MacArthur Park, but it was short-lived.

City officials are planning a series of community meetings on the issue starting next week. The economic development committee will eventually review the reworked proposal before it goes to the City Council for a vote.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Years after housing bust, fewer unauthorized immigrants in construction

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 23:18:27 -0700

Construction is no longer one of the top-three occupations for unauthorized workers in California. According to a new report, fewer unauthorized workers have gravitated to construction and production jobs since 2007.; Credit: Wes Peck/ Flickr

Leslie Berestein Rojas

When Southern California’s housing boom went bust in the late 2000s, veteran construction worker Luis Enrique stuck with his trade, difficult as it was sometimes. But he says many of his fellow immigrant workers gave up - and moved on to other jobs.

“One became a driver, one went to Bakersfield to work in the fields, many went to work in restaurants," said Enrique, 46, who has been in the U.S. since his teens but doesn't have legal status.

This job shift is part of a larger trend, it turns out. A new report from the Pew Research Center finds that ever since 2007 - just before the Great Recession and the housing and construction bust - fewer unauthorized immigrant workers are gravitating toward construction jobs.

Pew demographer Jeffrey Passel said that in 2007, construction ranked the third-largest occupation for unauthorized workers in California.

These days, he said, "it’s not even in the top three, interestingly," he said.

Passel said the top three occupations for unauthorized workers in California these days are leisure and hospitality – which includes restaurant work – manufacturing, and a category called "business and professional services," a category that includes white-collar and self-employed workers.

According to the report, this encompasses "a wide range of businesses from legal services and advertising, to employment services, landscaping and waste management, to personal services such as dry cleaning, nail salons, car washes and religious organizations."

It's this category that's replaced construction as the number-three occupation for unauthorized immigrants in California. And it's where some former construction workers have gone, say those who are hanging on.

Miguel, another longtime construction worker, said he struggled to earn an income after jobs in his industry dwindled.

"After that happened, I dedicated myself for a while to commerce, to selling things at the swap meet," he said," like plants that I grew, or old items like clothes, shoes, and used tools."

But he said he didn't earn enough. He's since gone back to construction, working odd jobs as a day laborer. He supplements those earnings with part-time work in house-cleaning, distributing fliers - whatever it takes, he says.

"There aren't the kinds of contracts that existed before," said Miguel, 59, who once specialized in remodeling older homes. "There aren't people who will hire you like they did before."

Luis Enrique is also working day labor jobs these days; both men waited for work this week at a small day labor center near downtown Los Angeles.

He says he's not ready to change occupations, not after nearly 30 years.

"I'm going to keep up the struggle," he said. "It's all that I know how to do."

Read the full report here.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: Homeland Security official accused of favoritism, child migrants in court, executive action lawsuit, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 10:20:24 -0700

Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. A Homeland Security report following an investigation accuses Mayorkas of favoritism in relation to the EB-5 visa program for wealthy investors. ; Credit: Kitty Felde/KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

Top Homeland Official Alejandro Mayorkas Accused of Political Favoritism- ABC News A report from a Homeland Security investigation alleges that Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fostered “'an appearance of favoritism and special access' in how the agency treated projects that would bring visas and Green Cards to wealthy foreign investors." Mayorkas formerly headed the EB-5 program; it offered a path to legal residency for foreign investors willing who put $500,000 into a business that created U.S. jobs.

Most child migrant cases still pending in court - Southern California Public Radio In the seven months that ended in February, more than 25,000 minors under 18 were given notices to appear in immigration court. Most of these were child migrants and teens who arrived at the border from Central America last year. Of those cases, nearly 19,000 are still pending, as young migrants pursue asylum and other forms of immigration relief. KPCC catches up with one teenage girl from Honduras who just won her asylum case.

Appeals court sets arguments in Obama immigration suit - The Hill From the story: "A federal appeals court announced Tuesday that it will hold an unusual oral argument session next month on the question of whether to stay a judge's order blocking President Barack Obama from carrying out new immigration executive actions he put forward last year. The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said it will hold two hours of oral argument in New Orleans on April 17."

Cruz not always so sympathetic to immigrants - USA Today USA Today immigration reporter Alan Gomez on GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz's immigration record. Sen. Cruz, of Texas, speaks often of his Cuban, Irish and Italian descent, but he has a pro-enforcement record: "Cruz proposed an amendment to triple the size of the Border Patrol from the 20,000 currently patrolling the Southwest border to 60,000. He proposed quadrupling the number of drones, helicopters, radars and sensors along that border."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Most child migrant cases still pending in court

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 00:02:22 -0700

A sketch of a teen girl who appeared in immigration court in Los Angeles, in the summer of 2014. No translator could be provided to speak her preferred language.; Credit: Graham Clark

Leslie Berestein Rojas

Last summer, Yoel Vallecillo wasn't sure what her fate in the United States would be. She and her younger brother had a pending application for asylum. They were terrified of going back to Honduras, where they'd been threatened by gangs.

But the immigration court process was terrifying in its own way.

“We were nervous," Yoel said in Spanish. "I was scared because I didn’t know how it would be, if it would be tough, or easy.”

After months of waiting, four hearings, and an interview with an immigration official that still makes Yoel shudder, the two teens won their case last month.

Yoel, who is now 18, and her brother are among the tens of thousands of children and teens who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an unprecedented wave of child migrants. Most were from Central America, and said they left their countries fleeing gang violence or threats.

Arrivals dropped off after last summer. But most of these kids are now fighting to stay in the country, their cases pending in immigration court. According to the federal Executive Office for Immigration Review, between mid-July 2014 and the end of last month, more than 25,000 minors under 18 received notices to appear in immigration court. Almost 19,000 of these cases are still pending.

In an interview with KPCC last year, Yoel described part of what had driven her north:

Yoel says she was targeted because a local gang leader wanted her for himself, by force - regardless of how she felt: "He threatened me, and wanted me to be with him, either the right way or the wrong way. I didn’t want to live like that. I didn’t want to live with a gang member."

She fled the home where she lived with her mother and younger siblings for her aunt's home. But members of the gang followed her there one day, forcing her to flee out the back door. It was then that Yoel decided to leave Honduras.

Yoel arrived in December 2013, ahead of her brother. She traveled north, accompanied by a family friend who looked after her. To get here, they traveled through Mexico on the train nicknamed "La Bestia," the beast. She spent roughly a month on and off the train, hiding in cramped spaces at the bottom of boxcars to stay out of sight of criminals who target migrants, especially young women.

As kids like Yoel have arrived, many have sought asylum. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials report that in the roughly three months between last Oct. 1 and Jan. 6, the agency received 2,733 asylum applications from minors - more than in all of fiscal year 2014, and about four times as many as in all of fiscal year 2013.

Others have sought what is called Special Immigrant Juvenile status, which is reserved for those who have been abused or abandoned by their parents. Close to 6,000 applications for this status were filed in fiscal year 2014, according to USCIS; nearly 4,000 have been filed since last Oct. 1, the start of the 2015 federal fiscal year.

The bulk of the kids who arrived last year were placed with U.S. relatives; about 6,000 child migrants had settled in California by the end of last year, according to the Pew Research Center.

By now most have had their first day in court, said Judge Dana Leigh Marks, head of the National Association of Immigration Judges.

"They're in a variety of procedural postures, and are still working their way through the court system," Marks said.

The so-called "rocket docket" - a federal decision to expedite the cases of child migrants - has sped things up for minor clients, said Lindsay Toczylowski, an attorney with the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. The legal group represented Yoel and her brother pro bono.

But critics complain that expedited hearings for kids has caused even greater backlogs for adults awaiting immigration decisions, with some immigrants' cases delayed years.

Relatively few of the recent young migrants have been ordered deported so far. According to the immigration courts, of the 25,000-plus child migrant cases that entered the court system between July and February, only about 4,000 have resulted in removal orders - the vast majority of these issued in absentia, which typically occurs when someone fails to show up in court.

These could be kids who didn't have counsel and didn't realize they had a hearing, attorney Toczylowski said.

"It could also be kids who were given continuances to find an attorney, couldn't find one, so didn't go back," she wrote in an email. "Or sometimes kids who never talked to anyone about their case, don't understand the process, and just don't want to go to court. Sometimes it is also kids who decided to go home."

Yoel is just glad her court process is over. She says she's happy living with her father and his family in Inglewood, and looks forward to the future. Right now she's focusing on English classes.

"My plan is to keep studying, to prepare myself," she said.

Meanwhile, authorities are bracing themselves for the possibility of another spike in children and families crossing the border this summer.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: Executive action lawsuit, foreign-born cops, US immigration history chart, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 09:32:09 -0700

More law enforcement agencies are moving toward letting foreign-born legal residents join their ranks as officers. ; Credit: steve lyon/Flickr Creative Commons

Leslie Berestein Rojas

States ask court to keep block on Obama immigration orders - Politico On Monday, the plaintiffs in a 26-state lawsuit aimed at stopping President Obama's executive immigration plan urged an appeals court judge to keep the temporary block on the plan in place. They argued that the government's motion for a stay "can be denied on that basis alone: such a questionable policy should not be implemented unilaterally before judicial review." The immigration plan would give temporary legal status and work permits to millions of immigrants.

Police departments hiring immigrants as officers - USA Today More law enforcement agencies are hiring officers who are legal U.S. residents. From the story: "Most agencies in the country require officers or deputies to be U.S. citizens, but some are allowing immigrants who are legally in the country to wear the badge. From Hawaii to Vermont, agencies are allowing green-card holders and legal immigrants with work permits to join their ranks."

The Last 200 Years Of U.S. Immigration In One Chart - io9 A colorful chart based on data from the Department of Homeland Security's Yearbook of Immigration shows the national-origin makeup of the last great wave of immigrants, before World War 11, as it compares with the most recent big wave of immigration since the 1960s. From the text: "...with several countries that previously had populations too small to show up on the graph (India, China, the Philippines) now taking a prominent place."

Latinos Talk Health, Discrimination, Immigration In New Poll - NBC News On the results of a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Poll. According to the poll, a "large majority of Latinos felt there is definitely (40 percent) or somewhat (38 percent) an anti-Hispanic or anti-immigrant environment; 18 percent thought this was not the case. When asked if they felt the hostility was more anti-immigrant, more anti-Hispanic or if it was both regardless of immigration status, a little more than half thought it was both, with about a quarter thinking it was more anti-immigrant."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: GOP immigrant tax bill, five years after SB 1070, court no-shows on rise, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 09:38:04 -0700

Republican-backed legislation aims to prevent immigrants who would obtain temporary legal status under President Obama's immigration plan from being eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit for past years.; Credit: /iStockphoto.com

Leslie Berestein Rojas

GOP to attack immigration order through taxes - USA Today Republican-backed legislation in the Senate aims to prevent immigrants who would obtain temporary legal status under President Obama's immigration plan from being eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit for past years. From the story: "Their legislation would save the government $2.1 billion, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation."

Five years after SB 1070, Arizona immigrants defy climate of intimidation - Al Jazeera America From the story: "In 2010, Maricopa County was seen as the hotbed of anti-immigrant sentiment after the Arizona legislature passed SB 1070, a measure that required local police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspected to be in the United States illegally, a measure that opponents argued would inevitably invite racial profiling...But the crackdown in Arizona has not quite worked as intended."

Unsolved disappearance of students in Mexico hits uncomfortably close for LA immigrants - Southern California Public Radio Survivors and family members of college students who went missing last year after a confrontation with police in Iguala, Mexico have been traveling around the United States, speaking to audiences to raise awareness. During a recent event in Los Angeles, the story hit close to home for Latin American immigrants in the audience, some of whom have been directly affected by violence in their home countries.

Undocumented Immigrants Failing To Appear At Hearings Increasing - KRGV Texas The number of immigrants who don't appear at their immigration court hearings is reportedly on the rise. From the story: "According to the Executive Office of Immigration Review, the number of people who did not show after being released on bond or on their own recognizance grew by 153 percent in the last four years. Immigration judges ordered deportations for those no-shows. "

Is Immigration A Poison Pill? - National Journal On prospective GOP presidential nominee Jeb Bush and his embrace of reforms that would benefit immigrants. From the story: "While John McCain and Mitt Romney, the eventual nominees in the 2008 and 2012 contests, earlier indicated support for citizenship to varying degrees, each man backed away from that position during his race. Bush made a very different calculation earlier this month in New Hampshire when he reasserted that he would support a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Unsolved disappearance of students in Mexico hits uncomfortably close for LA immigrants

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:07:39 -0700

Angel Neri de La Cruz, center, describes to an audience at Cal State Northridge what he witnessed the night fellow that fellow students from his teacher training college went missing in the Mexican city of Iguala, last September 26.; Credit: Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

In a crowded auditorium at Cal State Northrige, Angel Neri De La Cruz talked about the night of September 26. That’s when he says he narrowly escaped being killed by gunmen who attacked his fellow students.

"That night, being out on the streets of Iguala was like a death sentence," he said in Spanish.

The students, from a teacher training college in the state of Guerrero, went missing last year after they traveled to Iguala to protest what they said were discriminatory hiring practices for teachers. There, they clashed with police.

Speaking through a translator on Thursday, Neri described how he and others later saw a bloodied and bullet-riddled bus that some students had been traveling in.

"When we tried to enter the bus, from the steps was when we saw all the bloodstains, and blood all over the aisles," he said.

The disappearance of the students has hit a raw nerve for Mexican immigrants in the U.S.

Among those in the audience were immigrants who live with fear that relatives could be affected by drug and police violence - and some who have been affected directly.

In the audience were people like Mario Avila, who fled Guatemala in the early 1980s after he survived imprisonment and torture during that country's civil war.

"When I first learned about the disappearances...I couldn't sleep," said Avila, a one-time union organizer in Guatemala.

For Nansi Cisneros, the Iguala incident strikes uncomfortably close, even though she grew up in Southern California. Her brother has been missing since October 2013, when he was abducted outside the family home in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

She said the family has received a few calls from police in recent months, but her brother has yet to turn up.

The Iguala disappearances are "not the same thing as with my brother," Cisneros said, "but it’s the same pain.”

The incident sparked massive protests in Mexico. The Mexican government has claimed the students were murdered by a drug gang that acted together with local authorities. But critics have been skeptical of the way the government has handled the case, and have questioned the delay in solving it.

The body of one student was identified late last year by a forensic team; the body was among charred remains found near a garbage dump.

Lidia Resendis of Winnetka brought her 10-year-old son with her to the Northridge campus. She said the tragedy stokes the fear that many Mexican immigrants like her feel, miles from home.

"I'm afraid, because I have family there," Resendis said. "I’m very afraid to get a phone call saying you know what, something happened to my brother or mom or some other relatives.”

Survivors and relatives of the missing students have been on a speaking tour of the United States as part of an awareness campaign called Caravana 43; they will be speaking at events in Southern California throughout the weekend.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: Executive action in court, high-skilled worker visas, AB 60 organ donors, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 09:31:11 -0700

In a hearing set for Thursday in Brownsville, Texas, federal Justice Department officials are to answer questions about claims that they made misleading statements related to President Obama executive immigration plan. The hearing is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by 26 states against Obama's executive order; a federal judge's decision on the case last month put the immigration plan temporarily on hold.; Credit: Joe Gratz/Flickr

Leslie Berestein Rojas

Hearing Set on Allegations in Immigration Lawsuit - Associated Press In a planned hearing Thursday in Texas, federal Justice Department officials are to answer questions about "claims that they misled a judge about when part of President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration was implemented." It's part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by 26 states against Obama's executive order. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen put the plan on hold last month. The claim is that U.S. officials told Hanen that the order had not been implemented, while some Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients had already been processed.

Republicans Ask Court To Keep Obama Immigration Programs Stalled - Huffington Post From the story: "Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Reps. Bob Goodlatte (Va.) and Lamar Smith (Texas) -- along with the the American Center for Law and Justice filed an amicus brief on Wednesday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking it not to lift an injunction on President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions as courts consider a case from 26 states aiming to block the programs." The Obama administration has asked that the court lift the injunction, so that its immigration plan which could grant temporary legal status to millions can proceed.

Google executive: Split high-skilled immigration from other reforms - The Hill Google chairman Eric Schmidt says he wants Congress to consider reforms to high-skilled worker visa programs separately from those involving legalization of unauthorized immigrants and other issues. He said during a speaking engagement this week that Congress can "deal with the other immigration issue, which are very serious and very important, separately."

An influx of immigrants getting driver's licenses also means more organ donors - Orange County Register From the story: "Between Jan. 2 and March 13, 306,745 people signed up to the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, an increase of 67,518 registrants over the same period last year, said a spokeswoman for the organization that manages the organ, eye and tissue registry." It's the first such jump in years, and organization officials believe it has to do with AB 60, the state law allowing immigrants without legal status to apply for driver's licenses.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: 'Specialized' worker visas denied, Cambodian Americans and education, LA County joins executive action lawsuit, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 09:27:33 -0700

Immigration officials are reportedly turning down a growing number of visa requests by U.S. employers for foreign workers with 'specialized knowledge' in their fields. The majority of workers denied have been Indian nationals.; Credit: Photo by Michael Lockner

Leslie Berestein Rojas

Feds deny more visas for 'specialized' foreign workers - USA Today A growing number of visas for workers with special skills are being turned down. From the story: "About 35% of petitions by American companies to bring to the U.S. employees working overseas who have a 'specialized knowledge' in their fields were denied in 2014 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the fourth straight year that figure has risen. The denial rate for those visas, known as L-1B visas, was as low as 6% in 2006," according to a report. The majority of workers denied have been from India.

For younger Cambodian Americans, a narrowing education gap - Southern California Public Radio Cambodian Americans have long struggled with an education gap that puts them, along with a few other subgroups, behind the Asian American mainstream. But while their overall high school graduation rates remain low, this is changing as the second generation comes of age. High school graduation rates for U.S.-born Cambodian Americans are above the California state average.

LA County Supes Vote To Support Executive Order On Immigration - CBS Los Angeles Los Angeles County supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to join the lawsuit over President Obama's executive immigration order. The board voted to file a brief in support of the administration. Opposition came from supervisors Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe, "with Antonovich raising concerns about creating an 'unfunded mandate' to provide benefits to people living in the country illegally." The multi-state lawsuit has led to Obama's immigration plan being held up in court.

For Asian Americans, Wealth Stereotypes Don't Fit Reality - NBC News From the story: "...like the rest of the country, income inequality among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - a diverse grouping of more than 48 ethnic groups - is vast." According to a new analysis of census data, "about half of all Asian-American income goes to the top 20 percent of Asian-American earners. The bottom 40 percent of Asian-American earners, meanwhile, take home just 13 percent of the income pot. "

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

For younger Cambodian Americans, a narrowing education gap

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 05:00:03 -0700

Keo Uy, center, watches a volleyball match with fellow United Cambodian Community member Tim Ngoy at Signal Hill Park in Long Beach on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. The UCC group provides resources for its members to have a community and build life skills, with goals that include graduating from school or finding work. As youth coordinator for the group, Uy assist young people who have dropped out of school, as well as younger teens to help them further their education.; Credit: Susanica Tam for KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

On a cold afternoon at a park in Signal Hill, near Long Beach, a group of young men bundled up in hoodies and baseball caps plays volleyball.

For a lot of them, the game is a welcome release. Many are struggling. Some are unemployed. Some never finished high school.

Like 20-year-old Tim Ngoy, who dropped out when he was a senior.

“I was involved in, like, I dunno, distractions I guess," Ngoy said. "I kicked it with the wrong people, the wrong crowd. I’d been ditching."

He said he tried home schooling his senior year, "but that didn't work out too well."

Like many of the young men there, Ngoy is the child of Cambodian refugees, raised in Long Beach, home to the nation's largest Cambodian population. His parents came to the U.S. when they were children. Their families fled the Khmer Rouge regime, which terrorized the country in the 1970s.

More than a million people were killed over the course of a few years, including the well-educated. Most of those made it to the U.S. arrived broke, struggling to survive and provide for their families with relatively little education.

Along with that, they've carried deep sense of trauma that's trickled down through generations.

"Me and my parents don’t really talk," Ngoy said. "So I didn’t have that person to tell me that you have to do this, you have to do that.”

A by-product of the dire circumstances endured by Cambodian refugees is a long-standing educational achievement gap. Cambodians, along with Laotians and Hmong, fare the worst among Asian Americans in terms of high school graduation rates, let alone college.

“The first generation, a lot of them had problems raising their children," said Keo Uy, who helped organize the volleyball game as a youth coordinator for United Cambodian Community, a refugee assistance group. "So a lot of times, there's a disconnect. A lot of them had parents, but grew up having their friends raise them, the system raise them, neighborhoods raise them. Some turned out well, and some...didn’t.”

But stories like Tim's aren't as common anymore. Census Bureau numbers provide a glimpse of what’s been happening as the second generation moves through school.

The overall dropout rate for Cambodian Americans is still high – fewer than 65 percent finish high school. But when you separate out students who were born in the U.S., about 87 percent are graduating. That’s better than the state average.

Cambodian-American students' graduation rates in California
	Native Born	Foreign Born	Overall
Graduated High School	85%	59%	62%
Graduated 2-Year College	7%	7%	7%
Graduated 4-Year College	27%	13%	15%

Data source: Census data from 2008-2012 American Community Survey.

Foreign-born Cambodian-American students' graduation rates according to age they arrived in U.S.
Level of education	Migrated as adult (over 18)	13-18 years old	6 - 12 years old	0-5 years old
Graduated High School	47%	69%	85%	90%
Graduated 2-Year College	4%	9%	11%	9%
Graduated 4-Year College	9%	13%	20%	22%

Data source: National Census data from 2008-2012 American Community Survey.

Recent graduation rates at Long Beach Unified School District reflect this trend, said Christopher Lund, research director for the district. He says part of the credit goes to peer support - local groups that support young Cambodian Americans.

“Supports within the community are very strong," Lund said. "I think an advantage that the Cambodian students have within Long Beach is there is a large representation of students and thereby, the networks of support to really encourage and help them along the way.”

But there’s another hurdle for Cambodian kids: College.

Lund says many of his graduates at least start off at two-year schools, with a smaller number going to four-year universities. But it's a challenge, says UC Riverside professor Karthick Ramakrishnan, who has crunched census numbers on Asian American graduation rates.

"That's where the big gap is occurring," Ramakrishnan said. "There is a big gap between those who are completing high school…and not going to college in the first place."

Only 14 percent of Cambodian Americans complete a four-year degree, according to American Community Survey data. Even among the U.S.-born, only 1 in 4 finish college. That’s half the college graduation rate of Asian Americans in general.

Ramakrishnan said this gap is invisible to many because state education data lumps Cambodians into the general "Asian" category, which can be misleading.

"In terms of data, disaggregated data on the Asian American population, in particular with smaller Asian groups like Cambodians, it is very challenging to find that," he said.

For now, census data is the best measure, he said. But even that doesn't provide detailed information: for example, on where high school graduates obtain their education, or what universities they are qualified to attend, Ramakrishnan said.

A California Assembly bill known as AB 176 proposes mandating state educational systems, including the University of California, to collect disaggregated demographic data on different Asian and Pacific Islander subgroups.

Local Cambodian groups, meanwhile, have put together their own college efforts. Last fall, Keo Uy’s group organized a field trip to Long Beach State for local Cambodian high schoolers. One kid who went was Philip, a senior at Lakewood High.

"I got to see the bigger picture," he said. "I got to see the campus… their labs. It was a really nice experience for me. It was life-changing, kind of."

The California State University system has what it calls student ambassadors, Asian and Pacific Islander students who go into under-served communities to talk to teens and parents about college.

One of them is Ryan Ly, a senior at Long Beach State who grew up in Long Beach and attended a local high school. While none of his friends dropped out, he said many didn’t go to college.

“They ended up working several jobs here in Long Beach, at supermarkets and that kind of stuff," said Ly," who recently joined a Cal State delegation in Sacramento to lobby for better educational data on Cambodian Americans. "To me, that’s a little discouraging.”

Ly said money is a big obstacle for Cambodian parents, who don’t realize their kids can seek financial aid. Last year, he gave a presentation at his alma mater, Millikan High.

“I went back and explained how I’d gotten support from counselors and teachers and other students," he said. "There is support out there, and you just need to go get help.”

For those who don’t get that far, second-generation peers like Keo Uy try to provide safety nets. Uy, who is 31, works with dropouts to help them find jobs and, when they're ready to go back to school. It's a job that hits close to home: Uy finished college, but his younger brother never made it through high school

“Sometimes, these guys don’t want to listen to you, especially when you are 21 years old, you are king of the world, and you can make your own decisions," Uy said. "But sometimes you just watch them, and see how they do, and when they fall, you’re there to pick them back up.”

Tim Ngoy is ready. He worked a nasty job after he dropped out of school, getting paid under the table doing pest control. With Uy’s help, he started looking for other jobs.

A couple of months ago, he started working at a McDonald’s. It doesn’t sound like much on its face. But he’s earned the equivalent of a GED by now, and he wants to earn money so he can learn a trade.

"It's a start, you know?" Ngoy said.

Uy's hope is that if more of these young people can make it, their children will have better educational - and economic - odds.

"Our third generation right now, they are barely in elementary school," Uy said, "and it's up to us to be role models."

* This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

How Obama's new deportation enforcement program differs from the old one

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 19:36:49 -0700

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement photo shows an individual being fingerprinted at a local jail facility under the Secure Communities program.; Credit: Courtesy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Leslie Berestein Rojas

Immigrant advocates say the federal government hasn't provided enough details about a new law enforcement policy that promises to only deport non-U.S. citizens if they are convicted of crimes.

The new program, referred to as PEP, stands for Priority Enforcement Program. It was announced in November as part of President Obama's executive immigration plan.

Obama has said that PEP is replacing Secure Communities, known as "S-Comm," a controversial program that allowed state and local cops to share the fingerprints of immigrants who are booked locally with immigration agents via a federal database.

When Secure Communities' was first kicked off in 2008, the goal was to find and deport criminals - but critics say it has landed many non-offenders in deportation. Over time, many local law enforcement agencies, including many in California, stopped complying with the program, and eventually Obama announced he would replace it with a better policy.

Federal officials say they're still in the process of implementing PEP. In the meantime, critics say they don't have enough details as to how it will work.

“Our concern, quite frankly, is that they have changed S-Comm in name only," said Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, "And so a couple of months after the November 20 announcement, it appears that (the Department of Homeland Security) is replicating the very same mistakes."

In a recent memo, Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson wrote that Secure Communities "has attracted a great deal of criticism, is widely misunderstood, and is embroiled
in litigation."

The memo provided some detail as to how PEP will be different from S-Comm. For example, under PEP, federal agents can ask local police to notify them when a non-U.S. citizen in their custody is going to be released. Under the Secure Communities program, federal agents could ask local cops to hold a deportable immigrant until they arrived.

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the new program would only focus on people with criminal convictions. An excerpt:

ICE will now only seek transfer under PEP of an individual in state or local law enforcement custody if that individual has a conviction for a criminal offense, is suspected of terrorism or espionage, or otherwise poses a danger to national security.

But fine print is still scarce. The new program will still rely on local agencies sharing fingerprint information with federal agents, just as Secure Communities has, and advocates say this is a concern. Newman's group and others have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the federal government in hopes of having more details released on the program.

ICE officials said Tuesday that they are still the process of implementing it.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: High-skilled worker visa debate, war criminals in the US, 'sanctuary cities,' more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:27:08 -0700

Mario Avila, left, and Eduardo Estrada hold up a banner memorializing Guatemala's wartime "desaparecidos," people who disappeared during the country's 36-year civil war. They and other Los Angeles-area Guatemalans celebrated the conviction of suspected Guatemalan war criminal Jorge Sosa on immigration fraud charges in 2013. In a more recent case in Florida, an immigration appeals panel has upheld the deportation order for an accused war criminal from El Salvador. U.S. authorities say many of these suspected war criminals flee their home countries along with other refugees, and hide in plain sight in the U.S.; Credit: Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

GOP divided on immigration changes - The Hill On opposition to a Senate bill that would increase the number of high-skilled work visas made available to foreign workers. One stiff opponent is Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who says the bill doesn't prioritize U.S. workers. From the story: "During a hearing Tuesday, Grassley made it clear that he believes the bill sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), which has high-profile co-sponsors including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), 'only makes the problem worse.'"

War Criminals Next Door: Immigration Division Brings Violators To Justice - NPR An immigration appeals panel has upheld a deportation order against Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, a former Salvadoran defense minister "who is alleged to have presided over human rights violations in that country, including the murders of four American churchwomen in 1980." The case highlights how suspected war criminals seek shelter in the United States, and how immigration officials manage to root them out. Many hide in plain sight.

In the Shadows of the Golden State: Who are California’s Undocumented Immigrants? - KQED An illustrated look at this population in the state; California has the largest number of immigrants without legal status in the U.S. From the text: "Almost a quarter of this population lives in California. But who exactly are they? Where do they come from? And what impact do they have on the Golden State’s massive economy?"

After gentrification push in Downtown LA, it's sink or swim for Latinos - Fox News Latino On the effects of development in Downtown Los Angeles, parts of which have long been a haven for mom-and-pop Latino merchants. From the story: "...the recent gentrification of Downtown Los Angeles has been swift and deadly to many Latino businesses. Rent increases have bounded skyward and many mom-and-pop shops have closed. A local favorite, Mai Mexican Kitchen, was forced out within 20 days of rent increase notice."

‘Sanctuary cities’ bill resurfaces, four years after going down hard in defeat - Dallas Morning News The Texas state Senate is again weighing a so-called "sanctuary cities" bill. It would "prevent cities from barring police from asking those they stop about their immigration status." Supporters say it would deter illegal immigration, while opponents say it could encourage racial profiling. The issue was last debated among state legislators in Texas in 2011.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: White House pushes court on executive action, LA cop arrested at border, tech diversity, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 09:28:58 -0700

More than a thousand people crowded the Los Angeles Convention Center late last year for a workshop related to President Obama's executive immigration order, signed in November. The order could give temporary legal status to millions of immigrants. It was put on hold in February by a federal judge in Texas, who ruled on a multi-state lawsuit filed by opponents. The White House is urging an appeals court to lift the order blocking the immigration plan from moving forward. ; Credit: Josie Huang/KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas

White House makes aggressive legal push on immigration - The Hill On the Justice Department's request last week that a federal appeals court lift an order blocking President Obama's executive immigration order from moving forward: "The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen on Feb. 16 forced the administration to delay the executive actions...The stakes are high. If the court overturns Hanen’s ruling, the Obama administration could begin implementing the programs. But if it sides with the Texas judge, the legal battle could continue, possibly for months."

LAPD Officer Arrested at US-Mexico Border for Alleged Smuggling - NBC 4 A Los Angeles police officer has reportedly been arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border after a person was found hidden in his car. He could face human smuggling charges. From the story: "The officer was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in California. His name was not released, but officials confirmed he was assigned to the LAPD’s Hollywood Division."

Arizona immigrants polish their political dreams - Al Jazeera America A nonprofit that runs training programs around the country aims to train immigrants and children of immigrants who aspire to run for public office. Attendees at a recent conference in Phoenix were "participants and trainers at a political leadership conference for first- and second-generation immigrants — a kind of Lean In regimen for relative newcomers in the U.S. contemplating a run for political office."

Google backs three-city program for black, Latino techies - USA Today On a push to encourage more black and Latino participation in the tech industry. From the story: "Google is backing a new pilot program from CODE2040 in three cities. Starting this year in Chicago, Austin and Durham, N.C., the San Francisco nonprofit will give minority entrepreneurs in each city a one-year stipend and free office space. Code2040 is a nonprofit founded in 2012 that focuses on getting more African Americans and Hispanics into the tech workforce."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

In immigration news: Feds ask court to lift block on executive action, evolution of Mexican migration, DACA recipients arrested, more

Leslie Berestein Rojas — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:18:09 -0700

A child holds a sign supporting the Obama administration's executive immigration plan during a February news conference in Denver, Colorado. The plan, which could grant temporary legal status to millions of immigrants, was put on hold last month following a decision by a federal judge in Texas. The Obama administration is asking an appeals court to let the plan move forward. ; Credit: David Zalubowski/AP

Leslie Berestein Rojas

U.S. Government Asks for End to Hold on Immigration Action - Associated Press The federal government has asked an appeals court to allow President Obama's executive immigration order to move forward and lift a temporary block issued by a judge. From the story: "Justice Department attorneys filed an emergency motion with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to lift a preliminary injunction issued last month by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas."

With Relief Programs Stalled, Immigration Activists Keep Focus On Deportations - Huffington Post As immigrant advocates wait for executive action to be resolved in court, one group is "operating a hotline to inform people about the executive actions and collecting stories of undocumented immigrants who would be eligible for relief under the stalled policies, but are instead being detained."

How Mexican Immigration to the U.S. Has Evolved - TIME An interview with historian Julia Young, who is researching a book on Mexican immigration to the U.S. during the 1920s. From the piece: "For almost a half-century after the annexation of Texas in 1845, the flow was barely a trickle. In fact, there was a significant migration in the other direction: Mexican citizens who left the newly annexed U.S. territories and resettled in Mexican territory."

15 immigrants protected from deportation arrested in sweep - Associated Press Fifteen immigrants who had been protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals were arrested in a recent immigration sweep. From the story: "Fourteen of the 15 had been convicted of a crime, the Homeland Security Department confirmed late Thursday. In at least one case, the Obama administration renewed the protective status for a young immigrant after that person’s conviction in a drug case, a U.S. official briefed on the arrests said."

U.S. citizen says sheriff's deputies threatened him with deportation - Los Angeles Times From the story: "Diego Rojas, 18, was arrested last May and taken to Los Angeles County’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility. His family posted bail a short time later. Instead of being released, Rojas said he was questioned about his immigration status by sheriff's deputies trained by immigration agents under a controversial federal program known as 287(g)." Rojas has settled a claim with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.