Malena Amusa

The News: Immigrant Kids Caught in Tangled Web of Policies

Rants

Caught In-between
Children of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles face a tangled web of conflicting public policies, the L.A. Times reported, Jan. 25. While these children can attend public schools and receive emergency health treatments, they are not eligible for financial aid and lack access to preventative health care.

Immigration Crackdown
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested more than 750 illegal immigrants from the Los Angeles metropolitan area in the last week in one of the largest sweeps of arrests since the ICE began Operation Return to Sender June 2006, reported Allheadlinenews.com, Jan. 24. More than 450 have been deported this week. Under this anti-illegal immigration effort, more than 13,000 people have been arrested.

Where’s Katrina?
Activists and politicians have criticized President George W. Bush for omitting Katrina from his State of the Union speech Tuesday, reported npr.com Jan. 24. “I certainly was surprised and very disappointed that the president didn’t have a single thing to say about the gulf coast, about Louisiana,” said Gov. Kathleen Blanco “He didn’t have anything to say about the massive recovery effort that we are all struggling to effect and it certainly is a disappointment.

Unemployment Claims Hike
The U.S. Labor Department reported that 36,000 more people filed for unemployment benefits last week than the previous week, totaling 325,000 new claims, USA Today reported Jan. 25.

Raves

Racial Slaying Cop Caught
A former cop was charged Wednesday in connection with the 1964 death of two black men in Mississippi, reported Cnn.com Jan. 25. The brother of one of the victims said he has worked to find the people behind these racial slayings. James Ford Seale, 71, was charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Little by Little Ban Improves
The City Council of a Dallas suburb revised a ban on illegal immigrants to allow landlords to rent to families with mixed citizenship status, reported the New York Times, Jan. 24. The Council had enacted a trio of ordinances cracking down on illegal immigrants. The measures barred landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, allowed authorities to enforce federal immigration laws, and made English the official language for city business transactions. But after major cries from residents, the Council decided to make some changes.

Posted at 9:43 AM, Jan 25, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments