Latest news with #Yamane
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘We don't deserve this.' Women held in limbo at ICE's downtown S.F. center awaiting bed space
Three women who were detained by federal immigration officers at court Wednesday were held overnight inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's downtown San Francisco field office and remained there Thursday afternoon because there were no available beds at migrant detention facilities, one of the women and her attorney told the Chronicle. The 27-year-old Colombian woman from San Jose said in an interview she was held overnight in a cell on the sixth floor of 630 Sansome St., along with two other women who were also detained on Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. Department of Justice's San Francisco Immigration Court. She described the room as a small space with a toilet, a bench, a thin mattress and a small window where she could see officers standing outside. ICE representatives did not immediately respond to questions about the woman's arrest and detention. The Chronicle is not naming her, per its anonymous source policy, due to her fears of retaliation. The women are among many immigrants who have been held at the San Francisco ICE field office in recent weeks while officials make arrangements to transfer people to detention centers, said Jessica Yamane, an immigration attorney with Pangea Legal Services and Santa Clara County's Rapid Response Network. Some have been held for days, she said, a source of additional trauma as they already face uncertainty over what will happen to them. Yamane said ICE representatives told her that the woman was being held at the field office because there were no available beds at migrant detention facilities. Detained migrants from the Bay Area are typically transferred to detention centers in Southern California. Immigration attorneys and advocates have reported overcrowding and deteriorating conditions at ICE detention facilities across the country. An ICE representative told NPR that 'some ICE facilities are experiencing temporary overcrowding due to recent increases in detention populations' and implementing measures to manage capacity. ICE typically places immigrants in holding cells in its field offices for a few hours at a time before transferring them elsewhere, but there have been reports of longer stays and overcrowding in these facilities as well. Yamane said the overnight detentions at the 630 Sansome St. building reminded her of when immigration officials used the upper floors of the building as a detention center for Chinese immigrants post-World War II. 'It's been the same mechanism of terror through detention that have broken people's spirits for generations,' she said. On Thursday afternoon in a cold visitation room, the Colombian woman told the Chronicle through a glass window that plainclothes ICE officers arrested her as she exited a courtroom at 100 Montgomery St. around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. An asylum seeker, the woman said she had just attended her first courthouse appointment, where the judge rescheduled her appointment for October because she didn't have an attorney. 'Everything was going well. I didn't see any risk because the judge gave me another date,' she said. Two men identified themselves as ICE agents, handcuffed her and walked out the building through a back door, she said. They forcefully pushed her into an unmarked car and told her they were taking her to the ICE field office, she said. 'They were hurting me,' she said, tears falling down her cheeks. 'I hadn't done anything wrong.' She was placed in a cell with two other women. During the interview with the Chronicle, an immigration official walked into the visitation room to drop off a meal — a bean and cheese burrito, a breakfast bar and bottled water. She said ICE officials have not told her where she will be sent. 'They're treating us like criminals,' she said. 'We don't deserve this treatment. We are just trying to do the right thing.' She said she flew to Mexico and crossed the U.S. border in December 2022, fleeing violence she experienced in her hometown of Bogota. In the U.S., she moved in with her boyfriend in San Jose and worked at a local restaurant and delivered food via UberEats with her partner. Their dream, she said, was to save enough money to open their own auto repair and body shop. 'It's a dream that I don't know will happen now,' she said.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers put Hawaii's foster care system on blast at State Capitol
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaii's foster care system was on the hot seat at the State Capitol in the wake of deadly child abuse cases and an audit from a year ago pointing out problems. Lawmakers want to know — has there been any progress to fill vacancies and strengthen protections for kids to stop tragedies from happening in what are supposed to be protective homes? Child abuse cases in the islands rise between 2023, 2024 Isabella 'Ariel' Kalua and Geanna Bradley are just a few Hawaii children who lost their lives to abusive households. Some of them were living with their own parents and others were in adoptive, or what were supposed to be, protective environments. 'When we start talking about where there are failures, we can understand where the failures are happening,' said Senator Joy San Buenaventura (D) Health and Human Services Chair. Lawmakers also followed up on prior audits and hearings about Child Welfare System Kurt Fevella (R) questioned who does the intake interviews with caregivers or 'foster parents.' 'We are working with Attorney General. We are almost there on something called 'Code of Conduct,' every contract that child welfare does with the vendor,' explained Ryan Yamae, DHS Director. 'Anytime there is a call against a resource caregiver possibly harming a child, we are going to investigate, and pending that investigation, we are going to remove them from the home,' said Daisy Hartsfield, CHS. Can Hawaiiʻs child welfare system be fixed? The Attorney General's office told lawmakers the judiciary is trying to add more protections and eliminate barriers to home entry when abuse is suspected. 'They have already taken steps to change that guardianship order to modify that relationship that they're creating to add additional protections of additional reports and additional oversight by the court,' said Lynne Youmans, Deputy Attorney General. DHS has hundreds of vacancies in its Child Welfare, Protective Services and Assistant ranks, but they are trying to add a pay differential for new hires and performance pay for current staff. Check out more news from around Hawaii As for the families they rely on to help kids, Yamane said pre-adoptive services and counseling would be mandated rather than voluntary. Yamane said it would be the direct response to current cases but those that are also in internal review. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DHS Director Ryan Yamane discusses new program to better assist foster care keiki
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The embattled Department of Human Services, which oversees Child Welfare Services, has a new director. KHON2 sat down with Ryan Yamane to discuss the new program that he believes will help them provide more oversight and assistance to keiki in foster care. Officials call on DHS to take action amid disturbing child abuse cases 'I learned a lot in regards to being grounded and focused on listening to people, determining what was in their best interest and trying to find creative ways to address those needs,' said Yamane. Child Welfare Services has come under fire in recent years after six-year-old Isabella 'Ariel' Khlua was allegedly tortured and murdered by her adoptive parents in 2021. In 2024, police arrested the legal guardians of nine-year-old Geanna Bradley for allegedly torturing and starving her to death. Both little girls were placed in the homes by CWS. Yamane said what happened is disturbing and unacceptable and he hopes to re-establish the public's trust and prevent anything from ever happening like this again. Last week, DHS launched a brand new statewide program called Kakoo.'That program is focused on supporting our foster kids and our foster parents. They're actually going to go out during nights and weekends to check in on our kids. It's a wellness visit,' Yamane explained. He added that the step comes after Governor Green asked DHS to make sure they make priorities for our keiki. The kakoo visits will be unannounced and will be in addition to the regularly scheduled monthly visits. 'It's not an investigation. It's a 'Hey, wellness, how you doing?' and talk with the kids so the kids know that we are around. That they can reach out to us at any time.' Yamane said DHS is still short-staffed and is actively trying to recruit trained social workers. Check out more news from around Hawaii 'With this program, I asked for staff to volunteer outside their work hours. I'm very proud to say that we've had over 60 staff statewide volunteering,' he said. This is the first phase of Kakoo. DHS plans to expand it to include visits to kids that are adopted and said everyone is eager to be part of the program because they believe in the mission and protecting Hawaii's keiki. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Orlando City scores late to keep Galaxy winless on the season
Luis Muriel scored in the final minute of regulation off a free kick after a late penalty-kick goal by Martín Ojeda and Orlando City stunned the Galaxy 2-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night, leaving the defending champions looking for their first victory six matches into the season. Christian Ramírez staked the Galaxy (0-4-2) to an early lead when he used assists from second-year defender Miki Yamane and Edwin Cerrillo to score in the 14th minute. It was the third goal for Ramírez in his first season with the club and his 54th in 166 career appearances. Yamane notched his second assist and the eighth of his career. Cerrillo's helper was his first this season and eighth overall. Ojeda scored the equalizer for Orlando City (3-2-1) on a PK in the 76th minute. Ojeda scored for the fourth time this season after Eduard Atuesta was fouled by Yamane. Ojeda had 10 goals covering 68 appearances in his first two seasons with the club. Muriel scored the winner in the 90th minute. It was his third goal this season after tallying five in 33 appearances last year. Orlando City improves to 2-2-0 on the road against the Galaxy and leads the series 5-3-0. Pedro Gallese stopped one shot for Orlando City. John McCarthy had one save for the Galaxy. Neither goalkeeper made a save in the second half. Orlando City entered play with a league-leading 13 goals. The club has tallied 57 goals in its last 23 regular-season matches. The Galaxy will play their next MLS match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
