Latest news with #advocacy
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Disappeared by ICE in L.A.: How to find detained relatives
For 22 days, immigration enforcement officials have conducted sweeps in communities across the Los Angeles region, arresting an estimated 722 people between June 1 and June 10 alone. For families and immigrant advocacy groups, determining the location of detainees has been difficult. "In some cases it's been 72 hours where we have not been able to identify where their family member is and when we do, sometimes they're in the [Adelanto Detention Center]," said Flor Melendrez, executive director of CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a nonprofit labor advocacy group. "Sometimes it's too late and [the detainee is] calling from the Ciudad Juárez or Tijuana, where they have already been deported, and that's within 72 hours." CLEAN has focused on representing workers in the car wash industry for 18 years, but in the last three weeks the group has shifted to helping families find workers who were taken during a raid and guide them toward supportive and legal services. "When the children are asking if we are going to bring their parent back home and we have no way to even respond [with] where they are, it's heartbreaking," Melendrez said. Here are the immediate steps you should take if your relative is arrested and detained by immigrant enforcement officials: If your loved one was detained by immigration enforcement agents, reach out to immigrant advocacy groups that can provide referrals, information, resources (such as food and financial assistance) and, in some cases, direct support. A network of local rapid response hotlines has been established to document immigration enforcement activity and help connect those affected to legal services and other types of support, according to the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. The following local rapid response hotline numbers are provided by the California Immigrant Policy Center and the ACLU Southern California: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, (888) 624-4752 Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, (323) 805-1049 Long Beach Community Defense Network, (562) 245-9575 Órale (Long Beach), (562) 276-0267 People's Struggle San Fernando Valley, (562) 977-8118 Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, (909) 361-4588 Southern California Bilingual Rapid Response Legal Resource Hotline, (213) 833-8283 After or before you've made the call for help, gather these important documents that pertain to the detained family member: Birth certificate Medical records Past visa applications Receipt and approval notices for any immigration applications the person has previously submitted You'll also need to gather the following personal information that will be used either by you or your legal representation to locate your detained loved one: A-Number, also known as "alien registration number," which is assigned by the Department of Homeland Security to noncitizens who apply to live and work in the U.S. The seven- to nine-digit number can be found on a green card, work permit or other immigration document. Country of birth Personal information including full name and birthday There is a coalition of organizations and pro bono attorneys working to support individuals who have been detained, but it can be challenging to get immediate help because there is an overwhelming need. Because of the high demand for legal help, Public Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm, is currently prioritizing cases based on extreme need and often can only take a bond case or help with locating a detained person. Public Counsel warned that families who have not been affected by immigration enforcement but need help with their immigration status should look for a lawyer now and begin the immigration process in case they are detained in the future. Your options for legal help include: Immigrant Defenders Law Center, (213) 833-8283 Public Counsel, (213) 385-2977 Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, (800) 399-4529 Lalama Immigration Law, (833) 838-8472 Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, (213) 251-3505 Immigration Center for Women and Children (L.A. office), (213) 614-1165 El Rescate, (213) 387-3284 Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles, (213) 385-7800 USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic, (213) 821-9627 International Institute of Los Angeles, (323) 264-6217 You can also search for an immigration lawyer through the American Immigration Lawyers Association online locator tool. How to spot a fake immigration attorney: Scammers try to confuse immigrants into thinking they're an attorney by calling themselves a notario, notary public, accountant or consultant, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In Latin American countries, a notario or notary public is an attorney or has legal training, but that's not the case in the United States. How to protect yourself from the scam: Do not hire an immigration consultant or a notary. Only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can give you legal advice or represent you in immigration court. Immigration consultants — who may call themselves immigration experts, notarios, notaries public or paralegals — cannot do so, according to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office. Do not give your original important documents to anyone, unless you see proof that the government requires the original document, according to the FTC. You can verify whether a lawyer is legitimate by searching for them on the State Bar of California website and determining if they have an active law license. If your relative is arrested in Los Angeles, they will likely be taken to the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles — sometimes called "B-18" — which is located at 320 Aliso St., according to Public Counsel. Call the detention center at (213) 830-4900 or (213) 830-7911 and provide the operator with your relative's A-Number, according to Public Counsel. You can also try locating your relative by using the Department of Homeland Security's ICE Detainee Locator System online or call (866) 347-2423, but be warned that immigration officials often won't provide detainee information over the phone and might not update their online data regularly. Whether you use the ICE online locator or call, you'll need to provide the detainee's A-Number and country of birth, or their full name and both country and date of birth. If you cannot locate your family member through this process, you can contact the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office closest to where the person was picked up. There are three field offices in California: Los Angeles Field Office: 300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012; (213) 830-7911. This office's area of responsibility includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. San Diego Field Office: 880 Front Street, #2242, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 436-0410. This office's area of responsibility includes San Diego and Imperial counties. San Francisco Field Office: 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 365-8800. This office's area of responsibility includes Northern California, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan. Another option for locating your detained relative is contacting their country's consulate. Here is a list of local consulate offices and contact numbers. Several organizations are offering free delivery of groceries and necessities to families affected by recent immigration enforcement. Follow the organization's websites and social media accounts for up-to-date information on resource availability: The YMCA is providing confidential delivery of groceries and other essentials to affected families. Contact socialimpact@ or call (323) 244-9077 for support. InnerCity Struggle is an East Los Angeles organization that assists with groceries and rental assistance. Call (323) 780-7605. No Us Without You offers food to undocumented community members. You can fill out their eligibility form for assistance online. Comunidades Indigenas En Liderazgo (CIELO) is delivering food to Indigenous families it serves and those in the community who are afraid to go out for fear of being caught up in ICE raids. To see if you qualify for assistance, fill out their online contact form. Raíces Con Voz is a grassroots organization in Boyle Heights that is providing grocery and essential items to those in the community who feel they are unable to leave their homes due to recent ICE activity. For assistance, send the group a direct message on Instagram. World Harvest Charities and Family Services' Cart With a Heart program is providing families who are sheltering in place with grocery carts full of fresh produce, protein, pantry supplies and more. For assistance, call (213) 746-2227. La Puente Mutual Aid delivers essentials to community members without asking for a name or address of the person in need, for free. Email lapuentesdropbasket@ with a code name, your neighborhood, a safe drop spot and items needed. The El Monte Business Alliance is offering food assistance and baby products to those in need through their new program El Monte Cares. For help, call (800) 622-4302. Immigo Immigration Services delivers necessary items to families in need. Call (818) 730-0140 for assistance. 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.
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
These graduates lost their friend to gun violence. Now they're making sure he's never forgotten
A Toronto teen whose life was cut short by gun violence was remembered in a valedictorian speech at the school where he should have graduated on Thursday. Mohamed Doumbouya, who died at the age of 16, would have been in Grade 12 this year. But instead of marking a milestone at his Parkdale high school this week, he was gunned down inside an apartment unit in the area of King Street W. and Jameson Avenue on July 8, 2024. Two teen boys, 16 and 17 at the time, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in his death. Since his death, Mohamed's friends have dedicated themselves to advocating against gun violence and honouring his memory. "Mohamed was more than a friend," said Grade 12 student Brian Ehigiator in his valedictorian speech at Parkdale Collegiate Institute on Thursday. Ehigiator said he'd known Mohamed since childhood. "He was a bright, kind and playful presence who left a lasting mark on everyone who knew him. This school year has been really difficult without being able to see him in the halls... There's been an emptiness, a silence where laughter used to be. "But even though he is not physically here, his presence is still felt in every corner of this building." Ehigiator said Mohamed's friends have made sure that "his story, his life continues to matter." Students organize to honour Mohamed's memory In an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning, Ehigiator said of his friend: "He really knew how to lighten a room. Even during serious situations, he was always funny, which I guess I loved about him the most." Tania Camuti, principal of the school, said that after Mohamed's death, a group of 14 students applied for funding from the city's Community Crisis Response Program through its fund for youth initiatives in order to honour him. The fund provides one-time financial assistance to support communities affected by traumatic incidents and community violence. Camuti said the students put together a number of initiatives using the funding. They organized a group called Project MD that does anti-gun violence advocacy at the school. They also organized a play day for his elementary school in Parkdale, Dr Rita Cox — Kina Minagok Public School. And they organized to have the field at the school renamed in his honour. They also arranged for a plaque and rock on the field dedicated to Mohamed, facing the apartment building where he lived. On top of that, they put together a display case, commissioned art and brought a guest speaker to the school to talk to students about youth and gun violence. "What I've seen is a group of Grade 12s come together in tragedy to ensure that Mohamed's memory is not how he died but who he was," Camuti said. Camuti said she heard about the shooting death on the news, had a gut feeling and wondered: "'Was that one of ours?' And unfortunately, about a day later it was confirmed that that was a Parkdale student." 'A person who lit up the room' Cole Leason, a Grade 12 student, said Mohammed could make a person smile if they were having a bad day. "He was a close friend to all of us. He was really just a person who lit up the room. He was the life of the party," he said. "He was really a big part of our group and just a big part of what it meant to be at Parkdale. Losing him was a big loss." 2 teens charged in fatal shooting of teen in Parkdale Police ID boy, 16, shot dead in Parkdale apartment Leason said the students wanted to not only to honour Mohamed but also to push back against gun violence. "We want to show that this tragedy doesn't represent who Parkdale is, who Mohamed was, what his life meant and what it was on track for. It's really to show that our community won't let violence take control and have a shackle on us." Ethan Rebelo, another Grade 12 student, also called Mohamed a friend. "Within our friend group, he was like our core of our friend group and really made everybody, just in the school that knew him, very happy. He was a very genuine guy." For Ehigiator, his friend's death has taught him an important lesson.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
CP NewsAlert: Alberta judge grants injunction blocking a transgender health-care bill
EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment, has issued a temporary injunction against the law, saying it raises serious issues that need to be hashed out in court. Kuntz says a temporary stop to the law is needed to prevent what she calls 'irreparable harm' coming to young patients while the issue is debated. The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, would have prevented doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16. Kuntz says denying access to this care could force youth to experience permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups took the case to court, while Premier Danielle Smith has said she believes the legislation is needed to protect young people from making permanent, life-altering decisions. More coming. Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Approximately 55 Canadians have been detained by ICE, minister says
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand speaks to reporters in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Approximately 55 Canadians have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told CTV News Friday. 'Our work is to ensure that they're being treated fairly, and that's the advocacy that consular officials from Global Affairs Canada do every day, not only in the United States, but around the world,' said Anand. ICE operations have been under increased public scrutiny since Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said ICE officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term. ICE operations have sparked protests across the U.S., leading to arrests and curfews. During her interview with CTV News, Anand responded to questions about the Canadian citizen who died in ICE custody on June 23. She said consular officials had been in contact with Johnny Noviello, 49, since he was detained by ICE on May 15. She also said she was bound by privacy considerations and could not share additional details. On Thursday, the day Canadian officials were made aware of Noviello's death, Anand said on social media that Ottawa was urgently seeking more information from U.S. officials. The exact cause of his death remains under investigation, ICE wrote on Thursday. Noviello entered the U.S. with a visa on Jan. 2, 1988. He became a permanent resident three years later. In October 2023, he was convicted in eastern Florida for racketeering and drug trafficking and sentenced to 12 months in prison. In May, he was arrested by ICE at a probations office and charged with removal for violating U.S. drug laws. Anand expressed her condolences to Noviello's family. With files from CTV's Stephane Ha
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘The mask is off in tech. You're getting fired if you speak out'
William Fitzgerald has a lot on his mind. It's on the button of 2pm in Dublin when the WhatsApp call notification appears, making it barely 6am where he is, on the Pacific coast of the United States . What's it like in that part of the world? 'That's a big question,' the Waterford -born founder of The Worker Agency says, answering what was meant to be a light starter question about the weather. 'It's kind of surreal. I lived in Hong Kong when the students [in 2012] protested against the curriculum being changed. I was working for Google at the time, and I attended some of the protests, but I wasn't involved [directly]. Now I'm kind of directly involved in trying to stop what Trump is doing with the support of corporate America.' READ MORE The Irishman isn't exaggerating his current situation. Fitzgerald founded The Worker Agency in 2018. This was shortly after he did the unthinkable for many people in his position: abandoning a 10-year climb up the corporate career ladder in Google and quitting his job in the tech giant's public policy unit. The idea for The Worker Agency, which he describes as an advocacy firm, was born out of Fitzgerald's convictions and the work he did with Google that put him into the orbit of activists around the globe. Providing public relations services to campaign groups and trade unions in the US, the agency began as a one-man operation but now employs 10 people at its offices in Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay Area. 'We help people design their strategies,' Fitzgerald explains, 'and then we help them execute on the tactics, whether that's helping pitch stories, helping to do the social media.' His clients have included everything from racial justice campaigns to workers trying to form a union within Google parent Alphabet , as well as the likes of Radices, a Texas-based non-profit promoting migrant rights. [ Why Donald Trump is only beginning his pursuit of the 'enemy within' Opens in new window ] In the immediate aftermath of Trump's election victory last November, Fitzgerald sat down with The Irish Times for a brief interview on the fringes of the Web Summit in Lisbon. 'Tech is really in bed with the bad stuff,' he said at the time, whether that's defence contracts or surveillance on behalf of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). He warned that the next few years could be great for big tech but bleak for almost everyone else if Trump's policies matched his increasingly authoritarian rhetoric. I think actually the formative part of my youth was my mum basically saying: 'Go out and live your best life and do whatever the f*** you want' Some seven months later, it seemed like a good time to sit down with him again, given what has happened in the interim. Whether it's the deployment of the California National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles, the deportation of people to a prison in El Salvador or the litany of other developments in American public life, the Trump administration's ability to execute its plans has surpassed the expectations of many of its most vocal critics. 'Since I moved to America,' Fitzgerald says, 'it has operated, for better or for worse, as a place where anyone could just say whatever the heck they wanted. It feels to me now like they're trying to turn America into a place like Singapore or somewhere, where, literally, that just doesn't happen any more. Now, I don't know if they're going to be able to do it, but they're definitely trying.' Even in the face of these outrages, the slavishness of the tech barons – not just Elon Musk – to the administration has been notable. It's also novel, given Silicon Valley's previous outwardly liberal gloss that at least ticked the necessary cultural boxes. What changed? 'They stopped pretending,' Fitzgerald says. 'The mask is off. You're getting fired if you speak out. Back in the day, [tech employees] used to be even asking questions [of their employer] in the comments on company chat boards.' In 2025, however, avenues for dissent have been barricaded up and a 'culture of fear' is very much in effect, he says. That sense of precarity has at least something to do with the massive rounds of lay-offs big tech embarked upon a couple of years ago, Fitzgerald explained in Lisbon last November. 'The software engineers making big money in Silicon Valley, they don't know if they're going to wake up tomorrow and they're gone. So, the culture within the companies has also changed.' Little surprise, then, that Fitzgerald says the last six months have been the busiest ever for his firm. 'I have back-to-back calls, meetings', he says, describing what a typical day looks like for him. 'Sometimes, I almost have to do what you do as a reporter, meeting sources, meeting people in tech companies, trying to build relationships.' Berkeley, where Fitzgerald lives with his wife and daughter, has a special place in the history of American dissent. The birthplace of the US Free Speech Movement in the mid-1960s, the city was a hotbed of activism during the period of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. That heritage remains a strong part of the culture there. 'A lot of our neighbours came up during that era,' Fitzgerald says. 'There's a lot of people – some would call them boomers – of the older generation who are really annoyed, really sad but really determined […] They're trying to do everything they can to actually not let [Trump] do it.' [ Finn McRedmond: It's no wonder people my age are miserable. Everyone keeps telling them they're totally screwed Opens in new window ] That sense of outrage and the desire to resist is one of the reasons The Worker Agency has been so busy, according to Fitzgerald. 'I'm kind of impressed because people aren't just letting it happen. People are resolute.' 'Resolute' is also an adjective that fits Fitzgerald. His decision to leave Google two years into the first Trump administration was born, to some extent, out of his frustrations with the company. In previous media outings he has described his dismay at the search engine giant's initial unwillingness to make a strong statement about the 45th president's mooted 'Muslim ban'. Although it eventually came out against it, Fitzgerald, who was head of policy communications at the time, has said it was a key turning point in his relationship with the company. Fitzgerald was born in An Sean Phobal in the Gaeltacht area of Waterford. His father, a local insurance man, died when William was four. That left his mother to raise six children on her own. 'It was an interesting journey,' Fitzgerald says. 'In that my dad had done well by buying property in Dublin in the 1980s when it was tough to do that. So, he had put money aside.' That money allowed the six children to go to boarding school. Fitzgerald's sisters went to King's Hospital in Dublin while Fitzgerald went to Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare. 'Each year, I was in school with the richest boys in Ireland but at home, there was literally nothing.' Surely this must have influenced his activist bent? Only to an extent, suggests Fitzgerald. 'I have five siblings and we're all 100 per cent different. Even at a young age, I was kind of wanting to volunteer and stuff, so I think your surroundings are one part of it.' More important in those years was his mother's parenting style, he says. 'I think actually the formative part of my youth was my mum basically saying: 'Go out and live your best life and do whatever the f*** you want'. Like, we were getting arrested as teenagers and the police were trying to tell her we were juvenile delinquents. She was shouting at the police: 'How dare you!'' But 'no matter what', Fitzgerald says, 'she supported us and loved us' and let her six children find their own light. His siblings have gone on to do 'incredible things', he says, not least his brother Richard, who founded Augustus Media, the brand behind Lovin Dubai and other lifestyle websites in the Middle East. Fitzgerald's work with Google, which he joined while completing a business and politics degree in Trinity College Dublin, brought him around the globe and helped shape his worldview. 'One of the first jobs I had,' he recalls, 'was flying around Asia giving out two-factor security keys to activists. I met my wife. She was one of the free speech activists in Pakistan. It was a place that kind of encouraged me to live and breathe my values in a real way.' The job eventually took him to California, where he says he involved himself in 'Black Lives Matter stuff' and other campaigns. 'My evenings were spent during those 10 years at Google kind of providing free communications services to organisations,' he says. Starting The Worker Agency, the first task was to find some of those groups 'that might be willing to pay for this as a service'. On this side of the pond, the public and political conversation about Trump and big tech has centred mostly on tariffs and the economic fallout. Fitzgerald is realistic about the reasons for that. 'Foreign direct investment is so important to Ireland,' he says, and the tax base's reliance on just a handful of American multinationals is always going to create a cautious atmosphere in Government when it comes to talking about tech. 'I remember when I was at Google, the joke was: 'Oh, if we just sneeze, Enda Kenny will run down.' I do understand how difficult it is.' But tech's Trump-ward turn is going to highlight some glaring contradictions in the Government's positions. One such tension is the Coalition's messaging on Israel and its war in Gaza , which Taoiseach Micheál Martin has described as genocide. Big tech's dealings with Israel and its military are increasingly being criticised and highlighted by current and former workers at the world's most powerful companies, such as Microsoft, where the No Azure for Apartheid campaign is looking to end the group's cloud and AI contracts with the Israeli military. Fitzgerald's former employer, Google, is facing similar pressure. Last December, the New York Times reported that lawyers at the tech giant had warned senior executives in 2021 that its cloud computing services deal with Israel, Project Nimbus, could be 'used for, or linked to, the facilitation of human rights abuses' in the West Bank . The Nimbus issue has been 'a lightning rod for arguments' inside Google since the start of the war in Gaza, the newspaper reported at the time. For its part, the company has denied that its technology is 'directed at highly sensitive, classified or military workloads'. 'It's going to get harder for the kind of Irish mainstream establishment to continue taking nice pictures with these tech executives,' says Fitzgerald. 'It's also things like immigration and the Irish [in the US]. We are impacted by that. I know there are Irish-Americans who are really struggling. I just think it will get harder [for Irish politicians] as you see more stuff happening. And it's still very early in the administration. We're not even a year in.' What the next three years bring is anyone's guess. For Fitzgerald's part, he wants to bring The Worker Agency to Ireland in some capacity. Last week, he incorporated a company called The Worker Agency Ireland Ltd with the Companies Registration Office . Can we expect to see the firm open a Dublin – or Waterford – office in the near future? 'I have a real ambition [to do that],' he says. 'I feel like there are things in Ireland and the European Union that we work on from afar that we'd be much better at if we had a physical presence in Ireland. But will we have a team of three in Dublin in six months? God, I'd love that. But I can't say for sure.' CV Age : 39 Family : Married to Sana, one child (Zaina) and another on the way Lives : Berkeley, California Something you might expect : 'Every year, I find myself both surprised and disappointed when Waterford fall short of winning the All-Ireland hurling final.' Something that might surprise : 'Most days I either swim or surf somewhere around the San Francisco Bay, convincing myself it's warmer than Clonea Beach back in Dungarvan, Co Waterford'
