Latest news with #amendments
Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
HM issues Royal Decree on insurance of expat workers for work injuries
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik today issued Royal Decree No. 60/2025 on amending some provisions of Royal Decree No. 52/2023 on the promulgation of the Social Protection Law. It reads as follows: Article (1) says that the provisions of Clauses (2), (3), and (5) of Article Six of Royal Decree No. 52/2023 shall be replaced with the following texts: 2- The provisions of the branch on insurance for work injuries and occupational diseases for non-Omani workers under the attached law shall come into force after (5) years from the date of issuance of this decree. 3- Chapter Six of Part Three of the attached law shall come into force after (3) years from the date of issuance of this decree. 5- Clause (1) of Article (139) of the attached law shall come into force on the date determined by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund, provided it does not exceed (4) years from the date of issuance of this decree. Article (2) cancels all that contradicts this decree or contravenes their provisions.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
US federal court blocks indiscriminate immigration arrests in 7 California counties
Immigrant advocacy organisations filed the lawsuit last week, accusing President Donald Trump's government of purposefully targeting brown individuals in Southern California as part of its continuing immigration crackdown read more People wait outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, Calif. AP On Friday, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to suspend indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy organisations filed the lawsuit last week, accusing President Donald Trump's government of purposefully targeting brown individuals in Southern California as part of its continuing immigration crackdown. The claimants include three detained immigrants and two US citizens, one of whom was arrested despite giving agents his ID. The lawsuit filed in US District Court asked a judge to prevent the government from using what they describe unconstitutional techniques in immigration sweeps. Immigrant groups accuse immigration officers of detaining people based on their race, making unwarranted arrests, and refusing prisoners access to legal representation at a holding facility in downtown Los Angeles. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility in response to a request from nonprofit law firm Public Counsel. Frimpong issued the emergency orders, which are a temporary measure while the lawsuit proceeds, the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution. She wrote in the order there was a 'mountain of evidence' presented in the case that the federal government was committing the violations they were being accused of. The White House responded quickly to the ruling late Friday. 'No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy — that authority rests with Congress and the President,' spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. 'Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal.' Communities on edge as administration steps up arrests Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an 'arbitrary arrest quota' and based on 'broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity.' When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing in the lawsuit said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who 'looked Hispanic.' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that 'any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD McLaughlin said 'enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' before making arrests. After the ruling, she said 'a district judge is undermining the will of the American people.' ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the US citizens who was detained, was 'physically assaulted … for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood.' Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the 'totality of the circumstances', including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off 'targeted, individualized packages,' he said. 'The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment,' Skedzielewski said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Order opens facility to lawyer visits Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as 'B-18' on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Public Counsel lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys 'attempted to shout out basic rights' at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to 'protect the employees and the detainees' during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called 'coercive' to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Friday's order will temporarily prevent the government from solely using apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone's occupation as the basis for reasonable suspicion to stop someone. It will also require officials to open B-18 to visitation by attorneys seven days a week and provide detainees access to confidential phone calls with attorneys. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. US Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Second Amendment groups file for summary judgment in bid to overturn Florida's open carry ban
Gun-rights groups are pursuing several strategies to win the right to openly carry firearms in Florida. (Photo by Matt Rourke/The Associated Press) A Palm Beach gun owner and two Second Amendment groups have filed a motion for summary judgement in their federal court challenge to Florida's law banning individuals from openly carrying firearms, claiming the law is unconstitutional. Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, and gun owner Richard Hughes originally filed their lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida last August, alleging that the law banning open carry violates the Second and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and places them, their members, and their supporters at risk of being arrested and prosecuted should they openly carry firearms in public. St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro is the lone defendant in the case. In their lawsuit, Hughes and the two gun rights organizations list him because the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office warned the public after the state legalized what is known as 'permitless carry' in 2023 that '[t]he law is not open carry; open carry is still illegal under most circumstances.' In 2017, the Florida Supreme Court upheld state restrictions on openly carrying a firearm, ruling in Norman v. State that the law did not violate citizens' Second Amendment rights in a case brought by Dale Lee Norman, a St. Lucie County resident who faced a second-degree misdemeanor charge after he walked down a road with handgun holstered to his hip, according to the Courthouse News Service. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The federal lawsuit says that state Supreme Court ruling failed on a couple of fronts: for 'not once consulting contemporaneous authorities to discern the meaning of the Second Amendment's text' and for failure to conduct an historical analysis of the 'nation's early tradition as to open carry — or any tradition, for that matter.' 'This case is personal for me and millions of gun owners across the state,' said Luis Valdes, Florida state director for Gun Owners of America. 'Florida likes to brand itself as pro-Second Amendment, but this ban proves otherwise. We are fighting to restore a right that never should've been taken away — and we won't stop until every Floridian can carry openly, freely, and constitutionally.' 'Florida's open carry ban is an outdated and unconstitutional relic,' Sam Parades said in a statement on behalf of the board of directors for Gun Owners Foundation. 'The right to bear arms means exactly that — to carry arms, not just to keep them locked away.' Florida remains one of only five states in the nation that bans the open carrying of a firearm, the others being Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and California — a list of blue states that Florida does not usually share an alliance with. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said on several occasions that he supports open carry, and First Lady Casey DeSantis weighed in as well earlier this year, writing on X that, 'It's time for the Free State of Florida to join other states in enacting open carry! Sounds like a great priority for our GOP supermajority. This is the year.' But it wasn't the year for open carry in Florida's GOP-dominated state Legislature. Senate President Ben Albritton stated his opposition to overturning the ban in his first day as leader while meeting with reporters last November. A trial date has been set for November 3, 2025. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocates explain rights regarding ICE agents
Advocates and educators gathered virtually Tuesday evening to share critical guidance with Hawaii families and public school staff on how to respond if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up at school. The event, organized by the ACLU of Hawaii, Hawaii State Teachers Association and Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights, aimed to arm the community with practical knowledge in the wake of two recent immigration enforcement incidents that sparked fear and confusion. On Maui a group of international public school teachers from the Philippines, working under the U.S. Department of State's J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program, was traumatized when armed ICE agents executed a search warrant at a Kahului home earlier this month. Although no arrests were made, about a dozen agents arrived in the early morning with guns drawn, bringing teachers outside—some still partially dressed. The raid targeted a Mexican national who hadn't lived there for over a year, but the disruption deeply unsettled the teachers. A U.S. citizen teacher present during the raid, speaking anonymously through HSTA, described a chaotic scene with spouses and young children, including a crying 10-year-old. While the J-1 program allows these educators to legally work in the U.S. as part of a cultural exchange, the incident left many fearful and uncertain about their place in Hawaii's schools. Nathan Lee from the ACLU of Hawaii highlighted that in most cases ICE does not have jurisdiction in schools. He encouraged educators and families to stay calm and advised that if ICE does come to a school, people should be aware of their rights and avoid consenting to searches or answering questions without a lawyer present. Lee walked attendees through steps educators should take if they suspect immigration agents are present on or near campus. First, he said, do not engage directly with agents or try to assess the situation alone. School staff should immediately alert the principal or a designated administrator trained to handle the situation. Agents must be directed to that person—never handled informally. Lee emphasized that ICE must present a judicial warrant, not just an administrative warrant, in order to access school grounds or student records. Teachers and administrators are not required to release any information about a student, including immigration status, address or anything from their file, unless legally compelled by a judicial order. Lee also emphasized that fundamental constitutional protections apply to everyone regardless of immigration status. He noted that people in the United States have rights guaranteed by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth amendments. Key rights discussed include the Fifth Amendment, which grants the right to remain silent—people can clearly state that they choose not to answer questions when approached by ICE agents. The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches and arrests, generally requiring enforcement agents to have either consent or a judicial warrant signed by a judge specifying a particular name or address to enter private property. Additionally, due process rights ensure people are entitled to a hearing before deportation, except in certain limited expedited-removal cases. 'If you do not consent, the only way ICE can legally access a private location is through a judicial warrant, and a judicial warrant is very specific, ' Lee said. 'It requires the signature of a judge, a specific name of a person or a specific address where the search is to be conducted, and it needs the word 'warrant.' What we're seeing is, sometimes ICE enforcement officers will try to use an administrative warrant or a deportation order, which is not a judicial warrant and which does not allow access to private locations legally.' Liza Ryan Gill of HCIR stressed the importance of documentation during any enforcement activity. She urged witnesses and educators to record 'the exact date and time, the child and the location, whether it happened in a classroom or administrative (office ) or outside in the parking lot.' Gill also reminded educators to be aware of privacy laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and to avoid disclosing student information to strangers or unknown agents on campus. Parents facing potential enforcement action were advised to have clear contingency plans in place, including updated emergency contacts and possibly signing a power of attorney for trusted adults to care for their children in case of detention or deportation. HSTA has been advocating for clearer protocols to protect school staff and students. HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. shared key requests made to the state Department of Education : mandatory training for school administrators on immigration enforcement policies, explicit nonretaliation protections for staff who refuse to cooperate with ICE, and standardized communication guidance to safeguard student privacy. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who attended the event, said she has been contacted by frightened parents, students and community members about their futures in Hawaii. 'We're all one degree of separation from knowing somebody who is right now living in fear, worried that they could be picked up off the streets or they could be deported, even if they have no grounds to, ' Tokuda said. '(There are ) too many looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now.' Tuesday's gathering is the first in a series of public education events planned for the summer. The ACLU and its partners will offer 'Know Your Rights ' workshops across the state. Training materials are available in multiple languages, and teachers are encouraged to request resources through their union or directly through the ACLU.
Gulf Today
16-04-2025
- Gulf Today
Dubai court jails two for possessing and abusing drugs
Dubai Appellate Court upheld the court of First Instance's verdict sentencing an Asian national to life jail and another to six months, followed by deportation for both after serving their sentences. The suspects were charged with possession and trafficking in narcotics and were caught in the act inside a vehicle in Jebel Ali. The case dates back to 2024 when credible information was received about the second suspect possessing and abusing narcotics in Jebel Ali Industrial Area. A police man testified that investigations affirmed the second suspect was a drug abuser and in possession of narcotics. A warrant was allegedly issued by Dubai Public Prosecution for his arrest. A Criminal Investigation team located the second suspect, who was apprehended inside a vehicle driven by the first. Upon searching them, narcotics were found, and a plastic bag containing the same substance was found with the first suspect so, they were taken to the General Directorate of Anti-Narcotics, where samples were collected and the seized substances were sent to the Criminal Laboratory for analysis. The General Directorate of Forensic Evidence and Criminology report affirmed that the seized substances contained heroin, listed in Schedule 1 of the Federal Decree-Law on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and its amendments. The second suspect's sample tested positive for heroin use, which he admitted to, confessing that he had purchased the drugs from the first suspect for Dhs100. The first suspect denied drug trafficking charges, but evidence proved he was a drug trafficker who sold narcotics to the second.
