By Matthew Manosh

Photo:  Actor Pepe Serna, center, with other film festival luminaries on opening night

March 14, 2022 (San Diego)-- The Latino Film Festival officially kicked off with an opening event on March 10, with several producers and directors of films present.  Among them was Luis Reyes, who directed the film Pepe Serna Life is Art, a documentary film which premiered at the festival.

East County News Service

January 29, 2022  (San Diego) – This week, 10 House and Senate committee chairs sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation into the involvement of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (CITs) along the southern border region. 

By Melissa Montalvo and Nigel Duara, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Protestors wave to passerbys, on Sept. 25, 2021 in Yountville, CA, as they make their way towards PlumpJack Winery, owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, to protest the governor’s veto of bill AB 616. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

January 19, 2022 (San Diego) - When the nation’s high court effectively forbade union representatives from accessing fields and orchards to recruit workers last June, the United Farm Workers union turned to Sacramento for help. 

East County News Service

December 5, 2021 (Borrego Springs) – The Borrego Art Instituted has issued a call for artworks by artists of Latino heritage or art strongly influenced by Latino culture.

East County News Service

November 18, 2021 (Otay) – The U.S. Border Patrol reports that yesterday around 7 a.m. in a remote section of Otay Mountain, a naked man hurled rocks at an agent, striking him multiple times including in the head.  “During the confrontation, the agent discharged his firearm, but the suspect was not struck,” says Lieutenant Thomas Seiver with the Sheriff’s homicide unit, which is investigating the case. 

Deadline Nov. 14 (4:59pm) to send in comments for Nov. 16 forum

https://forms.office.com/g/nTtj9mtqpY

By: Chuck Westerheid, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 9, 2021 (San Diego County Administration Building) - The TRUTH Act community forum including a report from the Sheriff’s Department will be held November 16, 2021, during the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors’ meeting, which is open to the public.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: immigration court, Creative Commons image by NC-ND

October 21, 2021 (San Diego) – The U.S. Justice Department, under the Biden administration, has ended case quotas for immigration judges imposed during the Trump administration, CNN reports. 

The Trump-era performance metrics had required judges to complete 700 cases a year to receive a satisfactory rating, among other benchmarks. But that policy led to complaints from judges who argued that the quotas valued haste over due process.  

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium

October 1, 2021 (Washington D.C.) – A federal district court judge in July declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal in part because the Obama administration did not allow public comments by publishing the rule in the Federal Register. Judge Andre Hanen let stand the program for those already enrolled, but blocked new applications.

So now the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security has published the regulation, which is open for public comments until November 29.  The department has also appealed the court decision.

East County News Service

July 29, 2021 (San Diego) - The ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLUF-SDIC) and Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on July 13, calling on him to direct border agents to stop separating families seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.

"Our contributions to this country are innumerable. Yet, there’s no path to citizenship for us. We pay taxes, build the economy, and contribute to our communities during a pandemic. Yet, we are rejected and insulted once more. Every day that we live without a path to citizenship, is a day filled with anxiety and fear.” -- Dulce Garcia, an undocumented immigrant and attorney who chairs the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium.

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego immigrant advocates are reacting in shock to a federal judge’s ruling which orders the Biden administration to halt approval of any new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. The judge also issued a stay temporarily protecting those already granted DACA protections from deportation – but warned that Congress must act to make protections permanent, or the stay might be lifted.

DACA was created through an executive order by President Barack Obama, protecting thousands of young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to stay here, hold jobs and attend school. Known as “Dreamers,” many have been here nearly their entire lives. The ruling creates an uncertain future for 305,000 DACA recipients and another 854,000 eligible for DACA in southern border states, according to the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Some have been in the U.S. for many years, and some are now married or parents of U.S. citizens.

By Miriam Raftery

July 10, 2021 (San Diego) – A Trump-era executive order that required detention of pregnant undocumented immigrants has been blamed for putting lives of women and babies at risk, with many women suffering miscarriages in detention centers. On July 1, Tae Johnson, acting director of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement reversing that policy in nearly all situations.

The rule goes farther than the Obama administration policy that limited detention of pregnant migrants.  The Biden administration directive also bans most detentions of nursing mothers and mothers with infants under one year of age, to allow bonding with newborns. Now, most women awaiting outcomes of immigration or asylum cases will be released.

An exception is provided, however, for anyone required under U.S. laws to be detained, such as foreign nationals convicted of terrorist acts or certain other serious crimes. In such cases, a pregnant or nursing woman detained would be required to receive adequate medical care.  The new directive also prohibits restrains in most cases, including banning the shackling of pregnant women while in labor, an action that has drawn international outcry.

Source:  Voice of America

Photo:  Photo: Vice President Kamala Harris in Guatemala City, via her Twitter feed

June 28, 2021 (Guatemala/Mexico) - The United States is set to announce Monday new measures to fight drug smuggling and trafficking as Vice President Kamala Harris meets with leaders in Guatemala to discuss migration and security issues. 

Representatives Issa, Vargas, Jacobs, Levin and Peters also  conducted key meetings with local, state and federal U.S. officials

East County News Service

Photos via SANDAG on Twitter

June 11, 2021 (Otay Mesa) -- At the invitation of Congressmen Darrell Issa and Juan Vargas, the San Diego Congressional delegation – including Congresswoman Jacobs and Congressmen Mike Levin and Scott Peters – visited the Otay Mesa Port of Entry II project to view construction progress and receive briefings on the facilities and port operations.

By Briana Gomez

Video: https://youtu.be/c6TDH8NW_DM

May 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- The capsizing of a boat filled with undocumented immigrants a few weeks ago off San Diego’s coastline raised questions about immigration policies in Southern California. At least three people died and 23 were injured in the incident. Eight of the migrants were taken in for treatment at the Sharp Healthcare system; some were at Sharp Grossmont in La Mesa.

By Briana Gomez

May 9, 2021 (El Cajon) - The East County People’s Forum launched by the East County Justice Coalition took place over Zoom on May 4, 2020. The Coalition launched a call for transparent & inclusive city planning in El Cajon.