News

Thursday, July 13, 2017

The stories of immigration fraud across California seem endless.

A Central American woman lost her job after an immigration consultant, who charged her $4,500, failed to renew her temporary protected status that allowed her to work in the United States.

A Mexican woman’s request to remain in the United States while the consulate in Mexico reviewed her green card application was denied after an immigration notary inappropriately submitted the paperwork. She lost $3,000 in the process.

Immigrant rights advocates with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based organization that provides services across Southern California, say these are common occurrences.  The coalition, which offered those examples on Facebook, is trying to combat such problems with a new bill that would repeal California’s immigration-consultant law and do away with this industry as of Jan. 1, 2019.

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

A bill aimed at cracking down on immigration fraud is making its way through the California legislature.

The bill would effectively eliminate immigration consultants. Only lawyers or people who are approved by the federal government would be able to help with filling out immigration forms.  

Daniel Sharp, with the Central American Resource Center says consultants are wrongly giving legal advice when helping with forms.

“Consumers have questions. Do I qualify for a U-Visa?  Is my husband required to leave the country if I petition for him? Is it safe for me to even file an application?,” Sharp says.  “Those answers constitute legal advice and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe.”

Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who sponsored the bill, agreed. She says these consultants should not be giving legal advice without a license.

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

A collective sigh of relief has been heard across Gilroy in response to the recent street paving up and down First Street—between Santa Teresa and the intersection of Monterey Road and Leavesley Avenue. As the road condition increasingly worsened over the last few years, locals and visitors began circumventing the bumpy, pothole-riddled street that is the main artery to grocery stores, retail, restaurants and many other services.

But thanks to the efforts of Mayor Roland Velasco, the street recently received emergency, temporary repairs. “I am hesitant to say the road has been fixed—it’s been improved—but my goal is to properly rebuild the road,” said Mayor Velasco.

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Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Suelen dar consejo legal a sus clientes, sin tener la autorización, y los ponen -en ocasiones, en riesgo de procesos de deportación

i de algo se arrepiente Ángel Torres es de haber recurrido a una reconocida organización de notarios y consultores de migración de Los Ángeles en busca de alivio migratorio.

“Olvídese del dinero. Me hicieron perder la oportunidad de haber obtenido una Visa U hace 20 años cuando fui víctima de un secuestro”, dice.

Torres acudió a dicha organización después de que reportó a la policía el crimen que sufrió.  “Los mismos oficiales de la policía me recomendaron buscar a alguien que me ayudara con mi caso de migración. Ellos me ofrecieron dar la certificación policial como víctima de un crimen”, recuerda.

Así que acudió a una organización muy conocida de la cual prefiere no dar su nombre, pero dice que estaba muy de moda en los años 90.

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Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Homelessness is up 23 percent and, according to one report, Los Angeles needs 550,000 new housing units to keep up with demand from low-income folks who could end up on the streets. The housing crisis, bolstered by low pay and high rents, has the attention of our elected officials, and voters have approved local measures, including a sales tax increase, as a way to provide some shelter.  

Now a California assemblywoman says it's time for the entire state to pitch in and build some housing. After all, the crisis affects our urban hubs, from San Diego to San Francisco, and our rural communities.

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Tuesday, June 6, 2017

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s report The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2015, nearly eight million people in California were living in poverty in 2015. The report indicated that the state’s poverty rate was 20.6 percent—well above the national rate of 15.1 percent—and surpassed the rates of every other state in the nation.

Those numbers are deeply troubling. What is also troubling is the possibility that, despite the state’s persistent poverty, California may allow a proven resource for strengthening its underserved communities to die.

From 1997-2016, the COIN Program has generated more than $335 million in community development investments

The California Organized Investment Network CDFI Tax Credit Program (known as the COIN Program) was launched in 1996 as a public-private partnership involving the California Department of Insurance, the insurance industry, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The earned income tax credit stands out as the most effective pro-work, anti-poverty policy the United States has devised.

California is among 27 states that offer an additional state EITC on top of the federal credit. However, due to its unusual structure and the new statewide minimum wage increase, its effectiveness will soon be undermined as people work fewer and fewer hours to qualify for large EITC payments.

An increase in the minimum wage should be matched by an increase in how much families can earn and still qualify for the Cal EITC. Assembly Bill 225 sets forth just that.

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