immigration

What is Jared Kushner “shielding?” DHS to disclose any role he played in renewing EB-5

Posted on by Jessica Kwong
What is Jared Kushner “shielding?” DHS to disclose any role he played in renewing EB-5

A judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to send a representative to a hearing on the status of a public records lawsuit the watchdog group Democracy Forward filed against the Trump administration. The lawsuit centers on a request for documents that could disclose any possible involvement President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had in renewals of the EB-5 investor visa program. The order was granted Monday after various agencies refused to provide documents by…

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As Told: I escaped MS-13, then my child and I were locked up under Obama

Posted on by Jessica Kwong
As Told: I escaped MS-13, then my child and I were locked up under Obama

After President Donald Trump discontinued his much-criticized policy of separating minors who illegally cross the border with their parents, the administration announced families would once again be detained together in U.S. custody before being released. But the centers for detaining migrant families have faced longstanding criticism, and are not new under the Trump administration. Prior administrations, including that of President Barack Obama, also housed children and parents together in detention centers. Angelina Marquez fled death threats…

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Crossing the border: An immigrant’s tale

Posted on by Jessica Kwong
Crossing the border: An immigrant’s tale

Angelina Marquez fled death threats by MS-13 gang members in her native El Salvador in 2014, with the hope of seeking asylum in the United States. She was detained by Border Patrol agents in McAllen, Texas, during the Obama administration. Marquez—a pseudonym as she is still awaiting a final judgment on her asylum case—shared her story of being detained alongside her 6-year-old son with Newsweek. Newsweek was able to corroborate the major points of her story by reviewing…

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Santa Ana not sure what to do with its state-of-the-art, nearly empty 512-bed jail

Posted on by Jessica Kwong
Santa Ana not sure what to do with its state-of-the-art, nearly empty 512-bed jail

It doesn’t have the gritty look you’d expect of a 20-year-old jail that has housed thousands of accused murderers, robbers, gang members and immigrants detained by federal authorities. Two-person dorm-style cells remain clean and tidy, with dark blue tables, mint green bunk beds and doors with glass windows rather than cage-like metal bars. There is clean, blue and beige carpet to muffle ambient noise and large areas where inmates can mingle, watch TV, play board games or…

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New report highlights struggles of Asian, Pacific Islander residents in SF

Posted on by Jessica Kwong
New report highlights struggles of Asian, Pacific Islander residents in SF

Following in the footsteps of many generations of immigrants, Chloe Chen, her parents and younger brother moved from Xinhui in the south China city of Jiangmen to San Francisco seeking a higher standard of life. They settled in a three-bedroom house in the Sunset on the advice of a relative who owned a home in the neighborhood. Making a living in The City, however, was more difficult than they expected. It took Chen’s father, who…

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