COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Yolanda Avila and Andres Pico are friends who sit next to each other on the Colorado Springs' city council. But politically the two couldn't be further apart — Avila is a durable Democrat and Pico an unflinching Republican. It's a split that's common across the country,...
What Crackdown? Migrant Smuggling Business Adapts, Thrives
HERMOSILLO, Mexico — The heavy-set man swept through a curtain into the reserved area of a nightclub as his bodyguard stood nearby. In the darkness, he agreed to talk about his business: handling the income from smuggling migrants across a 375-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border. “We control all the...
7 Arrested at Rally Against Ann Coulter Speech in Berkeley
BERKELEY — Police arrested at least seven people and one person was injured during a protest at the University of California, Berkeley against a speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter. KPIX-TV reports a protester who disrupted Coulter’s Wednesday night speech inside a University of California, Berkeley auditorium was handcuffed and taken out...
DACA Supporters Rally in Fresno As Court Weighs Case to End Protections
Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case on the legality of rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, about 40 DACA supporters held a rally at the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno. DACA gives legal work status — and temporary protection from deportation — for those brought...
Sanctuary City Initiative Divides Liberal Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is widely credited as the birthplace of the 1980s Sanctuary Movement, an effort by churches to help refugees from Central America and shield them from deportation. Now, as President Donald Trump's immigration policies put renewed focus on the treatment of people who come to the United States without authorization,...
Will Congress Embrace Ag Labor Bill With Path to Legalized Status?
A farm labor bill that would make undocumented workers eligible for visas and provide a path to long-term residency has won the support of Valley lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act was introduced in the House on Wednesday. The bipartisan list of co-sponsors includes...
US Takes Step to Require DNA Samples From Asylum-Seekers
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to collect DNA samples from asylum-seekers and other migrants detained by immigration officials and will add the information to a massive FBI database used by law enforcement hunting for criminals, a Justice Department official said. The Justice Department on Monday issued amended regulations...
Rep. TJ Cox Tackles Impeachment, Water, Immigration
With Congress in recess, TJ Cox sat down with GV Wire to talk about his first year in the House of Representatives and his upcoming 2020 reelection bid. Cox, a Fresno Democrat, will face David Valadao, the Hanford dairyman and Republican he narrowly defeated in 2018. The Impeachment Question The...
Suit Says Feds Using Immigration Marriage Interviews as Trap
BALTIMORE — Alyse and Elmer Sanchez were thrilled when they survived their "green card" interview, a crucial step in obtaining lawful status in the United States. She texted her family from the immigration office as relief washed over her: The officer had agreed that their marriage is legitimate. Moments later,...
'Christian Left' Gathers Steam, Appalled by Treatment of Migrants
Holding pictures of migrant children who have died in U.S. custody and forming a cross with their bodies on the floor of the Russell Senate Office Building, 70 Catholics were arrested in July for obstructing a public place, which is considered a misdemeanor. The protesters hoped that images of 90-year-old...