Fund now up and running for California's undocumented immigrants

Almost a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the creation of a $125 million fund for undocumented immigrants, the first batch of payments is ready to be sent out, officials said this week. 

California's undocumented immigrant fund now up and running

The total of $125 million is to be shared among 150,000 people in a state where there are an estimated 3 million undocumented immigrants.

California Supreme Court denies bid to block payments to immigrants

The program offers each adult $500 to be distributed through nonprofit groups in an effort to protect recipients from providing personal information that might cost them other benefits or increase their danger of being deported.

Lawsuit: US citizens with immigrant spouses should get help

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has sued the federal government over its denial of coronavirus relief payments to U.S. citizens who are married to immigrants without social security numbers.

Trump: Immigration into the US suspended for 60 days

President Trump’s tweets often provoke strong reactions, some positive some negative. In the immigrant community here in Southern California, the President’s tweet Monday night about an immigration ban prompted head shaking, frustration but not a lot of surprises.

Coronavirus quarantine is becoming catastrophic for undocumented immigrants

Marcos Saul Aurora Gonzalez is undocumented and therefore, ineligible for any of the federal stimulus money, up to $1,200 per adult,  that is supposed to be arriving soon to roughly 60 million Americans.

US authorities find major cross-border tunnel used to smuggle drugs

A large haul of drugs, including opioids, methamphetamine and cocaine, being smuggled from Mexico to California was seized from a cross-border tunnel equipped with ventilation, lighting and an underground rail system, authorities said Tuesday.

L.A. judge issues order for release of migrant kids in ICE custody due to coronavirus

Calling migrant detention facilities "hotbeds of contagion," a Los Angeles federal judge has ordered the government to show its efforts to release thousands of immigrant children at risk of contracting the coronavirus in ICE holding centers in California and elsewhere, according to court papers obtained Monday.

Trump administration urged to free migrants as virus surges

Pressure was mounting on the Trump administration Wednesday to release people from immigration detention facilities where at least one detainee has tested positive for COVID-19 and advocates fear tight quarters and overall conditions could cause rapid spread of the virus.

Pregnant teen dies after falling over border wall

A 19-year-old Guatemala woman, who was 8-months pregnant, died after falling over a section of the border barrier near El Paso.

Court temporarily halts Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy

A  federal appeals court on Friday temporarily halted a Trump administration policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts.

Trump takes aim at Garcetti saying he's 'urging' undocumented immigrants to 'beat the system'

President Donald Trump took aim at Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday saying that Garcetti's efforts to "shield" undocumented immigrants "endangers the lives of the public and law enforcement" by "urging" them to "beat the system." 

Homeland Security waives contracting laws for border wall

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Orange County law enforcement officials will not aid increased ICE enforcement

Santa Ana and Orange County law enforcement officials have said they would not be doing anything to aid the Trump administration's plan to ramp up enforcement of immigration laws in so-called sanctuary cities.

LA sheriff rebukes plan to send more immigration agents to sanctuary cities

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva blasted reports that the Trump administration plans to dispatch dozens of elite U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to so-called "sanctuary cities,'' including Los Angeles, to enforce immigration laws.

Officials: 3 die in California after illegally crossing border

Three women died and two other people were detained after federal agents were called to rescue a group who had crossed the border from Mexico illegally and got lost in frigid weather near a Southern California mountain, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said.

LA judge bans ICE detainers

A Los Angeles federal judge has formalized an earlier ruling putting a stop to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's practice of issuing arrest requests based solely on error-ridden electronic databases, court papers obtained Friday show.

House OKs bill letting undocumented immigrants seek damages from employers

Like California's controversial Assembly Bill 5, one of the PRO Act's stated purposes is to end worker misclassification and stop employers from denying workers benefits by doing so. It passed in a 224-194 vote, mostly along party lines.