Things That Matter

Separated Immigrant Children Young As 3 Years Old Ordered To Appear In Court Alone

By June 29, 2018 at 1:46 pm

According to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington D.C., immigrant children as young as three years old are being ordered into court alone for their deportation proceedings. While having children appear in court without their parents is not uncommon, more children are being summoned in record numbers. Since the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, more children — including toddlers — are being prosecuted more frequently than ever before.

More than 2,000 detained migrant children could face court proceedings in the coming days.

“We were representing a 3-year-old in court recently who had been separated from the parents. And the child—in the middle of the hearing—started climbing up on the table,” Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles, told the Texas Tribune. “It really highlighted the absurdity of what we’re doing with these kids.”

Toczylowski said parents are usually prosecuted with their young children and are often the ones defending the circumstances that led them to seek asylum in the U.S.

This news comes out after a federal judge ordered separated families be reunited within 30 days.

On June 26, a federal judge commanded the White House to reunify families within 14 days if the child is under 5 and 30 days if the child is older. The Justice Department has not said whether it will appeal the ruling. Attorneys involved in the case said they’re not sure how the judge’s order will work and when and how it could take effect.

Despite the judge’s order, some children are facing legal immigration proceedings without their parents.

According to NBC News, leaders at three legal services organizations and a private firm said that the children are being served with notices to appear for their court proceedings. Migrant children that appear in court are not entitled to an attorney but rather are given a list of legal services that might help them.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson said on June 26 that the agency is trying to reunite children with either a parent or a sponsor. But they did not provide a timeline for how long that process would take.

Since April, more than 2,000 children have been separated from families.

The “zero tolernace” policy, announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April, ordered the criminal prosecution of anyone who enters the U.S. illegally. Such crossing were formally handled as civil matters allowing families to stay together. President Trump signed an executive order to keep migrant families together after outrage forced him to change his policy.


READ: RAICES Collects Millions To Help Keep Families Together. Here’s Where The Money Is Going

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Parents Are Applauding A Meteorologist After Her Baby Adorably Crashed Her Weather Report

Fierce

Parents Are Applauding A Meteorologist After Her Baby Adorably Crashed Her Weather Report

By February 1, 2021 at 1:20 pm
BY  | February 1, 2021 AT 1:20 pm
Screenshot via YouTube

COVID-19 has completely changed practically everyone’s way of living. But post-pandemic life has become especially challenging for parents, who are now forced to be stuck inside with their children for hours on end.

Between assisting your kids with distance learning and struggling to find your own “me time”, many parents feel as if their world has been turned upside down.

Recently, news watchers in Southern California caught a glimpse into the new era of COVID parenting when meteorologist Lisa Lopez’s toddler interrupted her live broadcast.

Los Angeles-based KABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez was reporting the weather as usual when she was visited by an unexpected guest. As she spoke about an incoming storm, her 9-month-old son, Nolan, entered the frame.

Slightly startled, Lopez giggled for a moment and said, “Looks like there’s a baby down below,” before bending over and picking him up. Then, like the rockstar that she is, she continued her report.

“He walks now, guys, so I’ve lost all control,” she quipped before ending the segment.

The public’s reaction to the adorable interruption was incredibly positive.

No one was annoyed that their weather report was interrupted. On the contrary, so many people felt like the clip made them feel less alone.

“Agree that this is always fun to see—we are all dealing with this and it makes one feel good—it’s real,” said one woman on Twitter. “It’s awesome. Never feel bad because we all inside are feeling joy as we can relate.”

Others commented on how the video perfectly illustrated how modern women have become adept at multitasking. “It was not just a moment of heartwarming love, but a moment of the strength of women!” said another Twitter user. “It just shows how easily women can be full of love and do their job at the same time!”

Later, KABC did a special report on the happy mistake to see what Lopez herself thought of the surprising public reaction.

“We received so many comments from viewers thanking her for showing what the reality is right now for so many people working with kids at home,” said fellow reporter Jovana Lara. “It is not easy.”

As for Lopez, she revealed that viewers are hungry for a different kind of weather report: “I’ve been getting comments, ‘More baby in weather, please.'” Yes, please!

Headlines: Meteorologist Leslie Lopez Is Interrupted on Air By Her Toddler and the Video is Adorable

Parents Are Applauding Meteorologist Leslie Lopez for How She Handled Her Baby’s Adorable Interruption

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This T-Shirt Has Caused Controversy For Its Anti-Immigrant Imagery And Now The Store Has Been Forced To Apologize

Things That Matter

This T-Shirt Has Caused Controversy For Its Anti-Immigrant Imagery And Now The Store Has Been Forced To Apologize

By January 10, 2020 at 1:08 pm
BY  | January 10, 2020 AT 1:08 pm

A shirt with the slogan “got papers?” featuring the silhouette of a family fleeing caused outrage in Port Arthur, Texas. The T-shirt leaves nothing to the imagination and would only be worn by someone who delights in interrogating the immigration status of others. 

The Ebony Mart on Gulfway Drive, where the t-shirt is sold, is a hot spot for Latinx families in Port Arthur. 

“A lot of friends, family, everybody know this store. I knew this store since I was a baby,” Kathy Delarosa told KFDM News she visits the store two or three times a week. 

The 21-year-old was a loyal customer so when she visited Ebony Mart and saw the t-shirt in person, she was naturally upset. 

“I don’t think it’s really nice to have for the store because a lot of Hispanics will get offended. I don’t think they should sell it at all,” she said.

The Port Arthur Latinx community is not happy with Ebony Mart. 

Needless to say, seeing the t-shirt in their community did not make Latinx residents feel at home or welcome. The Port Arthur members felt like it was a slap in the face to immigrants. 

The owner, whose identity has not been revealed, claimed that she did not know the t-shirt was a part of a store order, according to KFDM. When KFDM spoke with the owner over the phone she said she no longer sold the shirts, instructed her manager to remove all of them from the racks, and extended an apology to the immigrant community. 

A candidate for Port Arthur City Council, Armando Ruiz, was not happy with the t-shirt either. 

“That’s outrageous,” said Ruiz. “That’s crazy. How a store would put out that type of product out there to sell. This is where I used to buy my uniforms, back when I went to school seven years ago. So this store is frequented a lot. It’s in a predominantly Hispanic area. A lot of Hispanics do come to this store.”

Political and offensive t-shirts appear to be a trend in the Trump era. 

T-shirts seemingly geared toward Trump supporters have been making the rounds, many of them have been singled out as offensive. Extrapolate what you will with regards to what that says about fans of the president. Just this week Bloomingdales was forced to remove a t-shirt that said one of Trump’s favorite phrases “Fake News.” 

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we apologize for any offense we may have caused. We take this feedback very seriously and are working quickly to remove this t-shirt. Again, thank you for taking the time to alert us,” the brand said in a statement. 

However, Pamela Wood s Baltimore journalist was not satisfied with the response saying, “Apologizing ‘for any offense we may have caused’ is not a sincere apology. This is not about journalists’ hurt feelings. This is about damage done to our democracy when your brand joins in perpetuating and celebrating the idea of “fake news.” Please try again.”

Port Arthur Residents feel business owners should be mindful of who they are selling to.

Texas is one of the most diverse states with Houston being the most diverse city in the country. Port Arthur is multicultural as well with Blacks making up 41 percent of the population, Whites 37 percent, and Latinx-identifying folks making up 29.6 percent of the population according to 2010 Census data. 

“When I saw the shirt, it is very offensive,” said Henry Jones III. “You have different ethnic groups in this area. In Southeast Texas, you have to be very careful what type of product you put out because you don’t want to offend people especially with something of that sort.”

Ruiz echoed Jones’ sentiment saying business owners need to be mindful of the communities they are representing. 

“They should look at the product before they put it out there to sell for the community,” said Ruiz. “They do need to look around their surroundings and see what type of people live in their community and check out what type of product they can have and can’t have.”

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