by the El Reportero’s wire services
Civil rights and immigration advocate organizations have prevailed in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of immigrant teenagers whom the Trump Administration had arrested and jailed for “gang affiliation,” despite there being no evidence of gang crimes.
In an opinion issued on Oct. 1, 2018, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction requiring the government to give the teenagers notice of the reasons for their arrests, access to the evidence being offered against them, and a prompt hearing in front of a judge, in which the government would have the burden to justify their detention.
The case involves a class comprised of teenagers who were previously released by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to the care of relatives while their immigration proceedings were pending. Starting in June 2017, many of these teenagers were rearrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) based on unsubstantiated claims of gang affiliation, turned over to ORR and then held by ORR in jail-like detention facilities for many months without a hearing. The ACLU filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging their wrongful arrests and illegal detention, and in November 2017, the district court judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, ordering that all of the teenagers must be given hearings within one week. He also ordered that any additional children who were rearrested under similar circumstances in the future would be entitled to the same prompt hearing.
187,000 dreamers have renewed DACA
More than 187,000 Dreamers have been able to renew their deferred action and work authorization under DACA since January. This data was published in the latest quarterly report on DACA renewals, which the federal government is required to file as part of the preliminary injunction that California secured to preserve DACA, reported the California Attorney General Office.
Tensions escalate after 25 days of general strike in Costa Rica
The general strike for an undetermined period against the fiscal reform being promoted by the Government in Parliament turns 25 days on Thursday, amid an increase in protests and police repression against demonstrators.
Members of Unidad Sindical y Social Nacional (USSN), a coalition of workers’ and social groups, have increased regional actions as part of the general strike against the draft bill Strengthening Public Finance, plan or fiscal reform, which is also known as the fiscal combo by its opponents.
On its 25th day, the general strike will consist of regional protests as usual, amid an escalation in the tone of the demonstrations, including police repression against strikers in Puntarenas and Limon, and demands for President Carlos Alvarado to listen to the people.
According to reports from the USSN, police officers launched tear gas at people who were protesting peacefully on Road 27, in Calderas, in Puntarenas province, and they did the same in Limon.
Mexican Senate begins review of USMCAN treaty
The Mexican Senate begins on Wednesday the revision of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement by welcoming the team of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who participated in the negotiation.
This was reported by the coordinator of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), Ricardo Monreal, who stressed it is the first time that the Mexican Upper House will carry out the review of this agreement along with its U.S. counterpart.
About the agreement, he expressed his satisfaction with the energy issue, because the country’s sovereignty over its natural resources was safeguarded. But he advanced that he will wait for the revision of the text to give his definitive opinion.
Napoleón Gómez, who is also a senator from Morena, commented that he will study the USMCAN labor chapter with a lens, and the same will be done by the large trade union organizations in the United States and Canada, in order to reach a common platform of respect, justice and dignity for the workers of the three nations.
We need more push in Mexico, where wages are lagging behind, he said.
He said he hopes the labor chapter has covered the issues of safety at work, respect for the environment, as well as the obligation for multinational companies operating in Mexico to respect Mexican laws.
Next week the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo; and the Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray will appear before the Senate. From there, the 32 chapters of the agreement will be reviewed in commissions.
