El Magonista | Feb. 8, 2024 | Vol. 12, No. 3

University of California regents declined Thursday to move forward on a bold plan to hire immigrant students who lack legal work authorization, crushing the hopes of thousands of young people seeking to escape precarious futures without adequate access to jobs and research opportunities.

UC President Michael V. Drake told regents he would not recommend a plan to challenge federal law barring employment of those without legal status because the potential consequences would be too risky to UC students, families and staff. UC students could be subject to deportation, employees could risk civil and criminal prosecution if they knowingly participate in hiring practices deemed impermissible under federal law, and the university could lose federal contracts and grants, he said.

A novel theory developed by UCLA legal scholars asserted that the 1986 federal law in question does not apply to states — or state entities such as UC — because the statute’s language does not explicitly mention them. Drake said UC would not test that theory at this time, although regents voted to reconsider the policy in one year.

“We have concluded that the proposed legal pathway is not viable at this time, and in fact carries significant risk for the institution and for those we serve,” Drake said. “I know that many in our community will be disappointed that we are unable to take immediate action. ... I would like nothing more than to do so, right here, right now, because it is the right thing to do.”

He said that UC would expand support for such students and continue to advocate for legal changes to allow them to legally work....READ MORE

Why this Petition Matters:

I am one of the many individuals who have been adversely affected by the slow processing of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. My job terminated me because my work permit expired, leading to severe financial loss in my home. This is not an isolated incident; thousands are facing similar hardships due to delays in processing. We are also asking USCIS to automatically extend work permits for DACA recipients if their renewal application is not processed before it expires.

According to a report from the National Immigration Forum, as of July 2020, there were approximately 640,000 active DACA recipients. However, USCIS's slow processing times have left many applicants and their families in a state of uncertainty and financial instability.... READ MORE

In a final rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will raise the fees employers pay to submit petitions for workers and sponsor employees for permanent residence. USCIS argues that the fee increases are needed because agency costs have risen significantly since the last fee increase in December 2016. Congress does not provide annual appropriations for benefits processing, although it sometimes passes supplemental funding for USCIS. The new fees will take effect on April 1, 2024. The final rule retains two controversial fees that may lead to litigation. (USCIS also released a final rule that changes the H-1B registration selection process.)

Employer Fee Increases
Employers saw few changes from the proposed fee rule (January 2023) and the final rule. As proposed, employers hiring high-skilled foreign nationals will pay 70% more for beneficiaries on H-1B petitions, 201% more for employees on L-1 petitions and 129% more for individuals on O-1 petitions. (H-1B petitions increase from $460 to $780, L-1 petitions rise from $460 to $1,385 and O-1 petitions increase from $460 to $1,055.) The USCIS website contains a complete list of the new fees....READ MORE

Congress’s border deal talks might be ongoing, but in one essential area, legislators are moving backward: The ‘dreamers,’ undocumented immigrants who came to this country as children, have been left out of the conversation.

Since the first version of the Dream Act was introduced almost a quarter-century ago, support for the young people who are Americans in every sense but the legal one has been a bright spot of bipartisanship amid acrimony. Almost every immigration compromise that legislators have contemplated has included a pathway to citizenship for these 3 million or so individuals — including a 2022 framework constructed by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who was a Democrat at the time. Yet today, as lawmakers scramble to secure the votes for a package focused on security and asylum, the issue has scarcely been mentioned. Meanwhile, trouble in the courts leaves the fate of the dreamers as uncertain as ever.

President Barack Obama’s program to help the dreamers, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), was supposed to be a temporary solution to a problem Congress would, eventually, solve. By granting work authorization and immunity from deportation to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors, met certain educational requirements and presented no threat to public safety, the executive action offered a cohort of motivated noncitizens the opportunity to grow freely in the only nation... READ MORE

We often center the Black Freedom Movement in the United States, but Gaspar Yanga governed what;s considered the First Free Black Town in the America's after revolting against Spanish colonizers in Mexico 

Black people have never just sat back and tolerated their oppression, despite what some ignorant of history may claim. We have fought back in many corners of the world, including Latin America.

Well before there was Joseph Cinqué on the Amistad, there was Gaspar Yanga. Yanga is considered one of the first freedom fighters in the Americas after he led a revolt against Spanish colonizers in Mexico over 400 years ago. Centuries later, he now has a town named after him in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, fittingly named “Yanga.”

Here’s the story of how he became a legend.

01 - Enslaved Africans imported into Mexico often arrived at the Port of Veracruz. Gaspar Yanga was one of them.

In the mid 1500s, the state of Veracruz on Mexico’s east coast had the country’s largest enslaved population. Gaspar Yanga– who is believed to have been in a royal family in either Angola or Gabon in West Africa– was among those held captive. They chose the wrong one! Or the right one in this case.... READ MORE

Intended for the historic César Chávez corridor, the project dubbed XOLA is being developed by local investors

A couple of storefronts away from the controversial Tiao Properties development on the historic César Chávez corridor, a new building project aims to be received differently by Boyle Heights residents. 

A group of local investors is proposing to raze several existing structures between 2141 and 2145 E. Cesar Chavez Avenue, including a small commercial and residential building and several small businesses, and to replace them with a 19-unit affordable housing complex. Unlike other mixed-use developments in the area, the project will use its non-residential space to create XOLA, a free museum dedicated to Chicano art and culture. 

The project is led by Toledo Capital Development LLC, and it’s a personal endeavor for co-founder Alfred Fraijo Jr., a land use attorney and well-known community activist. As a long-time Boyle Heights resident and a gay Latino, art was where he found a sense of belonging. As a young man he was introduced to ASCO – the East Los Angeles artists’ collective from the 1970’s– and other Chicano art, and fell in love with his heritage.... READ MORE