CA legal professional normal leads rights seminar for immigrants

From CalMatters’ Wendy Fry:

As California’s “Trump-proofing” efforts proceed, Lawyer Common Rob Bonta was in Los Angeles Tuesday, issuing new “Know Your Rights” steerage for immigrant communities and warning folks about notary fraud.

Bonta reminded immigrants of their rights to an legal professional; to entry their police report; to use for safe housing with out sharing their immigration standing; and to entry emergency medical care. Immigrants, no matter their authorized standing, have a proper to a office freed from harassment and discrimination, mentioned Bonta.

• Bonta: “Your employer cannot threaten to call immigration authorities as retaliation against you.”

Usually held by immigrant rights organizations, “Know Your Rights” workshops intention to supply immigrants instruments for safeguarding their rights and to alleviate neighborhood fears about President-elect Donald Trump’s guarantees to conduct mass deportations.

Tuesday’s occasion, held on the Asian Individuals Advancing Justice Southern Californiawas the primary in a sequence of statewide periods and a sign of how exhausting California officers plan to push again.

Each Bonta and different immigrant advocates have warned folks to watch out in regards to the authorized assist they search and to solely use certified and licensed immigration attorneys. Scams providing pretend immigration providers or extorting funds by threatening deportation goal weak communities, particularly in Los Angeles. Specialists imagine the scams are vastly underreported.

“Now is not the time to go to a notaryeven if it feels urgent, even if it seems cheap,” mentioned Gina Amato Lough, the directing legal professional of the Immigrants’ Rights Mission at Los Angeles-based Public Counsel, a nonprofit civil rights legislation agency.

Bonta suggested folks to seek out authorized assist by LawHelpCA.org. Amato Lough mentioned folks ought to at all times request receipts; request paperwork be translated into their first language; and ensure they fastidiously assessment any paperwork they signal.

A handful of California neighborhood schools are piloting a brand new mannequin for schooling that focuses on expertise fairly than grades. However some school members at Madera Neighborhood Faculty argue that the experiment is doing an excessive amount of, too quicklywrites CalMatters neighborhood school reporter Adam Echelman.

In 2021, state lawmakers allotted greater than $4 million to broaden competency-based studying at eight neighborhood schoolstogether with Madera. Below this mannequin, some colleges supply no grades nor lectures, however do present college students supplies to show themselves. College students then should show they’ve the related expertise or “competency” by exams. The pilot is geared towards working adults, lots of whom left neighborhood school through the pandemicand have obligations exterior of faculty.

However designing a level program with this mannequin is a tall order: It typically means altering a school’s accreditation, its worker contracts and its monetary assist system. School at Madera mentioned the faculty ought to decide out of the pilot — going towards the faculty’s management, enterprise neighborhood members and different native officers who stand by this system.

Learn extra in regards to the debate dividing Madera’s campus in Adam’s story.

To spice up California’s workforce and join underrepresented populations — akin to veterans, folks with disabilities and immigrants — with jobs, the state has awarded over $52 million to numerous workforce growth applications since 2014.

However how effectively is that this effort, often known as the Workforce Accelerator Fund, going? Zayna Syed appears to be like into one apprenticeship that helps baby care middle staff work whereas they earn educating permits in early childhood schooling. Different fund tasks embody constructing profession pipelines within the lodge and wastewater industries.

Developed by the Service Staff Worldwide Union and its associate organizations, such because the YMCA of the East Bay, this baby care apprenticeship serves largely ladies — lots of whom are low-income and immigrants.

However the fund program does have some shortfalls: As a result of it’s deliberately broad and has funded numerous organizations, it’s troublesome to measure the fund’s impression. Monitoring systemic modifications and previous grantees additionally require money and time.

Be taught extra in regards to the Workforce Accelerator Fund in Zayna’s story.

In CalMatters’ newest installment of our sequence about new legal guidelines taking impact Jan. 1: State-licensed remedy facilities for kids and youth are required to be extra clear over their use of restraints and seclusion rooms. Learn how and why media persona Paris Hilton is concerned.