Issues - Unauthorized Immigration

A proposal to expand health care to Californians in the country illegally cleared the Senate on Tuesday, passing on a 28-11 vote and heading to the Assembly.

Senate Bill 4 would allow undocumented immigrants to purchase health insurance on the state exchange, pending a federal waiver, and enroll eligible people under the age of 19 in Medi-Cal, the state's insurance program for the poor.

Because SB 4 aims to expand the scope of the federal Affordable Care Act, which prohibited undocumented immigrants from participating in any of the health insurance exchanges it established, California would be required to apply for a waiver allowing individuals to buy plans on the state exchange regardless of immigration status, though they would not be eligible for subsidies to help pay for the coverage.

(Fox News) -- The data set from the Department of Justice looks at all women and children detained from Central America beginning July 18, 2014, when Obama declared the immigrants to be an enforcement priority and ordered the courts to treat them on a priority basis.

Since then, ICE detained 83,385 adults and children, and immigration courts completed 24,842 cases. Of those, more than 64 percent, or 16,136, didn't show up for court, and fewer than 4 percent, or 908, agreed to leave voluntarily.

Among adults with children not detained, 25,000 have had their initial appearance; 13,000 are still in the system, and 12,000 have had their cases completed. Of the cases completed, 10,000 failed to appear.

But compare the number of removals for women and children who were detained against those who were not. Among those families who were allowed to remain free after their initial appearance in court, 84 percent never showed up again for their case. They remain free, scattered in cities across America. By contrast, almost all of those detained did show up before a judge.

(Daily Bruin) -- Dream Summer, a national, ten-week internship program primarily for undocumented youth.

The UCLA Labor Center’s Dream Resource Center, which does research on immigration issues, runs the program that offers participants paid internships in nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups that focus on social justice causes.

Ronquillo added that the program also aims to encourage undocumented youth to push for nationwide immigration reform. He said the program brings together participants to discuss immigration issues during two summits in Los Angeles, one before and one after the internship.

“Many of the participants in the program go on to become the leaders of the immigration reform movement,” he said. “By working in social justice organizations, they are given the resources they need to continue in activism.”