Roybal-Allard RSS Articles

16 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CALL FOR JUSTICE IN HERNANDEZ-ROJAS CASE

Thu, 10 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Responding to the troubling findings of a new PBS documentary, "Crossing the Line at the Border," 16 members of Congress called for justice in the tragic case of Anastacio Hernandez-Rojas and reiterated the need for tougher oversight of Border Patrol personnel to end the abuse of people in the agency’s custody. In letters to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and the DHS Office of the Inspector General, they sought answers to pressing questions about Customs and Border Protection’s policies regarding the use of force and the investigation of cases of brutality.

The full text of the letters can be found here: DHS, DHS IG, DOJ.

“The disturbing footage and eye-witness accounts that aired on PBS raise serious questions about the Border Patrol’s role in the death of Anastacio Hernandez-Rojas and after two years, we owe it to his family to finally provide some definitive answers,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). “In light of this new evidence, I call on the Justice Department to complete its protracted investigation and take appropriate action.”

“The violent nature of Mr. Hernandez-Rojas’ death, combined with the troubling accounts from witnesses and the newly discovered video of the incident, means that this case merits a full and honest investigation,” said Rep. José E. Serrano (D-NY). “I believe that CBP policies need a full review, followed by appropriate reforms. Any ambiguity or lack of accountability that could lead to violence must be eliminated. Our letters make it clear that in the wake of this troubling event and others like it, we must have answers and ensure that such incidents are not repeated by any federal agency.”

“The disturbing case of Anastacio Hernandez Rojas highlights the tragic consequences of the failed strategy of militarizing our border,” said Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). “While protecting our border is an essential part of fixing our broken immigration system, enforcement alone won’t fix the problem.”

“A thorough investigation must be launched concerning the death of Anastacio Hernandez Rojas and the officers involved,” said Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ). “We need to identify, address and correct the larger issues surrounding this incident to ensure that this will not happen again.”

"For years I have heard serious concerns expressed by the communities along the border that the Border Patrol is occasionally violent and only rarely accountable," said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), the Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "In the immigration reform bills I have introduced with the support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I have called for greater oversight, transparency, and accountability from the Border Patrol precisely for instances like this where excessive force and secrecy combine into a mixture that is toxic to democracy. I hope this incident leads to concrete reforms that prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again."

Hernandez-Rojas was killed in June 2010 at a border crossing near San Diego after being struck repeatedly with a baton and tazed five times by Border Patrol agents. While the Patrol subsequently insisted that Hernandez-Rojas—a long-term resident of the United States with five U.S. citizen children—was resisting, cell phone footage and eye-witness testimony gathered by PBS indicate that he was already handcuffed and lying on the ground when agents accosted him. Hernandez-Rojas’s tragic death was ruled a homicide by the San Diego Police Department and soon after, the Justice Department launched its own investigation. However, almost two years later, no arrests have been made in the case.

Statistics obtained by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard from the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) show that since 2004, 132 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees have been convicted of crimes, with 26 arrests and 14 convictions in the past year alone. As a result, the pending Fiscal Year 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations bill mandates a Government Accountability Office audit of Customs and Border Protection ethics, conduct and integrity training programs.

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REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD THANKS MARIA CABRERA FOR HER SERVICE IN THE LOS ANGELES OFFICE

Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard thanked Downey resident Maria Cabrera for her service in her Los Angeles congressional office. Maria is working toward her Master’s Degree in Social Work at USC, and she has been interning for Congresswoman Roybal-Allard for the past nine months.

Maria worked hard to provide in-class presentations throughout the district about entering the Congressional Art Competition and applying for the service academies. She also conducted financial aid presentations in Spanish for parents in the 34^th Congressional District and attended meetings with the Congresswoman.

REPRESENATIVE ROYBAL-ALLARD CELEBRATES CINCO DE MAYO

Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard released the following statement on tomorrow’s celebration of Cinco de Mayo:

This year’s Cinco de Mayo (May 5^th) festivities honor the 150^th anniversary of a decisive event in Mexican history. I join millions of other Mexican Americans in commemorating this historic event. It is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the innumerable contributions that generations of Mexican Americans have made to our national identity and culture.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the bravery of a small group of Mexican patriots who prevailed against the much larger French army in the Battle of Puebla. Today, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a day to celebrate our Mexican American culture. Our men and women continue to help shape the United States as members of the armed forces, business leaders, community leaders, religious leaders, cabinet secretaries and elected officials. As the first Mexican American women elected to the United States Congress, this day holds special meaning for me.

Today, 150 years later, Mexico remains one of our most important allies.

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REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD MEETS WITH STUDENTS FROM DOWNEY HIGH SCHOOL

Thu, 03 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Washington, DC –On April 20, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard welcomed students from Downey High School to her Los Angeles office. The students requested a meeting with the Congresswoman to discuss the ongoing conflict in Uganda, specifically the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony and the Invisible Children. The students were inspired by a documentary titled “Kony 2012” which was made by one of the co-founders of Invisible Children, Jason Russell.

The students are members of a recently formed school organization called H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere).

Rep. Roybal-Allard is a co-sponsor of H. Res. 583 which calls for stepped-up efforts to expand the number of Central African forces deployed to protect civilians and pursue LRA commanders, while increasing cross-border coordination among regional governments.

Pictured from left to right: Adrianna Delgado, Adriana Felix, Marco Silva (parent), Viridiana Silva (club president), Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Vanessa Davila, Lauren Nastase (teacher/advisor), Alejandro Lomeli

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REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD TO USCIS: HELP WORKERS BARRED FROM THEIR JOBS BECAUSE OF E-VERIFY ERRORS

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Today, thirty-eight members of Congress joined Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard in sending a letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas calling for the creation of a review process that would enable workers to effectively challenge E-Verify errors. Unfortunately, under the seriously flawed program, citizens and lawful immigrants currently have no way of challenging a final declaration of ineligibility to hold employment.

“Based on documented error rates, as many as 85,000 citizens and lawful immigrants may have lost their jobs last year because of E-Verify,” said Rep. Roybal-Allard. “This is simply unacceptable at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet. We owe it to workers to establish a simple, transparent process for fixing these mistakes. As it stands now, far from being a solution to our immigration challenges, E-Verify is simply another example of why our immigration system is so badly broken.”

Immigrant advocates joined the congresswoman and her colleagues in demanding the creation of an official means for workers to correct meritless E-Verify decisions. “E-Verify is an error-prone program that denies job opportunities to tens of thousands of people, U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants alike, without any recourse,” said Emily Tulli, policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. “Because of glitches in the government program, hardworking citizens and lawful immigrants are unfairly denied work and robbed of a way to provide for their families. Director Mayorkas should heed Congress’ advice, ensure a fair review process, and remove this hurdle to employment.”

Despite E-Verify’s serious defects, House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith is currently championing a bill that would make the program mandatory for every employer in the nation, potentially imperiling millions of workers’ livelihoods.

Please see the full text of the letter below.

May 1, 2012

Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas
Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 5110
Washington, DC 20529

Dear Director Mayorkas:

Under your leadership, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has taken meaningful steps to expand protections for employees under the E-Verify program. However, in these trying economic times, additional reforms are urgently needed to prevent citizens and lawful immigrants from being unjustly barred from their jobs. Specifically, recognizing the significant impact of wrongful determinations on workers and their families, we write to urge you to establish an administrative review process that would enable individuals to contest erroneous Final Non-Confirmations (FNCs).

As you know, since 2008, use of E-Verify has dramatically expanded nationwide. Approximately 17.4 million people were processed in Fiscal Year 2011 and every week roughly 1,000 new employers enroll in the program. In addition, most federal contractors are now required to check the work-eligibility of new hires using E-Verify and, following the Supreme Court’s Whiting decision earlier this term, more states are likely to mandate the use of E-Verify in the coming year.

However, despite the program’s rapid growth, E-Verify remains seriously flawed. According to a 2009 Westat study and USCIS data, 0.5 percent of all Final Non-Confirmations are issued erroneously. While this error rate might appear insignificant, under current law, employers are required to dismiss any worker who receives an FNC. With 17 million E-Verify queries in FY 2011, this means that as many as 85,000 people may have lost their jobs in a struggling economy because of the program’s deficiencies. Even more troublingly, in states where participation in E-Verify is mandatory, an erroneous FNC will likely serve as a total bar to obtaining employment.

Moreover, the program’s defects have disproportionately affected minority communities. E-Verify error rates are thirty times higher for naturalized U.S. citizens and fifty times higher for legal non-immigrants than for native-born U.S. citizens. This means that foreign-born workers—who already face higher unemployment rates than the general population—are more likely to be locked out of jobs than their native counterparts.

In light of these disturbing figures, we believe a fair process should exist for authorized workers to effectively challenge wrongful work-eligibility determinations. Unfortunately, as your agency has publicly acknowledged, USCIS currently lacks any official means for individuals to correct an inaccurate FNC.

Thankfully, on February 13^th, your Verification Division and Office of Public Engagement held discussions with key stakeholders about how this shortcoming could be rectified. We strongly urge you to build on this important first step by moving swiftly to establish a transparent review process that would enable authorized individuals to overturn FNC’s issued in error. Doing so is critical—particularly for low-income citizens unfairly harmed by E-Verify—and would address one of the program’s most significant weaknesses. It would also reaffirm your commitment to upholding workers’ rights and your agency’s determination, as stated in its Core Values, to “always strive for the highest level of integrity.”

Sincerely,

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard

Rep. Joe Baca

Rep. Sanford D. Bishop

Rep. Michael Capuano

Rep. Judy Chu

Rep. Hansen Clarke

Rep. Yvette Clarke

Rep. Gerald Connolly

Rep. John Conyers

Rep. Diana DeGette

Rep. Theodore Deutch

Rep. Lloyd Doggett

Rep. Sam Farr

Rep. Bob Filner

Rep. Charles Gonzalez

Rep. Raúl Grijalva

Rep. Luis Gutierrez

Rep. Janice Hahn

Rep. Rubén Hinojosa

Rep. Mazie Hirono

Rep. Michael Honda

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. Zoe Lofgren

Rep. George Miller

Rep. James Moran

Rep. Gwen Moore

Rep. Grace Napolitano

Rep. John Olver

Rep. Pedro Pierluisi

Rep. Jared Polis

Rep. Charles Rangel

Rep. Laura Richardson

Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan

Rep. Janice Schakowsky

Rep. Albio Sires

Rep. Fortney Pete Stark

Rep. Edolphus Towns

REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD ANNOUNCES APRIL 28 CITIZENSHIP WORKSHOP

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A citizenship workshop will be held on April 28 from 9:00am-12:00pm at Our Lady of Talpa Church (2914 E 4th St. Los Angeles, CA 90033).

*Application services limited to the first 300 people

Click here for more information: English or Spanish (Flyers also attached)

REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD PRAISES INCLUSION OF LA RIVER IN HOUSE ENERGY AND WATER BILL

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

This week, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY13 Energy and Water appropriations bill, which included $100,000 to continue the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Study.

“I am very pleased that the FY13 Energy and Water bill includes funding for this important effort,” said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard. “The LA River has great potential for both economic and environmental revitalization in the community, and this funding will continue to move this project forward,” Roybal-Allard added.

The LA River Ecosystem Restoration Study is an authorized project supported by the Army Corps of Engineers. Completion of the study is important to the long term effort to revitalize the Los Angeles River.

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REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD CONTINUES FIGHT FOR CHILD SAFETY DESPITE SETBACK

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard released the following statement:

I am disappointed to learn that the Department of Labor has decided to withdraw proposed rulemaking to update child labor regulations for young workers employed in agriculture.

The proposed regulations were modest, common sense changes that would have prohibited children between the ages of 12 and 16 from performing only the most hazardous tasks that have been proven to be dangerous and even lethal. Withdrawing these critically needed regulations means children will continue to be at risk of drowning in grain silos, being crushed by tractors or being maimed by heavy machinery. This decision does not reflect how we as Americans value our children.

Despite this setback, I am continuing to fight for the safety of children employed in the agriculture industry. This Congress, I introduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment. This bill would end the double standard that allows children in agriculture, an industry with a fatality rate nearly eight times higher than the national average, to work at younger ages and for longer hours than those working in all other industries. I will continue to fight for the passage of the CARE Act so that children who work in agriculture can have the fundamental protections they deserve and so desperately need for a better life.

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REP. ROYBAL-ALLARD HOSTS ROUND TABLE ON DRUG USE IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY WITH GIL KERLIKOWSKE, US DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

On Friday, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard hosted a round table discussion with US Director of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, about the impact of drug use in the Latino community. Latino community leaders, local law enforcement representatives and school officials were in attendance.

“This was an enlightening and productive discussion, but it does not end here,” said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard. “Our obligation as stakeholders in the community is to take back the valuable information gathered here and use it to educate those who were not present. We can utilize this meeting-of-minds to work towards minimizing the impacts drugs have and continue to have on communities of color,” Congresswoman Roybal-Allard added.

Topics covered at the roundtable included: lack of funding for treatment and youth prevention programs prevention programs; the need for pooling of resources at the local level, including connecting school districts, local organizations and city/county agencies with treatment providers; and the negative effects of prison realignment efforts on offenders’ decision not to opt into alternative sentencing programs that include treatment.

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REP. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD CONGRATULATES JUSTIN NG ON HIS ACCEPTANCE INTO THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard congratulated Los Angeles resident Justin Ng on his appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Justin will begin the 4-year Air Force Academy program this summer.

“Justin is a smart, exemplary young man who is highly deserving of this honor,” said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.

Every year, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard nominates qualified students from the 34^th District to the service academies, including the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings, New York.

Entrance to the academies is highly competitive. Applicants must demonstrate superior character, scholarship, leadership, physical aptitude, medical fitness, goals and motivation. Last year, only 11% of the 11,627 applications were offered an appointment.

The Air Force Academy offers a well-rounded learning experience which includes a rigorous academic curriculum, physical education, and leadership training. All graduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree. Service academy graduates are also required to serve in the military as commissioned officers for a minimum of five years after completing their studies.

The son of Chit Hong Ng and Liang Bi Yu, Justin is a top student and volunteer. He participated in his high school’s Academy of Information and Technology Club and also competed in the Pomona College Math Talent Search, the Science Bowl. He is also an Olympic Weightlifter.

Every fall, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard hosts an annual workshop covering the nomination and application process. To learn more about the service academy or to inquire about future workshops, please visit Resources for Students on the Congresswoman’s website or call Diana Porras in the district office at (213) 628-9230.