My friend Morgan Smith wrote this note about the Rio Grande in July 2024. Learn more about Morgan here , here and here .
J.A.M. v. USA "The Court holds that Oscar is entitled to a much lower, but still notable award of $175,000 because he was somewhat older at the time of the incident, was detained for about half...
Path2Papers, July 17, 2024 " What are the policy changes the Biden administration is implementing regarding temporary work visas? On June 18, 2024, the Biden administration announced a policy...
DOJ, July 18, 2024 "The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc. (Southwest Key), a Texas-based nonprofit that provides housing to unaccompanied children who are...
Jeanne Kuang, CalMatters, July 18, 2024 "Even with all the industries where Californians went on strike during last year’s “hot labor summer,” some of the most active sites of...
UCLA MPP, May 2023
"Over 70 years since its inception, a provision under an appropriations bill that the 95thUnited States Congress passed has allowed immigrant workers in detention centers to earnjust $1 a day. Working alongside our client, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice(CCIJ), we bring forth the experiences of detained immigrant labor strikers under theVoluntary Work Program. Our research aims to investigate living conditions, workingconditions, and the ongoing labor strike in two ICE immigrant detention centers operated bythe private detention corporation known as the GEO Group (GEO). Based on our findings, wepresent several policy options and recommend specific policy solutions aimed at improvingconditions for detained immigrants.We first provide background information on the relevant entities and stakeholders, as well ashistorical context and implications of the existing wage practices in private immigrantdetention. To support this research, we conducted a thorough review of the academicliterature on detention conditions, interviewed detained immigrants, and analyzed financialaccount data. In addition, we examined internal records, which included both grievancessubmitted by detainees and write-ups issued by detention officers.We found that all interviewees mentioned poor food quality and living conditions.Interviewees discussed the lack of proper cleaning and sanitation equipment in their workingconditions. Regarding the strike, many described the retaliation by GEO employees, resultingin additional write-ups and denying access to the commissary. We also found overarchingthemes beyond the sections, such as financial hardship or overall mistreatment by GEO staff.These overarching themes helped form the structure and topics of our research sections.The patterns that arose from our research allowed us to draft five policy options that eitherthe state of California or the federal government could implement to benefit detainedimmigrant workers. We evaluated the options based on four criteria: improving livingconditions, improving working conditions, financial feasibility, and political feasibility. Ourpolicy evaluation concludes that our highest priority recommendation is to implement “FairPay and Protections: Application of $15.50 California State Minimum-Wage and LaborProtections.”