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| MARCH 17 2017 | www.LaPrensaSD.com
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Federal Agencies Sued BY MARINEE ZAVALA
Conditions at detention facilities housing immigrants apprehended by Federal agents and others who turn themselves in voluntarily are being labeled as deplorable places that directly violate the human rights of thousands of detainees every year. People in search of a better life in the United States end up finding only four walls that keep them in prison-like conditions, with almost no contact with the outside world. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties (San Diego ACLU) and two law offices have filed a class action lawsuit against Federal agencies, stressing that detainees can languish for long periods of time before they are brought before a judge. The long waits, coupled with the centers’ conditions, creates uncertainty and emotional turmoil for all these people. “Judges exist to inform [people] of their rights, and detention without seeing a judge is very hard, emotionally,” said Bardis Vakili, senior staff attorney with the San Diego ACLU. “It has a great emotional impact; detention is always difficult, but being detained without knowing why you are there is very hard, emotionally.” Inside the centers, there is not much hope. People who have been detained simply for not being able to prove their immigration status, or who have come voluntarily in search of political asylum, are made to wear orange jumpsuits; told when to eat, when to sleep and afforded limited specific times when they can see their loved ones. The lawsuit contends that these three people are representative of the hundreds of individuals detained or jailed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who have spent an inordinate amount of time without seeing a judge for the first time. The Trump administration’s promise to increase the number of people taken to these centers and to expand detention facilities, has raised red flags with non-profits such as ACLU, as they believe it is inhumane to treat someone who is only looking for a better life in the U.S. or fleeing from violence in their home country to be treated this way. Attorneys hope that, despite how slowly legal proceedings move in the U.S., they will see an expeditious response from the federal government that will allow them to go before a judge quickly and demand the right to freedom for those who have chosen this country as their new home.
PERSPECTIVE BY ARTURO CASTAÑARES PUBLISHER/CEO
Trump Tweeting Away America’s Credibility
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illions of people post messages on social media that are, for the most part, meaningless and egotistical, but overall, harmless. But, when the leader of the free world cuts loose 140 characters, the effects could change the course of history. Sure, most of Donald Trump’s messages are braggadocious and petty, from calling opponents cruel nicknames to exaggerating the size of the crowd at his inauguration, but his string of tweets last week set into motion a series of events that could rock his administration and, potentially, the world. Of course, we're talking about Trump’s early morning claim that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign. Without any evidence, Trump claimed he was the victim of McCarthyism and some illegal operation worse that Watergate. Trump conflated McCarthyism’s witch hunt for communists and Nixon’s cover-up of a breaking in at the Democratic Party, but also drew attention to the suspicious connection between people involved in his campaign and some sort of organized hacking operation connected to Russians, whether government or mafia related. Trump's shocking claim that his predecessor abused the power of the presidency to help his preferred successor could have brought criminal charges if proven to be
BY ANA GOMEZ SALCIDO
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum signed a formal agreement that codifies the mayors’ pledge to work together to strengthen economic and civic ties. The agreement was signed on a
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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Enrique Gonzalez CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tracy Powell
have reason to doubt the honestly, integrity, and intellect of our president. The world is an increasingly unsafe place, with terrorists and despots jockeying for position in Syria, Iran, North Korea, and even Russia. Cybersecurity for businesses and government is a growing concern. Domestic economic and health issues leave millions of Americans worrying about their families’ well-being. These would seem to be the important topics that should occupy our president day and night. We went through a grueling, divisive, and exhausting campaign cycle to elect our leader; now it’s time for the winner of that election to do the job he so desperately wanted. We need a Commanderin-Chief, a statesman, a leader we can feel confident is working to keep us safe and to improve our lives. So far, Donald Trump seems more interested in petty social media games, more like what teenagers engage in, than in the serious work of being the President of the United States. President Trump should be working day and night, as he promised during the campaign he would, to deal with the many important issues that should be on his desk. That would make us all feel more confident that he’s serious in protecting us, and make our enemies less likely to harm us. It's time to put that phone down, Mr. President.
SD and Tijuana Mayors Sign Cooperation Agreement
La Prensa PUBLISHER/CEO Arturo Castañares
surveillance of Russian operatives that seem to have inadvertently snared some close advisors to Trump who had been communicating with Russians for either business or political purposes. Trump’s tweets may have ended up drawing more attention to these investigations and raised even more suspicions about whether any of Trump’s associates were involved with or encouraged the hacking of Democratic Party emails that eventually helped Trump win the presidency. His own tweets may come back to rock his White House. But, more importantly, Trump’s tweeting habits about both inane subjects, as well as divisive comments about China, Mexico, and North Korea, for example, diminish his standing, both at home and abroad. The President of the United States is the most influential person in the world (in recent months, however, many have argued Vladimir Putin now claims that distinction), so every word he says can affect trade negotiations, political stability in foreign countries, even the overall level of security Americans feel about their own futures. Every time Donald Trump jumps on Twitter and makes silly, baseless, and demeaning statements, it’s not just his own credibility that slips; America’s standing in the world diminishes when world leaders can’t take our president seriously. And based on Trump’s public and online comments, world leaders
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SAN DIEGO
FOUNDED: December 1, 1976 San Diego, California
true. The claim immediately raised concerns because no one had previously claimed Obama had engaged in any illegally activity throughout his eight years in office. The new president’s outrageous claim seemed so definitive that many thought it must have come as a result of Trump’s new access to the country’s investigative agencies and intelligence gathering capabilities. But, just as quickly as the claims came, they seemed to fall flat when intelligence officials, former Obama officials, and even some highranking Republicans denied that any such covert operations occurred during the campaign. In trying to defend the claims, White House officials cited published reports in right-wing media outlets as proof of the wiretapping. By this week, even Trump himself said he used the term “wiretapping” as a general description of surveillance that could have occurred during and since the campaign as the FBI investigated interference with the election by hackers, including Russian operatives. Trump didn’t have the courage to walk back his comments; instead, as usual, he doubled-down on another baldfaced lie. It now seems clear that Trump exaggerated his claims based on conspiracy theories pushed by fringe political commentators. Those stories were loosely based on anonymous sources that have leaked information about on-going
CONTRIBUTORS Abel Astorga, Antonio Aviles, Estephania Baez, Francisco Barbosa, Augie Bareño, Ana P. Ceballos, Mario A. Cortez, Vito DiStefano, Alberto Garcia, Ana Gomez Salcido, Eduardo Landeros, Katia Lopez Hodoyan, Sandra G. León, Samuel Lopez, Alexandra Mendoza, Mimi Pollack, Diana Rodriguez, Eduardo Rueda, Marinee Zavala, and Paco Zavala
ceremony held on the steps of the historic Casa de la Cultura in Tijuana on Monday, March 13. The ceremony included the presence of consul general of the United States consulate in Tijuana William A. Ostick, the consul general of the Mexican Consulate General in San Diego Marcela Celorio, and commu-
nity and business leaders of both sides of the border. The agreement is a renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding Mayor Faulconer and former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran signed in 2014. As a result, department directors from both cities have met regularly to collaborate, resulting in cross-border training for firefighters, art exchanges at libraries and the joint promotion of the economic advantages the San Diego-Tijuana megaregion has to offer. “Binational cooperation has represented opportunities for the well-being of both communities. We will continue to globally promote this commercial and business megaregion that we have accomplished with sacrifice and mutual support,” Tijuana Mayor said at the ceremony. “Together, we will continue to strengthen and improving the advantages of our solid, competitive, dynamic and safe binational metropolis that we have constructed over the years.”
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¡Se Un Visionario! POR EDUARDO LANDEROS
Muchos comerciantes no piensan a largo plazo y terminan cerrando sus puertas. En mi experiencia como consultor, he platicado con muchos emprendedores exitosos y muchos coinciden en decir que una de las razones por las que han sido exitosos es porque siempre pensaron a largo plazo Suena cansado estar pensando todo el tiempo en planear y en lo que va a pasar, pero los comerciantes que son exitosos practican esto a diario. Un buen comerciante tiene que analizar su negocio y su mercado para saber donde van a
estar en un año, cinco años, e incluso hasta diez años. El mismo principio se puede aplicar a nuestra situación personal. Yo doy clases de contabilidad y finanzas a nivel universitario, y una de las cosas que siempre pregunto a mis estudiantes durante la primera clase es sobre sus planes a futuro. La pregunta es: “¿dónde se ven en unos años o simplemente después de graduarse?” Siempre que hago esta pregunta los estudiantes se me quedan viendo como si estuviera hablando en otro idioma. Muchos responden que van a conseguir un trabajo y que se van a hacer millonarios rápido, otros
Last month, Mayor Gastelum alongside other City of Tijuana officials visited the City of San Diego and offered a jointly press conference with Mayor Faulconer to promote the Tijuana-San Diego megaregion. “San Diego and Tijuana set an example of how two cities can come together across international boundaries for the good of their citizens,” Mayor Faulconer said. “Together, Mayor Gastélum and I will continue to work cooperatively and discuss the issues that matter to our residents such as economic development, border infrastructure, our cross-border culture and public safety. Going forward, it’s important that we continue to have clear and open lines of communication and that is what this agreement will help us accomplish.” Both mayors will travel to Mexico City on the last days of March to discuss regional projects and border infrastructure with Mexican federal authorities.
dicen que van a seguir estudiando y muchos otros no saben que van a hacer. Cuando les pregunto específicamente como van a hacerse ricos, muchos simplemente no saben. Es entonces cuando hacemos un ejercicio en clase que también se puede aplicar al mundo de los negocios: vemos hacia el futuro y empezamos a “caminar en reversa” para ver dónde empezar. “Caminar en reversa” es simplemente identificar una meta en el futuro, ya sea personal o comercial, y ver cómo se llega. Cuando hago este ejercicio en clase empezamos a discutir profesiones que en general ganan mucho dinero como abogados, doctores, ingenieros e incluso también como emprendedor en un negocio exitoso. Si alguien quiere ser abogado por CONTINUA EN LA PAGINA 9
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