Latest news with #AlexPadilla
Engadget
5 hours ago
- Business
- Engadget
Internet Archive is now an official US government document library
The US Senate has granted the Internet Archive federal depository status, making it officially part of an 1,100-library network that gives the public access to government documents, KQED reported. The designation was made official in a letter from California Senator Alex Padilla to the Government Publishing Office that oversees the network. "The Archive's digital-first approach makes it the perfect fit for a modern federal depository library, expanding access to federal government publications amid an increasingly digital landscape," he wrote. Established by Congress in 1813, the Federal Depository Library Program is designed to help the public access government records. Each congressional member can designate up to two libraries, which include government information like budgets, a code of federal regulations, presidential documents, economic reports and census data. With its new status, the Internet Archive will be gain improved access to government materials, founder Brewster Kahle said in a statement. "By being part of the program itself, it just gets us closer to the source of where the materials are coming from, so that it's more reliably delivered to the Internet Archive, to then be made available to the patrons of the Internet Archive or partner libraries." The Archive could also help other libraries move toward digital preservation, given its experience in that area. It's some good news for the site which has faced legal battles of late. It was sued by major publishers over loans of digital books during the Coronavirus epidemic and was forced by a federal court in 2023 to remove more than half a million titles. And more recently, major music label filed lawsuits over its Great 78 Project that strove to preserve 78 RPM records. If it loses that case it could owe more than $700 million damages and possibly be forced to shut down. The new designation likely won't aid its legal problems, but it does affirm the site's importance to the public. "In October, the Internet Archive will hit a milestone of 1 trillion pages," Kahle wrote. "And that 1 trillion is not just a testament to what libraries are able to do, but actually the sharing that people and governments have to try and create an educated populace."
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Map Shows States Trying To Ban ICE Agents Wearing Masks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A growing coalition of Democratic-led states is pushing legislation that would prohibit federal agents from wearing face coverings during immigration enforcement operations. California, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have introduced bills that would require federal officers to display visible identification—with limited exceptions for safety or undercover purposes—as part of a progressive effort to increase transparency and limit the agency's expanded powers under the Trump administration. Why It Matters Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has come under increased criticism for deploying agents in plain clothes and face coverings during operations, a tactic officials say is necessary to protect agents and their families from threats. The agency's approach has drawn heightened scrutiny amid the Trump administration's aggressive push to deport millions of undocumented migrants, placing ICE at the center of a highly visible crackdown on immigration. What To Know At the federal level, House Democrats have introduced the No Anonymity in Immigration Enforcement Act, which would require ICE agents conducting enforcement operations within the United States to display clear identification—with limited exceptions for public safety threats. Exceptions would be permitted only in limited circumstances, such as when there is an imminent threat to the agent's life or risk of serious bodily harm or when protective gear is necessary for health or safety reasons. In any case where an exception is used, a supervisor must review and document the incident within 48 hours to assess whether it was justified and determine whether disciplinary action is warranted. Senate Democrats have introduced the VISIBLE Act, which mandates that agents from ICE and Customs and Border Protection wear legible identification showing their names and agency affiliations. It would also prohibit the use of most face coverings during operations. Democratic Senators Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced the bill, saying the measure seeks to increase transparency and accountability in federal immigration enforcement. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended agents' continued use of face coverings, even as the agency faces mounting criticism for obscuring personnel identities during enforcement actions. "I've said it publicly before, I'm not a proponent of the masks. However, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE to keep themselves and their family safe, then I will allow it," Lyons said on CBS's Face the Nation. Representative Laura Friedman of California said in a news release: "I am deeply concerned about the prospect of ICE agents continuing to go about immigration raids in plainclothes, masks, and without identifiers that indicate what agency they're representing. The rules governing law enforcement should extend to federal immigration agents." Federal agents in a hallway awaiting individuals exiting hearings at an immigration court in New York. Federal agents in a hallway awaiting individuals exiting hearings at an immigration court in New York. Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx At the state level, California is leading the way with its No Secret Police Act, introduced in June by Democratic state Senators Scott Wiener and Jesse Arreguín. Senate Bill 627 would prohibit all law enforcement officers operating in the state, including federal agents, from covering their faces during enforcement actions unless in specific, limited circumstances such as SWAT deployments, medical masking or undercover work. The California Senate Public Safety Committee advanced the bill last week, but it faces a legal gauntlet, particularly over whether a state can dictate how federal officers dress. In New York, Democratic Assemblymember Tony Simone introduced the Mandating End of Lawless Tactics (MELT) Act earlier this week. The MELT Act mirrors California's SB 627 by banning masks for state, local and federal officers, and it would require law enforcement officers to clearly display their names or badge numbers and ban most mask use during public duties. Violations would constitute misdemeanors. In Massachusetts, Democratic state Representative Jim Hawkins filed a similar bill on July 9, focused specifically on ICE personnel. He argues that ICE's use of face coverings in routine operations blurs the line between law enforcement and intimidation. In Pennsylvania, Democratic state Representatives Paul Friel and Rick Krajewski are preparing to introduce the Officer Visibility Act in early August. The bill would ban face coverings during public enforcement operations unless medically required or part of a covert investigation. What People Are Saying Tom Decker, a former director of ICE's New York field office, told Newsweek: "President Trump and his administration are doing exactly what he promised in his campaign, strengthening our borders and removing public safety threats from our communities, to include aliens in violation of our immigration laws." Representative Laura Friedman of California said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "I'll keep fighting to pass commonsense legislation, like the No Masks for ICE Act, to keep our communities safe." Scott Mechkowski, a retired ICE agent who worked for the agency between the mid-1990s and 2019, previously told Newsweek: "I think everyone knows the reasons for the masks. Every agent knows they would be doxxed [publicly identified] as would their families." John Sandweg, who served as acting director of ICE under former President Barack Obama from August 2013 to February 2014, previously told Newsweek: "If you're getting arrested by an officer or agent in a mask, especially if at that point they've not yet identified themselves as a federal officer, it creates a risk of bystanders thinking, rushing in to help, which could create the risk of violence or harm caused to the bystanders." Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, previously told Newsweek: "ICE officers are being doxed, physically assaulted, and attacked—in some cases, their families are even being threatened. Instead of spending their time further demonizing heroic ICE officers, Democrat politicians should dial back the rhetoric and tell their supporters to stop attacking law enforcement." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS: "It's for the safety of those individuals or the work that they're doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work."
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Mom of MS-13 murder victim confronts Democrat lawmaker's 'trap' question at Senate border hearing
Tammy Nobles says she refused to fall into one Democratic lawmaker's "trap" when a line of questioning during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday turned into a clash over immigration. Sen. Alex Padilla of California pressed a panel of invited speakers that included Nobles, angel mom Marie Vega and others touched by the illegal immigration topic during the hearing, asking them to raise their hand if they believed "all immigrants are criminals." Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was murdered by illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member Walter Martinez in July 2022, fired back with the question, "Are you talking about legal immigrants or are you talking about regular immigrants?" before a back-and-forth proceeded. Nobles told "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday that she felt the question was designed to "trap" Vega, who was testifying about the murder of her son, Javier "Harvey" Vega Jr., at the hands of an illegal immigrant during former President Barack Obama's second term in 2014. "I think he was trying to get her trapped, and then I just jumped in and was like, 'What do you mean? Do you mean illegal immigrants that didn't come the right way? Or do you mean legal immigrants who did it the right way?' "I think he was trying to trap us into saying something that [would trip us up]," she alleged. "I didn't let him do that… You can't say all migrants. You can't put them all in the same category," she added. During the hearing, Padilla challenged the Trump administration's rhetoric that their hardline approach to going after the alleged "worst of the worst" is rectifying a problem exacerbated by the Biden administration. "The way they present it, the way they talk about President Biden and prior Democratic administrations [suggests] it was never a priority for Democratic administrations to go after criminals, and that Democrats and Democratic administrations just didn't care about the presence of dangerous people living in our communities," he said. "[That's] simply not true," he continued, before pointing to an immigration official who affirmed his suggestion that ICE agents were not discouraged from enforcing the law under Biden's tenure. Nobles is now encouraging Congress to pass the Kayla Hamilton Act, introduced by South Carolina Republican Rep. Russell Fry, to tighten existing loopholes regarding how the federal government handles unaccompanied minor children. Tuesday's speaker panel also included Alejandro Barranco, a U.S. Marine veteran who says his illegal immigrant father was forcibly detained by ICE agents while working at his landscaping job in California last month. "These people had no warrant for him and no reason to chase him and beat him… I believe my father was racially profiled… I do believe the vast amount of undocumented people in this country are here to work and support the country as well as raising children like my brothers and me… "My father, like so many others, deserves a fair chance to stay in the country he calls home. This country is better because of people like my dad. It's time our policies reflected that," he said.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
A message from a summer of ICE: Los Angeles isn't afraid anymore
On June 12, Sen. Alex Padilla interrupted a news conference by Homeland Security director Kristi Noem. Pushing toward her, he said, 'I have questions for the secretary' before several agents dragged him out of the room. Then in early July, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass arrived amid the chaos of an ICE operation in MacArthur Park. Dressed in a bright turquoise blazer amid a sea of federal camouflage, her arms folded tight in anger, she declared, 'They need to leave and they need to leave right now!' Not long after, a top immigration official said the feds had considered arresting her. In today's divided media world, these events were instantly cast as either a dangerous erosion of democracy or grandstanding by politicians searching for a viral clip, depending on your source. But they underscored a clear message from our summer of ICE: Los Angeles isn't afraid anymore. A lot of very dark things have happened in Los Angeles over its 244-year history, events driven by misguided zeal, greed, bigotry and intolerance. But they are always abetted by fear. California historian Kevin Starr wrote eloquently about that part of the Los Angeles psyche that sets the city into 'a state of psychosis, surrendering itself to the dream-fear.' Real events become magnified into anxiety that no one is willing or able to control. In 1993, Starr wrote about the paranoid rumors sweeping the city in advance of the verdict in the Rodney King civil trial. (More riots! Military occupation! A gang invasion of the Westside!) He thought immediately of the city's past sins. 'Future historians will look back to these days and struggle to interpret a time in which fear became fact and rumor became the basis of policy,' he wrote. 'It became its own horrible reality, and the City of the Angels, as it always feared it would, dreamt itself out of existence.' There are a lot of reasons for L.A. to fear criticizing the sweeps and stay silent. It just gives Trump more ammunition. What will he unleash on us next? But that is not happening this time. The protests, the aid efforts, and the many individuals speaking out against the arrests happening before their eyes show that dissent is alive and well here. Yes, living in a deep blue state gives them some cover. But isn't it better to speak your mind and not fear the consequences? Isn't that one of the things supporters love about Trump? Taking a stand can also bring change. The 1871 Chinese massacre occurred in an L.A. still ruled by vigilante justice, which made dissent hazardous to your health. But as John Mack Faragher chronicles in 'Eternity Street,' the killing of 10% of the city's entire Chinese population brought shame to L.A. — and forced some to finally speak for change. A few brave voices led to a larger movement that established L.A.'s first real criminal justice system and police force, marking an end to the vigilante era. It didn't curb racism or injustice, but it was a start. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. 'Severance' was the top nominee, earning 27 total nominations. Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's photo is from Times contributor Mariah Tauger at the Mount Washington home of Los Angeles architect Lindsay Sheron and her husband, Daniel, who designed their two-story house after they couldn't afford to buy a house in L.A. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scott Jennings Slammed for Parroting Lies About Handcuffed Senator on CNN
A conservative pundit got himself in hot water pushing debunked claims about Senator Alex Padilla's arrest during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press briefing. Scott Jennings told CNN's Table for Five that Padilla was 'charging into a press conference in Los Angeles, lunging towards a stage'—echoing a claim from DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who posted on X that Padilla had engaged in 'disrespectful political theatre' by 'lunging' toward DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Video of the incident, however, does not show Padilla lunging for the stage, but rather being forcefully removed from the room while loudly identifying himself as a senator. Padilla found himself tackled to the ground and arrested during a June 12 press conference to address the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Los Angeles. In an interview with Fox News after the press briefing, Noem—nicknamed 'ICE Barbie' for dressing up for immigration raids, among other bizarre publicity stunts—claimed Padilla had not identified himself before being arrested, despite video footage from her own department showing he had indeed told officials who he was. 'Anybody who's seen the video knows I repeatedly introduced myself,' Padilla said on Pod Save America after the incident. 'They knew who I was. I was not lunging at the secretary.' Jennings claimed on Fox News that the senator's identification was insufficient. 'I mean, I'm sorry, but screaming that 'I'm a senator, I'm a senator,' I don't know who you are,' Jennings said Saturday. 'I still don't know who the guy is. And so that's not good enough.' Jennings further suggested that Padilla had orchestrated his arrest for the purpose of political theater. 'I mean, it's sort of like porn for their base,' Jennings said. 'There's a lot of capital right now in the Democratic Party for getting arrested. In case of [Senator Alex] Padilla, who if you handed me $10 million right now, if I could pick him out of a lineup, I don't think I could do it.' 'The theater kids have taken over, and they are desperate to create theater,' he added. For fellow guest Dan Koh, a former official under the Joe Biden administration, this was a step too far. 'He is one of two Senators in California,' he shot back at Jennings. 'I think Mitch McConnell would be recognised throughout Kentucky.' Koh went on to say he felt that Padilla's arrest, while 'already concerning,' wasn't even the most frightening aspect of the incident. 'When ICE tweeted it, ICE clearly said that he did not identify himself and tweeted a video where he clearly did,' he said. 'What kind of confidence should we have in our government with any communication from the Trump administration going forward?' he added.
