Latest news with #AllisonKite
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigrants fear losing crucial health care if Minnesota legislators revoke access
May 29—By Allison Kite, The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS) MINNEAPOLIS — Micaela has spent three decades tirelessly cleaning houses, working as a clerk and now owns a shop in the Twin Cities that she tends to seven days a week, only closing Christmas and New Year's Day. But those efforts have left telltale signs on her body. She struggles to walk because of debilitating knee pain brought on by years of grueling cleaning work she performed when she first arrived from Mexico. Micaela's daughter, Isis, helps her to and from the car, stocks the shelves and escorts her to the bathroom. Micaela, who only gave her first name because she is undocumented, was hopeful she could finally get treatment when Minnesota opened its state health insurance for low-income residents to undocumented immigrants. She has an appointment scheduled for her knee next month. Now, she's not sure she'll be able to get surgery as the state weighs revoking coverage for Micaela and thousands of fellow immigrants under a budget deal struck between lawmakers in St. Paul. She said she's leaning on her faith for support. "God knows what we can do at this point," Micaela said via translator. "We just — we're at His mercy." The Minnesota Democratic trifecta voted in 2023 to open MinnesotaCare to undocumented immigrants, but since the program began in January, enrollment has far exceeded expectations. The state had projected about 5,800 people to sign-up by the end of March, but more than 17,000 people entered the program. By the end of April, enrollments hit more than 20,000. Only about 4,300 enrollees have had appointments for which the state has paid out, but Republicans warn the costs of the program may balloon as additional claims roll in. Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders struck a budget agreement this month that would remove undocumented adults from MinnesotaCare but allow children to remain on the program. Approximately one-quarter of enrollees are minors, according to the state. The deal, which has not yet been approved by the Minnesota Legislature, has been met with backlash from progressive lawmakers and organizations that advocate for immigrants. In the two weeks since the deal was announced, protesters at the Capitol have shamed Walz and legislative leaders and accused them of abandoning immigrants. Rep. Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis, criticized Republicans, who have made rolling back MinnesotaCare for undocumented immigrants a priority this legislative session. "It is especially sad that they have injected into the conversation that some people must simply be left to die because their costs are too expensive," Agbaje said at a news conference at the Capitol. Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said the costs to provide coverage are too great and Minnesota shouldn't "incentivize illegal immigration" by providing benefits like MinnesotaCare. He said his constituents and neighbors are glad to see the Legislature "put Minnesotans first." He noted that Illinois and California are scaling back coverage or pausing enrollment in health plans for undocumented immigrants because of the costs. "It's actually quite unusual to have a broad-based, taxpayer-funded healthcare benefit for illegal immigrants," Rasmusson said, "and in the states that have tried it, it hasn't worked." When Micaela first came to the U.S, she was often required by employers to scrub floors on her hands and knees. After a while, the physical demands of the work took their toll on her joints. "There's not a single day or minute that she doesn't pass with pain," her daughter Isis said via a translator. When Micaela's not at work, she's resting to prepare herself for another day. Micaela said she tried to buy health insurance in the private market, but she couldn't without a Social Security number. She inquired about paying out of pocket for surgery to help with her knee pain, but she can't afford it. Sitting behind the counter of her store, which sells probiotics and other items, Micaela said she doesn't like to ask for handouts. "It gives us shame to even think about being supported by government," Micaela said, "but the thing is, I haven't asked for anything at this point, and I pay for taxes when I run my business." "Everything I've done, I still can't afford to even cover my surgeries," she added. Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez's father also faces the possibility of losing his access to health insurance as he undergoes treatment for cancer. Chavez spoke about his father's diagnosis in a news conference at the Capitol earlier this month. He had been keeping his father's illness relatively private, he said in an interview, but decided to go public in the hope that " would think about not stripping health care away from our most vulnerable community members." "For my father," Chavez said, "I had to." Chavez said his father did not want to be interviewed. Chavez joined Agbaje and other lawmakers in the People of Color and Indigenous, or POCI, Caucus at the Capitol to urge their colleagues to protect MinnesotaCare. He criticized Democratic legislative leaders for using health care "as a bargaining chip to balance a budget" and said Democrats' top priority had been protecting health care access "for all Minnesotans." "I'm disappointed that that isn't a priority anymore," he said. On social media, he said he was "extremely disappointed" that Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, signed off on the deal given Democrats control the Senate by a one-vote majority. "We won't forget that your re-election is next year," he wrote. POCI Caucus members pounded on the door of the governor's reception room as Walz, Murphy and House leaders announced their proposed budget deal, accusing them of "killing our communities." Faith groups have held news conferences at the Capitol and read stories of immigrants like Micaela hoping to sway lawmakers. A factory worker in southern Minnesota lost a foot to diabetes she couldn't consistently manage, said Melissa Gonzalez, a pastor at Tapestry Richfield. Now on MinnesotaCare, she has access to insulin and regular doctor's appointments. Murphy and House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, have said the decision was a difficult one. "I'm not at all surprised that this is the response," Murphy said as DFL lawmakers and others pounded on the door two weeks ago. "They are Minnesotans," she said. "They work in our communities. They work with and alongside us. They go to church with us. They are our neighbors." With a tied House and a razor-thin Democratic majority in the Senate, legislative leaders are struggling to put together a budget. Lawmakers adjourned May 19 without a budget, and with each week that passes, Minnesota draws closer to a partial government shutdown. Whether to end MinnesotaCare for people like Micaela has proven among the most contentious issues and could make it difficult for leaders to get DFL votes for a budget deal without health care for immigrants. Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, who volunteers as an emergency medical technician, said he feels compassion for those who need access to health care, but lawmakers have to ensure the system is solvent to serve "law-abiding Minnesotans." Backer, co-chair of the House Health Finance and Policy Committee, said he has to "look at the whole ecosystem of our healthcare system." Micaela's appointment for her knee is just around the corner, and as she awaits treatment, she's heartbroken that MinnesotaCare might be revoked. To keep her spirits up, though it's exhausting, she says she'll keep coming to work.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shuttered private jail in Kansas considers prison cells for Trump's mass deportation plan
CoreCivic's Leavenworth Detention Center could serve as a detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Allison Kite/Missouri Independent). The immigrant detainee, a client of Rekha Sharma-Crawford, would have to be moved. Chase County Detention Center was full. Located in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, it's the largest detainee holding center in the region contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Sharma-Crawford, a longtime immigration attorney, saw something more foreboding when she heard the recent news about her client: The Trump administration's rhetoric promising mass deportations was taking shape. 'I think sweeps are increasing,' she said. 'Clearly, more people are being detained.' A database of ICE records lists the Chase County jail as having an average immigration-related census of about 79 people, as of Feb. 8, 2025. As of Feb. 26, about 115 people were being held there with immigration-related issues. The vast majority were Latino men listed as 'deportable.' Mexican, Honduran, Guatemalan, Venezuelan and Colombian were common nationalities. But people from a wide range of other nations were also detained and listed as deportable or being in the country without legal status, including India, Congo, China, Rwanda and Sudan. County jails like Chase have long been where ICE holds people the agency plans to remove from the U.S. Sharma-Crawford's client was relocated to the Greene County Jail in Springfield, Missouri, which also is holding detainees for ICE. President Donald Trump's campaign promises of deporting all of the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, coupled with a lack of space for detainees, represents financial opportunity to privately operated prison companies. CoreCivic, an owner/operator of prisons, is attempting to reopen a shuttered federal prison in Leavenworth as a detention center capable of holding about 1,000 immigrants for an average stay of 51 days. Saturday, March 1, CoreCivic is holding an invitation-only luncheon and information session for stakeholders. The meeting will be at the former Leavenworth Detention Center, a pretrial federal prison which the Biden administration closed in 2021 after problems with staffing, violations of detainees' rights and safety issues, including attacks on guards. CoreCivic was its operator at that time. 'We would welcome the chance to speak with you directly and share some information about our company, the facility, and the positive impact we could have in the community,' the CoreCivic invitation reads. The invitations were sent Feb. 21, the same day that CoreCivic applied for a special-use permit for the former prison. Ryan Gustin, CoreCivic's director of public affairs, signed the emailed invites, noting, 'Our goal in all of this is to ensure we're being as open and transparent as possible.' The special-use permit must be considered by the Leavenworth Planning Commission and then the City Commission. The Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the special-use permit in a public hearing on April 7. Leavenworth's next City Commission meeting is March 11 and people are welcome to offer comments, limited to three minutes, said City Manager Scott Peterson. He noted that the City Commission is scheduled to begin formal consideration of the special-use permit on May 13. The commission does need to give city staff approval to negotiate on any agreements that would be necessary between CoreCivic, the city and ICE, in the case that the special-use permit is approved. Limited detention space might have kept the Trump administration from posting higher numbers of immigrants being held for deportation, according to a report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. That report found little evidence that immigration arrests and removals have increased over the Biden administration's recent record, despite Trump's heavy media campaign touting his intentions to deport record numbers. During the first week of February, detainees were released when the government reached 109% of capacity, which is 38,521 beds. But the numbers could rapidly escalate. Sharma-Crawford noted that the U.S. Senate has approved $350 billion for immigration enforcement. 'If what they are waiting on is more capacity, then opening up Leavenworth is like turning the tap on,' she said. CoreCivic's application for a special-use permit immediately sent off alarm bells. Immigrant rights advocates question if a rush to fill the space will unfairly sweep immigrants up, undercut their rights and deny them adequate legal representation. Gustin, in an email, defended the Nashville-based company's record, saying allegations of past problems of CoreCivic are used to 'score political points.' 'The fact is we operate with significant oversight and accountability from our government partners and always have,' Gustin wrote. CoreCivic describes its agreements with ICE as 'A valued but limited role in America's immigration system.' In February, the publicly traded company's CEO told investors that it was spending $40 million to upgrade some of its prisons in anticipation of new contracts with ICE as deportations increase. The Intercept also reported that CoreCivic was looking at detaining immigrant families. And it quoted CEO Damon Hininger saying that during his 32 years with the company, this 'is truly one of the most exciting periods.' Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas are among those monitoring CoreCivic's efforts to repurpose the Leavenworth site, efforts that began during the Biden administration. Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, called out CoreCivic's history as a prison operator, saying that it was notorious for violence and violations of human rights. For-profit federal prison an understaffed 'hell hole' of violence, death and drugs A 2017 audit was critical of the U.S. Marshals Service and its oversight of CoreCivic as the firm operated the Leavenworth Detention Center. The report, by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, cited issues with understaffing, triple bunking inmates in cells meant for two and other issues that raised safety concerns. 'The executive orders that we've seen from the president the last couple of weeks are ones that are callous, chaotic, cruel, and that will absolutely translate into what they're doing at this facility,' Kubic told KCUR's 'Up To Date.' Trump took office in January and immediately began issuing executive orders on immigration. Those orders included halting the arrival of refugees, people who had already been approved and vetted for resettlement in the U.S., and ending the protected status of others, making them eligible for deportation, despite dangerous conditions in their home countries. Federal judges have issued injunctions to at least temporarily halt many of the Trump initiatives. An estimated 3.3 % of the U.S. population are undocumented immigrants. Pew Research Center estimates that about one in 100 people in Missouri and nearly three in 100 in Kansas are undocumented. On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced a plan to expect undocumented immigrants who are 14 and older to register with the federal government. Failing to comply, which includes being fingerprinted and providing an address, would be punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has emphasized that many of the administration's efforts are in the hope that people will simply choose to leave the U.S., also known as self-deporting. Noem filmed two advertisements. One focused on immigrants already in the U.S. and the other on those considering entering the country without the proper documents. 'If you come to our country and you break our laws, we will hunt you down,' Noem says in the video. CoreCivic's plans for a detention center, which it calls the Midwest Regional Reception Center, and concern about immigrant families being targeted were top of mind for many who attended a rally Feb. 23 in Kansas City. The group represented a wide range of people — immigrants, people who were first and second generation, elected officials and others. Speakers emphasized that diligence would be necessary to counter efforts to demonize and target immigrants. Ivan Ramirez took the mic and encouraged continued engagement with community leaders and elected officials who identify as allies of the immigrant community. 'Our power comes when we come together,' Ramirez said. This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ogallala Aquifer drops by more than a foot in parts of western Kansas
Sprinklers irrigate a field in Hamilton County, Kansas. Decades of irrigation has slowly drained the Ogallala Aquifer. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector) Aquifer levels in parts of western Kansas that rely on groundwater for everything from drinking to irrigation fell more than a foot last year, Kansas Geological Survey scientists said Tuesday. The Kansas Geological Survey earlier this month completed its annual campaign to measure the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies the western one-third of the state with water. The Ogallala, the largest underground store of freshwater in the nation, has been declining for decades because of overuse to irrigate crops in otherwise arid parts of the state. According to preliminary data presented to the Kansas House Water Committee, aquifer levels in the groundwater management area covering southwest Kansas fell by 1.52 feet between January 2024 and this month, a larger drop than the 1.43-foot decline the year before. Western Kansas' management area saw a half-foot decline, on par with the year before. Northwest Kansas, which has been struggling with dry conditions, saw the aquifer decline 1.34 feet, a far more significant drop than the 0.47-foot drop between January 2023 and 2024. The figures are preliminary. The Kansas Geological Survey's official report will be out in a few weeks, said Jay Kalbas, director of the survey. Each year in January, the geological survey — with the help of local partners — measures hundreds of wells across western Kansas to assess the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer. The effort takes them to remote parts of the state where they stomp through corn fields to get to isolated wells and measure them using steel highway tape. This year, the surface of the water in one well was 485 feet. 'This is technically rigorous, difficult work,' Kalbas said. 'It's also physically rigorous and difficult work.' The Ogallala Aquifer has been in decline since the mid-20th Century. After World War II, a boom in groundwater irrigation transformed arid western Kansas into an agricultural powerhouse. But the aquifer refills far more slowly than farmers are draining it, leading to a gradual decline. Parts of western Kansas where the aquifer is especially deep still have decades of water left, while others are near dry already. State lawmakers have begun putting pressure on local groundwater managers to make a plan to slow the decline. But farmers don't have to stop pumping groundwater to irrigate crops altogether, Kalbas said. The survey has developed estimates for how much producers need to reduce pumping to stabilize the aquifer. Kalbas presented a graph showing farmers and other water users on one part of the aquifer needed to reduce pumping by 17.5% to stabilize the supply. Other parts of the aquifer might not need to cut back as much — or might need to reduce pumping even more. 'We don't have to stop irrigating,' Kalbas said. 'We don't have to stop using our water. That resource is there for us to use. What we have to do, though, is define the specific amount of reduction that it takes…to achieve stability.'
