Latest news with #Castro
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Well-known Arizona forager dubbed the ‘mushroom man' faces deportation
As potent monsoon storms awaken a dormant desert around this time each year, Hernan Castro prepares to head for the southern Arizona mountains to forage for mushrooms that are a centerpiece of his life. Castro's passion for mushroom cultivation and ethical harvesting has earned him the nickname 'mushroom man' in his hometown of Tucson. A self-trained mycology expert and regular fixture at farmers markets, he makes a living leading foraging trips to mushroom-rich places and selling fungi-related products through his online business, Desert Alchemist. But this summer, Castro is not free to scour the landscape for fungi that thrive in moist environments and help sustain his livelihood. The lawful immigrant sits behind bars for omitting a decades-old brush with the law when he applied for citizenship – something that now threatens his life in the United States amid the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement across the nation. Castro, who came to the US from Mexico, has been a permanent legal resident and green card holder for more than 20 years. But on 31 May, he was arrested for not disclosing a drug arrest that dates back to his teenage years, on his 2022 citizenship application. He has been in detention ever since, and is now facing a trial on immigration fraud charges and possible deportation. Friends and supporters are rallying around him and donating to a GoFundMe for his legal expenses that has raised more than $32,000. 'He's been in the US this whole time and he's had legal status,' said Cora Peterson, Castro's friend. 'I think it's very unfair that he was detained.' Legal experts, meanwhile, say Castro's case is yet another sign of the Trump administration's heavy-handed approach. Over the past several months, the president's push for mass deportations of violent immigrants who are in the country unlawfully has expanded a crackdown across states to include those with minor offenses or no criminal records. Stricter enforcement also has ensnared immigrants with legal status – including law-abiding people with deep roots in the community – and even some US citizens. This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. According to a 28 May indictment from the US attorney's office of Arizona, Castro, 37, falsely answered 'no' to the question: 'Have you ever sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs or narcotics?' on his application for US naturalization – known as an N-400 form. Castro, who has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges, is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing on Wednesday in the US district court in Tucson, with his trial due to begin in September. His right to remain in the US will depend on the outcome, but he faces the prospect of losing his legal status and being deported. His lawyer, Matthew Green, declined to discuss the case but said his client remains in the custody of US marshals. A wrong answer on immigration forms like the N-400 can have serious consequences for applicants navigating a complex system, said Linda Dakin-Grimm, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles. 'Misrepresenting something, leaving something out can result in your status being taken away,' she said. Fraud in the citizenship application process is unusual, Dakin-Grimm said. But she expects to see prosecution in cases that might happen from time to time because the Trump administration 'has plainly shifted enforcement priorities'. Mo Goldman, a Tucson immigration attorney, agreed that while cases like Castro's are relatively uncommon, they are probably getting heightened scrutiny these days. While in the past alternatives to detention might have been considered, he said, that may no longer apply. 'Right now, we're seeing a much greater emphasis on taking people's green cards away. They're trying to deport more people.' Peterson also believes that what's happening to Castro is related to Donald Trump's clampdown on 'all sorts of immigration issues', and hopes her friend will be able to beat the charges and return home. 'He's a well-respected member of the community.' Castro said his foray into the world of medicinal mushrooms began in earnest about 10 years ago, according to an interview he gave on a 2023 episode of the Myco Guild podcast, when he began researching their healing properties to help his father recover from a series of strokes after an unfavorable prognosis. While he noted that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved medicinal mushrooms for medical conditions, Castro credits fungi extract as a critical factor in his father's recovery. A couple of years ago, Peterson used to interact regularly with Castro at farmers markets where they both sold mushroom products. 'He's been doing mushroom walks,' she said. 'He's been just sharing his knowledge, his botanical and fungal knowledge.' Scott Huette met Castro at a venue where the mushroom forager had set up a booth showcasing his products. While Huette said the fraud allegations are serious, he doesn't see why someone who poses no harm to the community needs to be incarcerated while the case moves through the court system. 'Here's somebody who I've met, who I feel contributes to the community, and I think is doing something relevant.' Like Peterson, Huette also contributed toward Castro's legal expenses. 'I just felt like supporting a community member who's in trouble, who needs assistance,' Huette said. 'I'd like to see that he has an opportunity to defend himself.'
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
This US forager is a fixture of Tucson known as the ‘mushroom man'. Now he faces deportation
As potent monsoon storms awaken a dormant desert around this time each year, Hernan Castro prepares to head for the southern Arizona mountains to forage for mushrooms that are a centerpiece of his life. Castro's passion for mushroom cultivation and ethical harvesting has earned him the nickname 'mushroom man' in his hometown of Tucson. A self-trained mycology expert and regular fixture at farmers markets, he makes a living leading foraging trips to mushroom-rich places and selling fungi-related products through his online business. But this summer, Castro is not free to scour the landscape for fungi that thrive in moist environments and help sustain his livelihood. The lawful immigrant sits behind bars for omitting a decades-old brush with the law when he applied for citizenship – something that now threatens his life in the United States amid the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement across the nation. Castro, who came to the US from Mexico, has been a permanent legal resident and green card holder for more than 20 years. But on 31 May, he was arrested for not disclosing a drug arrest that dates back to his teenage years, on his 2022 citizenship application. He has been in detention ever since, and is now facing a trial on immigration fraud charges and possible deportation. Friends and supporters are rallying around him and donating to a GoFundMe for his legal expenses that has raised more than $32,000. 'He's been in the US this whole time and he's had legal status,' said Cora Peterson, Castro's friend. 'I think it's very unfair that he was detained.' Legal experts, meanwhile, say Castro's case is yet another sign of the Trump administration's heavy-handed approach. Over the past several months, the president's push for mass deportations of violent immigrants who are in the country unlawfully has expanded a crackdown across states to include those with minor offenses or no criminal records. Stricter enforcement also has ensnared immigrants with legal status – including law-abiding people with deep roots in the community – and even some US citizens. According to a 28 May indictment from the US attorney's office of Arizona, Castro, 37, falsely answered 'no' to the question: 'Have you ever sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs or narcotics?' on his application for US naturalization – known as an N-400 form. Castro, who has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges, is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing on Wednesday in the US district court in Tucson, with his trial due to begin in September. His right to remain in the US will depend on the outcome, but he faces the prospect of losing his legal status and being deported. His lawyer, Matthew Green, declined to discuss the case but said his client remains in the custody of US marshals. A wrong answer on immigration forms like the N-400 can have serious consequences for applicants navigating a complex system, said Linda Dakin-Grimm, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles. 'Misrepresenting something, leaving something out can result in your status being taken away,' she said. Fraud in the citizenship application process is unusual, Dakin-Grimm said. But she expects to see prosecution in cases that might happen from time to time because the Trump administration 'has plainly shifted enforcement priorities'. Mo Goldman, a Tucson immigration attorney, agreed that while cases like Castro's are relatively uncommon, they're likely getting heightened scrutiny these days. While in the past alternatives to detention might have been considered, he said, that may no longer apply. 'Right now, we're seeing a much greater emphasis on taking people's green cards away. They're trying to deport more people.' Peterson also believes that what's happening to Castro is related to Donald Trump's clampdown on 'all sorts of immigration issues', and hopes her friend will be able to beat the charges and return home. 'He's a well-respected member of the community.' Castro said his foray into the world of medicinal mushrooms began in earnest about 10 years ago, according to an interview he gave on a 2023 episode of the Myco Guild podcast, when he began researching their healing properties to help his father recover from a series of strokes after an unfavorable prognosis. While he noted that the food and drug administration has not approved medicinal mushrooms for medical conditions, Castro credits fungi extract as a critical factor in his father's recovery. A couple of years ago, Peterson used to interact regularly with Castro at farmers markets where they both sold mushroom products. 'He's been doing mushroom walks,' she said. 'He's been just sharing his knowledge, his botanical and fungal knowledge.' Scott Huette met Castro at a venue where the mushroom forager had set up a booth showcasing his products. While Huette said the fraud allegations are serious, he doesn't see why someone who poses no harm to the community needs to be incarcerated while the case moves through the court system. 'Here's somebody who I've met, who I feel contributes to the community, and I think is doing something relevant.' Like Peterson, Huette also contributed toward Castro's legal expenses. 'I just felt like supporting a community member who's in trouble, who needs assistance,' Huette said. 'I'd like to see that he has an opportunity to defend himself.'
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
High Court suspends physio who administered unlicensed Botox-like product
A physiotherapist who administered an unlicensed Botox-like product to a number of clients and was found guilty of poor professional performance has been suspended for three months by the High Court. High Court president Mr Justice David Barniville confirmed the sanction of CORU the regulatory body of health and social care professionals to suspend the Dublin physiotherapist from the Register of Physiotherapists for three months starting in October. Physiotherapist, Igor Castro, who operates a practice on O'Connell St in Dublin, appeared before a fitness-to-practise inquiry earlier this year over his use and promotion of Liztox, a Korean botulinum toxin product similar to Botox which is used for aesthetic treatments. The CORU fitness-to-practise committee found an allegation proven that Mr Castro had administered Liztox to three clients at his practice in October 2023. The committee also found it proven that the Brazilian native had posted one or more posts on his Instagram account between October and November 2023 promoting the fact that he was administering the Botox-like product to clients. In the High Court on Monday, CORU solicitor JP McDowell of Fieldfisher solicitors said the committee regarded it as a very serious matter 'and it goes to the issue of public safety'. He said mitigating factors were considered including that Mr Castro had 'considerable insight into the error of his ways'. Confirming the suspension to begin in October, Mr Justice David Barniville noted that Mr Castro had made a full admission and was very apologetic for what happened. Fitness-to-practise inquiry At the CORU fitness-to-practise committee inquiry last January the inquiry's chairwoman, Geraldine Feeney, said the committee made its findings on the basis of Mr Castro's own admissions and the uncontroverted evidence of a number of witnesses, including an enforcement officer with the Health Products Regulatory Authority. She said Mr Castro's actions in administering Liztox when it was outside his scope as a physiotherapist also represented breaches of the profession's code of professional conduct and ethics, Ms Feeney added. The committee observed that an expert witness had pointed out that Mr Castro was not legally qualified to administer an unlicensed product which was a 'potentially harmful substance'. Ms Feeney said the physiotherapist had demonstrated extremely poor judgement and brought the profession into disrepute. She acknowledged that Mr Castro had co-operated fully from the outset with an investigation by the HPRA, and subsequently the CORU inquiry, and had made complete admissions about his conduct which she said had demonstrated insight into his wrongdoing. She noted that the committee was satisfied that there was little or no risk that Mr Castro would repeat the conduct in future based on his evidence, insight, and statement of regret. She acknowledged that he had provided the inquiry with several references which described him as a 'conscientious and good' physiotherapist. Ms Feeney said the committee was also impressed by the fact that Mr Castro was undertaking continuous education for the purpose of improving his skills and providing physiotherapy services. Read More Physio who gave Botox-like drug to clients found guilty of professional misconduct
NBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- NBC News
LGBTQ rights group Human Rights Campaign launches tour through mostly red states
The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBTQ rights organization, is taking its LGBTQ equality message on the road with a multicity tour focused on changing more hearts and minds, particularly in red states. The 'American Dreams Tour' will kick off Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, and travel to cities in predominantly Republican-led states through November. The tour's goal, according to HRC, is to amplify LGBTQ people's stories 'at a time of rising political attacks and cultural erasure' and 'celebrate the communities pushing back against hate and fighting for a future of equality for all.' 'For half a century, our movement has changed hearts and minds with our stories — Harvey Milk in the Castro, Pedro Zamora on the Real World, trans youth and parents coming forward in statehouses across the country. When people know who we really are, everything changes. This tour is about reclaiming that legacy,' Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. 'We're traveling to the places where harm is happening—and where hope is rising. We're showing up for communities who've been told they don't belong and reminding them, and the country, that they are the American dream.' The tour will 'anchor' in six major cities — Columbus; Las Vegas; Washington, D.C.; Dallas; Atlanta; and Nashville, Tennessee — with other stops to be announced in the coming weeks, according to HRC. Each stop will be tailored to the issues queer people are facing in those particular locales. The Columbus stop, for example, will be centered on 'Ohio's legacy of LGBTQ+ activism while confronting today's political backslide and barriers to HIV care,' according to HRC, while Atlanta's stop will be in partnership with Atlanta Pride and will zero in on 'Black LGBTQ+ leadership and community-led care models.' The 'American Dreams Tour' comes at a precarious time for LGBTQ rights — and particularly transgender rights. So far this year, nearly 600 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S., according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union. And a report published last week by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD asserted that 300 anti-LGBTQ actions had come from the Trump administration since January. An NBC News analysis published in February found that lawmakers in at least nine states had recently introduced measures to try to chip away at same-sex couples' right to marry. "For the first time in decades, we're actually seeing a backslide in LGBTQ+ rights across this country, and we've got to do something," Robinson said Monday in an interview with MSNBC. "We've got to get back to basics in telling our stories and meeting people where they are, because we know that when we tell our stories, we not only change hearts and minds, we shift the way people behave, that they vote, that they advocate in their communities."
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Dodgers Land Pair of Twins Relievers, Infielder in Theoretical Trade
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. With more injuries than several teams combined, the Los Angeles Dodgers have no choice but to add to their bullpen at the trade deadline. Former general manager Jim Bowden knows the deadline better than most and predicts the Dodgers will go out and bring in Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and infielder Willi Castro from the Minnesota Twins. Here is the full trade breakdown: Los Angeles Dodgers acquire: RHP Jhoan Duran, RHP Griffin Jax, INF Willi Castro Minnesota Twins acquire: OF Josue De Paula (Dodgers No. 1 prospect), LHP Jackson Ferris (Dodgers No. 6 prospect), RHP Bobby Miller, OF Jaron Elkins (Dodgers No. 23 prospect) DENVER, CO - JULY 20: Relief pitcher Jhoan Duran #59 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 20, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. DENVER, CO - JULY 20: Relief pitcher Jhoan Duran #59 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 20, 2025 in Denver, Colorado."Duran has 15 saves and a 1.94 ERA over 46 appearances thanks to his overpowering triple-digit fastball," wrote Bowden. "He would immediately become the Dodgers' closer. Jax has 68 strikeouts in 44 innings with a 4.09 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, after logging a 2.03 ERA and 0.87 WHIP last season. Both are under team control through 2027. In addition, the Dodgers would land Castro, a valuable utilityman who can play all over the field and protect them against future injuries. Los Angeles always looks to acquire positional flexibility. Castro has a 112 OPS+ and will be a free agent after this season." The Dodgers would certainly better themselves by adding two quality relievers as well as Castro. With players like Kike Hernandez and Max Muncy being inconsistent at the plate, it would make sense to go out and grab an infielder like Castro, who is on an expiring deal, to try and some juice in the lineup. As for the Twins, this would be a great way for them to retool the roster and load up to push for a playoff spot next season. "In return, the Twins would land a haul," wrote Bowden. "They'd get a future middle-of-the-order impact bat in De Paula, who needs a lot of work defensively but has a chance to develop into an All-Star bat with power. De Paula, 20, is No. 17 in Keith Law's new ranking of the game's top prospects. They'd also get Ferris, who profiles as a mid-rotation starter but is still a couple of years away, and Miller, 26, a reclamation project who could benefit from a change of scenery. Elkins, a 20-year-old outfielder at High A, would be a throw-in to close the deal. But the key to the trade for the Twins would be De Paula, who has slashed .262/.409/.416 with 10 homers and 28 steals this season in High A." De Paula and Ferris would certainly be the prizes of this package as the Dodgers would be sending a lot back to Minnesota. Even Miller, who hasn't had the most success to this point in his career, could certainly benefit from a change of scenery and a place where he wouldn't face as much pressure like Sonny Gray when he left the Bronx. This is a trade that allows the Dodgers to go all-in at the deadline. Is it an overpay? Absolutely it is. However, it also sets them up as good as possible to become back-to-back World Series champions. And you can't put a price on that. More MLB: Red Sox Add Pitcher; Padres Get Outfielder in Insider's 3-Team Trade Proposal
