Latest news with #ElizabethRodriguez
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Celebrating culture at NEPA Latino Fiesta in Scranton
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The weather could not be better for a celebration of culture in Scranton. Ethnic music and dancing took over Nay Aug Park for the third annual NEPA Latino Fiesta. Crowds poured into the park to sample the sights and sounds, and enjoy various foods from Latin nations. Participants say this event is important to promote diversity in northeastern Pennsylvania. 20 years of jazz history brings music to Scranton 'There is a lot of culture here, and so we definitely want to celebrate everybody's culture and have fun and just enjoy this great day,' Ashley Tapia with Chanitos Ice Cream told 28/22 News. 'We stand by the Latino community, and this is our way of letting them know you're not alone. We value you and you are an attribute to our community,' NEPA Latino Fiesta Co-Founder and Organizer Elizabeth Rodriguez said. Organizers say even though there was a smaller crowd this year, they hope they can continue the NEPA Latino Fiesta in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
19-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
How Trump's anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry
The Trump administration's assault on immigrants is starting to hit the American food supply. In Texas, farmers who have for years depended on undocumented people for cheap labor – to plant, harvest and haul produce – have reported that workers are staying home to avoid raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). In Los Angeles, restaurants and food trucks have been forced to close as the immigrants who cook and wait tables fear Ice and other law enforcement. 'Farm workers in many states are thinking about leaving the country because they are facing more obstacles to work under this anti-immigrant administration,' said Elizabeth Rodriguez, director of farm worker advocacy with National Farm Worker Ministry, a longstanding organization in south Texas. 'They are scared, there are fewer opportunities, and they are no longer prospering here. Their fear will soon be seen in the harvest, when the quantities of produce are depleted.' From farm to table, at least one in five jobs in the food industry is carried out by immigrants, the equivalent of 14 million workers across the sector. This includes 27% of agricultural workers nationwide and 33% of meatpackers. In restaurants, 46% of chefs and 31% of cooks were born outside the US – mostly in Mexico, China, Guatemala and El Salvador. These jobs are critical: immigrants made up a disproportionate number of 'essential' workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many were exposed to unsafe conditions so that crops could be harvested, cows milked and takeout delivered. 'Whether it's the workers behind the scenes in meatpacking plants or on the frontlines of the grocery store, our country relies heavily on the labor of immigrants to keep our food system running and our families fed,' said Mark Lauritsen, international vice-president at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. 'Without a stable, skilled workforce, safety and quality can decline, shelves can sit empty and grocery prices could rise even more.' Yet food industry jobs, from fields to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to delivery drivers, are notoriously difficult and often low-paid: sometimes as little as $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage. Farmhands are often paid only a few dollars per box of tomatoes or cabbages harvested - backbreaking work with no shade. American food companies rely on undocumented people for almost half of the most physical jobs, including the farm laborers who cultivate crops, tend livestock and build fences, as well as the meat processors who slaughter, eviscerate and package at high speeds. Most Americans understand this. In the run-up to last year's election, 75% of registered voters told Pew Research that they believed undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs US citizens don't want to do. And now, with Ice raids and mass deportations, these jobs have become even more dangerous. At least one farm worker, Jaime Alanís, a 57-year-old Mexican man, has died after falling from a greenhouse trying to escape armed Ice agents during a raid in southern California last week. In response to these terrifying Ice raids which are spreading and becoming more violent, some farm workers in California are planning a strike in coming weeks and will be calling on consumers to boycott produce. 'It is appalling to see the threat of violence and deportation that immigrant workers face every day. These people play a crucial role in restaurants, and more importantly in the community,' said Elyanna Calle, a restaurant worker in Austin, Texas, and president of Restaurant Workers United. 'A raid, a deportation means the destruction of a life someone has fought to build; it means the destruction of families and vibrant communities. I have seen my co-workers fear for their safety, I have seen them go into fight or flight mode at the prospect of an Ice raid – this is not something that any person, any immigrant deserves.' If the Trump administration oversees even a fraction of its promised mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants, it could lead to major disruptions across the food system: crops left to spoil in the fields, supermarket shelves unstocked, takeout deliveries delayed and food prices soaring even higher. It could also upend rural economies that depend on migrant workers and their families who live, work and go to school in small declining communities. 'All of this will have a huge impact on the rest of us because the immigrant community contributes much more than their labor; they pay taxes,' said Rodriguez. 'They invest in the economy, and if they make less money, we all make less, and when corporations make less, they increase prices so we lose again.' Data for this piece, unless otherwise noted, come from the Migration Policy Institute
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
How Trump's anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry
The Trump administration's assault on immigrants is starting to hit the American food supply. In Texas, farmers who have for years depended on undocumented people for cheap labor – to plant, harvest and haul produce – have reported that workers are staying home to avoid raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). In Los Angeles, restaurants and food trucks have been forced to close as the immigrants who cook and wait tables fear Ice and other law enforcement. 'Farm workers in many states are thinking about leaving the country because they are facing more obstacles to work under this anti-immigrant administration,' said Elizabeth Rodriguez, director of farm worker advocacy with National Farm Worker Ministry, a longstanding organization in south Texas. 'They are scared, there are fewer opportunities, and they are no longer prospering here. Their fear will soon be seen in the harvest, when the quantities of produce are depleted.' From farm to table, at least one in five jobs in the food industry is carried out by immigrants, the equivalent of 14 million workers across the sector. This includes 27% of agricultural workers nationwide and 33% of meatpackers. In restaurants, 46% of chefs and 31% of cooks were born outside the US – mostly in Mexico, China, Guatemala and El Salvador. These jobs are critical: immigrants made up a disproportionate number of 'essential' workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many were exposed to unsafe conditions so that crops could be harvested, cows milked and takeout delivered. 'Whether it's the workers behind the scenes in meatpacking plants or on the frontlines of the grocery store, our country relies heavily on the labor of immigrants to keep our food system running and our families fed,' said Mark Lauritsen, international vice-president at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. 'Without a stable, skilled workforce, safety and quality can decline, shelves can sit empty and grocery prices could rise even more.' Yet food industry jobs, from fields to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to delivery drivers, are notoriously difficult and often low-paid: sometimes as little as $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage. Farmhands are often paid only a few dollars per box of tomatoes or cabbages harvested - backbreaking work with no shade. American food companies rely on undocumented people for almost half of the most physical jobs, including the farm laborers who cultivate crops, tend livestock and build fences, as well as the meat processors who slaughter, eviscerate and package at high speeds. Most Americans understand this. In the run-up to last year's election, 75% of registered voters told Pew Research that they believed undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs US citizens don't want to do. And now, with Ice raids and mass deportations, these jobs have become even more dangerous. At least one farm worker, Jaime Alanís, a 57-year-old Mexican man, has died after falling from a greenhouse trying to escape armed Ice agents during a raid in southern California last week. In response to these terrifying Ice raids which are spreading and becoming more violent, some farm workers in California are planning a strike in coming weeks and will be calling on consumers to boycott produce. 'It is appalling to see the threat of violence and deportation that immigrant workers face every day. These people play a crucial role in restaurants, and more importantly in the community,' said Elyanna Calle, a restaurant worker in Austin, Texas, and president of Restaurant Workers United. 'A raid, a deportation means the destruction of a life someone has fought to build; it means the destruction of families and vibrant communities. I have seen my co-workers fear for their safety, I have seen them go into fight or flight mode at the prospect of an Ice raid – this is not something that any person, any immigrant deserves.' If the Trump administration oversees even a fraction of its promised mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants, it could lead to major disruptions across the food system: crops left to spoil in the fields, supermarket shelves unstocked, takeout deliveries delayed and food prices soaring even higher. It could also upend rural economies that depend on migrant workers and their families who live, work and go to school in small declining communities. 'All of this will have a huge impact on the rest of us because the immigrant community contributes much more than their labor; they pay taxes,' said Rodriguez. 'They invest in the economy, and if they make less money, we all make less, and when corporations make less, they increase prices so we lose again.' Data for this piece, unless otherwise noted, come from the Migration Policy Institute
Axios
24-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
San Antonio students struggle to recover from COVID
Students in Texas K–12 public schools are on average about half a grade behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and nearly one third of a grade level below in reading, data shows. Why it matters: The Education Recovery Scorecard provides an in-depth look, at the district level, of where Texas students' academic recovery from COVID stood last spring, before federal relief funding expired. How it works: The data, released last month, marks the third year of reports from researchers at Harvard and Stanford universities. The big picture: Texas ranked 31st among states for its recovery in math, but it did much better — ranking No. 8 — for its reading recovery. Elizabeth Rodriguez, a fourth-grade teacher at Agnes Cotton Academy in San Antonio ISD, told the SA Report that students may be scoring better in reading because it's an "easier subject to teach." "We all kind of know how to read, and we can support our kids in that," she said. But parents may be less familiar with math material, she added. Between the lines: Across Texas, more students are chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10% of classes in a school year. In 2019, 11% of Texas students were chronically absent. That figure stood at 21% in 2023. Zoom in: Recovery is not equal across local districts. Students at San Antonio ISD are more than one grade behind 2019 math achievement levels. Those at Northside ISD, the city's largest district, are about three-fourths of a grade level behind in math. The bottom line: "The rescue phase is over," Tom Kane, director of Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research, said in a statement.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Yahoo
HPD asking for public's help in search for missing 77-year-old
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu Police Department is asking for the public's help in finding a missing senior with dementia, who was last seen on March 7. Elizabeth Rodriguez, 77, was last seen leaving her residence on Kapiolani Boulevard around 4 p.m. According to authorities, Rodriguez is known to frequent in the McCully, Kapahulu and Makiki is described as 5 feet 2 inches, 110 pounds, gray hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing blue jogging pants and a gray sweatshirt. She is of Filipino descent. Anybody with any information is urged to contact the Honolulu Police Department by calling 911 or by contacting the Missing Persons Detail at (808) 723-3670. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
