Latest news with #Guereca
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
BREAKING: Federal immigration raids hitting Omaha
Customers are perplexed to find a South Omaha store along the main South 24th Street business district closed at mid-morning Tuesday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) OMAHA — Multiple immigration enforcement operations unfolding throughout Omaha on Tuesday have all local elected Latino leaders out visiting various work sites, some South Omaha businesses shutting their doors for the time being and area residents checking in with each other in a frenzy. Latino leaders tracking the situation, posting about it on social media and speaking with workers said they had heard of up to a half-dozen worksites where federal immigration agents had visited. A man trying to get some goods at a South 24th Street store said he worked at Omaha's Nebraska Beef plant, which he said let him and other employees go home at mid-morning. Roger Garcia, chairman of the Douglas County board, announced during a county board meeting Tuesday that he had to leave because his community was 'being terrorized.' 'I have to depart,' he said. 'As we speak, there's word of at least two raids happening at this moment, so I have to go. I have to try and help.' He was among leaders posting in English and Spanish on social media to keep the community informed. Among the potentially targeted businesses Tuesday were Glenn Valley Foods, LALA's and JBS, processing and production plants in the eastern part of the city. Garcia said a company spokesperson told him there was no raid at JBS. State Sens. Dunixi Guereca and Margo Juarez of South Omaha gathered mid-morning with a half dozen other community representatives on South 24th Street. Guereca pointed at the quiet business corridor, the heart of Nebraska's largest Latino business district, and said: 'This is fear.' U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the moves. Local law enforcement agencies said they were not participating in the federal raids, but that they are providing agents and the public with traffic enforcement around targeted locations, as needed. Guereca said he was disappointed in the way federal agents carried out the operation, which he said created unnecessary fear for families, customers and merchants. 'Businesses closed their doors. Not only are folks not going to work, they're not consuming,' he said. Yesenia Peck, who heads the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, also came to the 24th Street district to check on businesses. As she approached one store, a customer was attempting to open the door, but it was locked. She said she knew of at least one foreign consulate office based in Omaha, the Guatemalan Consulate, that was sending a representative to an affected worksite. 'Everybody is scared right now. Businesses are closing,' she said. 'This is not life…' Peck said one merchant asked her, 'How are we going to pay the bills? Pay rent?' Martha Barrera, who owns a salon on 24th Street, said her workers have continued to accept customers, but she said people are in panic mode about what is happening outside the doors. She said she is happy that community leaders have offered information on rights and how to respond if federal agents were to come to her business or any others. She and others on the business corridor said their stores rely on Latino families and are worried about future commerce. Peck said she understands there are laws and people must abide by those. 'But this is not the way it should be done,' she said. 'Not cruelly.' 'What is happening right now is unbelievable. I've seen this kind of thing in other countries,' she said, including her homeland of Peru. 'It's just not the right way.' Saul Lopez, of LULAC National, was headed with other community members to pass out information about worker rights at workplaces and said a concern was for parents who might be separated from children. 'We're very worried right now about what's going on with the families.' A leader of an Omaha nonprofit that works with youths said Tuesday that the organization has been working to identify families whose working parent may have been detained and separated from their children. So far, the organization's leader said at least two kids in their care who are from two different families have a parent caught up in the operations. The organization was busy getting a hold of emergency contacts for the kids. Also Tuesday, immigration advocates and community leaders had turned a South Omaha organization into a sort of information headquarters to better understand and coordinate legal, outreach and response activities. This is a developing story. It was last updated at 2:25 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska lawmakers hear concerns, local to national, at South Omaha town hall
State Sen. Margo Juarez and State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha, both new Nebraska lawmakers this year, hold a town hall in South Omaha on Saturday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) OMAHA — A town hall in South Omaha, hosted by two freshmen Nebraska state lawmakers, drew about 50 people and questions ranging from local and state to national matters. State Sens. Margo Juarez and Dunixi Guereca of Omaha, in the first of what they said will be more joint community meetings, said that on some issues they will be a link to help constituents resolve problems with city or other officials. After a nearly two-hour session, the senators said they believed a key goal was accomplished — providing an open forum for people in their districts to express whatever concerns them. 'I realize there's frustrations with there not being more attention paid here in the community. Obviously that is why we are here today,' Juarez at one point told the group gathered in an auditorium at Omaha South High School. Among those in the audience were Roger Garcia, Douglas County Board chairman, Yanira Garcia, board member of the Regional Metro Transit Board, and Don Preister, a Bellevue City Councilman and founding member of the South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance. 'What we saw also is some real anxiety about what is going on on the federal level,' said Guereca, referring to questions raised about actions of the Trump administration. One audience member cited the president's resistance to judicial orders and how that filters to his community and Latinos. Others commented on the demise of Juarez's previous priority bill, Legislative Bill 299, which partly sought to allow immigrants — those with legal permission to work in the U.S. but who lack permanent residency — access to unemployment insurance benefits their employers pay into. Juarez explained to the group that the bill was crushed under the weight of a Trump administration threat that the state could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid. On state-related issues, perhaps the loudest reaction followed comments about the Legislature's actions seeking to weaken voter-passed protections for paid sick leave. In November, nearly 75% of Nebraska voters approved a ballot measure requiring businesses with over 20 employees to pay sick leave to eligible workers based on hours worked. A bill making its way through the Legislature seeks additional carveouts that would not require paid sick leave for workers ages 14 and 15, seasonal ag workers or workers in businesses with 10 or fewer employees. An audience member questioned why state lawmakers believe they need to make the law 'better.' 'I think if we voted for it, it's already better. Do they just think we can't be trusted with voting?' she said. Guereca and Juarez said they oppose changing the voter-approved law. 'We will continue to fight it,' Guereca said, saying that negotiations on the bill continue in the Legislature that wraps up its session in early June. A few audience members asked about the status of a Guereca bill that would allow local researchers quicker access to health data collected by the Nebraska Department of Human Services. Guereca said that DHHS cites a 'legal technicality' that effectively keeps local researchers waiting for the data a couple of years, when it is released by federal health officials. He is seeking to get Legislative Bill 446 on a path for passage yet this year, to allow certain qualified researchers quicker access to 'de-identified data.' 'If we're looking for alarming trends, waiting two years isn't going to cut it,' he said. The senators were somewhat divided on a movement that could raise the pay for lawmakers. Guereca said he was opposed: 'I knew what I was getting into,' he said. For Juarez, she said she is still contemplating, as she believes the $12,000 annual salary is a deterrent to running for the office, particularly for young people, and has created a legislative body that is not 'a good representation of the state.' 'I was able to run, not because I'm wealthy, but because I am retired so I have other monthly income coming in,' she said. Among other topics that surfaced were federal actions targeting immigrants. A South Omaha resident questioned the Omaha Police Department's impound lot operations. A 24th Street merchant aired frustrations with the homeless population frightening customers. 'We don't have in South Omaha a consistent ongoing voice of unity, of unified outrage, to confront government when it does things, not just nationally but locally,' said South Omaha activist Ben Salazar. Juarez and Guereca talked about other bills they have championed, the lawmaking process and invited participants to weigh in on how often they want town halls. One woman suggested at least once a month — 'because of the speed at which things are happening (nationally) that impact what you're doing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
FBI offers reward for info on man allegedly involved in robbery in Las Cruces
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The FBI and Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) are asking for the public's help to locate a man for his alleged involvement in the robbery of a bank in Las Cruces in February. The FBI Albuquerque Division said Daniel Guereca is allegedly involved in the robbery that happened at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, at the PNC Bank located at 3800 E. Lohman Ave. in Las Cruces. The FBI said Guereca entered the bank and demanded money from the teller. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money to him. Guereca is described as a Hispanic man of thin build. He is approximately 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 185 pounds, the FBI said. The FBI said Guereca was wearing a green hat, a black Adidas jacket with white stripes down the arms, a surgical mask, and glasses at the time of the robbery. In addition, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this suspect. 'Bank robbery carries a possible prison term of up to 20 years. The use of a gun, other dangerous weapon, toy gun, or hoax bomb device during the commission of a bank robbery can be punishable by a prison term of up to 25 years,' the FBI said. Anyone with information about this robbery is asked to contact the FBI at (505) 889-1300. Information about other bank/credit union robbers wanted by the FBI can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thousands attend women's march in downtown Los Angeles
Thousands of people marched in downtown Los Angeles Saturday to commemorate International Women's Day and advocate for the restoration and expansion of women's rights in the United States and worldwide. "For us, the main focus is making that sure that women understand that we are not equal yet," said Emiliana Guereca, founder of Women's March Foundation, which organized the Los Angeles event. "We have lost rights instead of gaining rights." Guereca said that marchers protested Trump administration actions and proposals to cut healthcare spending, restrict voting access and roll back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The march was created in 2017 following Trump's first inauguration. That year, organizers estimated 750,000 people attended what appeared to be the largest such event in Los Angeles since an immigration march in 2006. On Saturday, Guereca estimated 15,000 people participated, many of whom were young, first-time attendees. "Our fight is for those generations," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thousands attend women's march in downtown Los Angeles
Thousands of people marched in downtown Los Angeles Saturday to commemorate International Women's Day and advocate for the restoration and expansion of women's rights in the United States and worldwide. "For us, the main focus is making that sure that women understand that we are not equal yet," said Emiliana Guereca, founder of Women's March Foundation, which organized the Los Angeles event. "We have lost rights instead of gaining rights." Guereca said that marchers protested Trump administration actions and proposals to cut healthcare spending, restrict voting access and roll back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The march was created in 2017 following Trump's first inauguration. That year, organizers estimated 750,000 people attended what appeared to be the largest such event in Los Angeles since an immigration march in 2006. On Saturday, Guereca estimated 15,000 people participated, many of whom were young, first-time attendees. "Our fight is for those generations," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
