Latest news with #UnidosUS
Los Angeles Times
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
As ICE raids sweep through Southern California, grassroots groups become a lifeline for immigrants
David Cruz has never seen the Latino community face such pressure. Yet he's never felt more connected to it or more committed to his work. The urgency Cruz feels isn't unique. As the Trump administration's immigration crackdown leads to dozens of raids at homes and worksites across Southern California, community organizations like the one Cruz works for — League of United Latin American Citizens — are seeing an unprecedented surge in demand for their services. These organizations are responding to the crisis with expanded legal aid, educational outreach, and housing assistance. 'We work with everyone, and you don't have to be Latino to be a member … our mission is empowerment through education,' Cruz said. 'As people look out and are seeking more help, they're coming to us more and more. I like the fact that they're coming to us, and I get a chance to try and touch as many lives as possible.' That growing demand for support is not limited to Cruz's organization. Esperanza Immigrants Rights Project, a nonprofit focused on Latino advocacy through education and human rights programs, is seeing similar trends. Staff reports have responded by expanding community education efforts, including 'Know Your Rights' presentations. They've also partnered with housing providers such as homeless shelters to train staff on how to better assist the immigrants and migrants they serve. '[We're] really trying to take a step back and look at the people that we're serving as a whole person, and make sure that we're doing our best to meet all of the needs, especially during this time where a lot of them are telling us that they're really scared,' said Vanessa Cecena, director of holistic services and capacity building at Esperanza. Cecena emphasized that legal representation is especially important in immigration cases, where the system is often confusing and difficult to manage without help. She noted that many immigrants face challenges applying for citizenship or even understanding their rights in court. UnidosUS, a national Latino civil rights and advocacy group, works with a national network of local partners that provide legal and social services to immigrant families. 'Community-based organizations are oftentimes a place where members of the community are comfortable in getting information and going to them because they trust and rely on them,' said Laura Vazquez, director of immigrant integration at UnidosUS. During times of heightened immigration enforcement, Vazquez said these organizations help immigrants navigate a complex legal system and ensure that due process is upheld. Still, access to these services isn't always easy. Fernando Romero, the Associate Director of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles Immigrant and Refugee Resettlement program, said the insular nature of some communities makes it hard for newcomers to find support. 'These organizations have been around, but because the communities are so insular, they're not always easy to find unless you're already a member of the community,' Romero said. Los Angeles, home to one of the largest immigrant populations in the country, reflects many of these national concerns. Advocates note that undocumented residents have often lived in the U.S. for years and remain active contributors to their communities. According to Pew Research Center, 65% of Americans support allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. legally, with 36% backing a path to citizenship for those who meet specific requirements. Representatives from Chinese for Affirmative Action echoed the sense of fear among Chinese Americans. Staff pointed to increased anxiety tied to former President Donald Trump's renewed calls for mass deportation during his campaign. 'There's a lot of uncertainty right now,' said Sin Yen, Communications Director from Chinese for Affirmative Action. 'Immigrants need to stay informed about policy changes.' Yen's connection to the work is personal. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the 1970s. Her father was undocumented, and her mother was a green card holder. At the time, gaining legal status was more accessible. 'Every time we represent, whether it be a Chinese migrant or an El Salvadoran immigrant, it's an extension of my family,' she said. 'They have a stake in what happens in their community, and they are equally important as everybody else.' Related
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community Roundtable in Arizona Exposes Real-Life Consequences of Losing Health Premium Federal Tax Credits
TUCSON, Ariz., June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- UnidosUS, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, launched a campaign to protect the federal Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs), which are set to expire at the end of this year, and hosted a roundtable to encourage attendees to help expand the campaign's reach. As part of the initiative, community members were invited to sign a petition at to show their support for keeping health insurance affordable. Speakers urged participants to share the petition within their networks, highlighting that every signature helps elevate the voices of Arizonans who rely on these federal tax credits to access essential care and maintain financial stability. During the event, held at the Community Foundation Campus in Tucson, panelists discussed how the elimination of these federal tax subsidies could affect more than 300,000 people in Arizona — including thousands of Latino families — who currently rely on the EPTCs to keep their health coverage affordable through The roundtable brought together community leaders, public health experts and local government representatives and more than 40 attendees to discuss the potential consequences of the expiration of Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) in Arizona. "The conversations at today's roundtable made one thing clear: the potential elimination of these health tax credits is an alarming threat to 300,000 Arizonans," stated Carmen Feliciano, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS. "For a family earning around $30,000 a year, the estimated annual premiums could increase between $3,000 and $4,000, and this could put health coverage out of reach for working families across the state. That's a crisis we can't afford to ignore." "This isn't about politics— it's about people's lives," added Monica Sandschafer, Arizona State Director, Mi Familia en Acción. "These tax credits have helped working families stay healthy, afford their medications and get the care they need without falling into financial hardship." "The success of this event — and the strong response to the petition — shows that Arizona's communities are coming together with urgency and determination to protect access to affordable health care," said Enrique Davis-Mazlum, Arizona State Director of Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS. "This is just the first step in a long-term strategy to ensure our communities don't lose critical protections." This dialogue is part of UnidosUS's 2025 strategy to protect and expand health and economic security for working families, including Latino communities. In Arizona and across the country, the organization will continue creating spaces for conversation and action — ensuring that public policies reflect the realities and needs of the people who rely on them most. View original content: SOURCE Unidos US
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UnidosUS comes to KC for listening session with city, business and community leaders
A group of national Hispanic leaders met in Kansas City this week for a listening session with city legislators and local business leaders. There's a lot for this community to be worried about lately — news stories paint an anxious picture of changing immigration policies. Still, the tone was surprisingly upbeat. When asked what word they would use to describe how they felt Thursday morning at the Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center, words such as 'hopeful,' 'proud' and 'gratitude' were spoken. Only one 'uncertain' surfaced among the rest. Perhaps it's because this is a community that supports and uplifts each other because in these times it feels like that's all you can do. UnidosUS seeks to do more. The nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization has planned several of these listening sessions around the country with the goal of understanding concerns facing local residents. Headed by Kansas City, Kansas, native Janet Murguia, the organization seeks to close gaps and barriers facing Latinos. 'As we hear from our community, as we understand the challenges that our community is facing, it informs us even further with a level of authenticity that will give us strength to advance solutions,' she said. KC wasn't the first stop on this multicity listening tour, but in some ways, it was the most important. The UnidosUS national convention is in Kansas City this year, and Thursday's event was another opportunity to shine a spotlight on Murguia's hometown. After coffee, breakfast and the positive start, Murguia and Unidos/US Senior vice president for policy Eric Rodriguez offered some sober realities: 'To be honest, there's a shifting political landscape right now, and we're facing some tough headwinds. We've made it very clear that we are going to do everything we can to protect and defend our community,' Murguia said. The fears are real. Just this week, Kansas City's migrants, like others around the country, have found ICE officers waiting after court appointments. And in Massachusetts, a student on his way to volleyball practice was arrested by ICE and later released. Murguia and UnidosUS representatives spent two hours meeting with Kansas City leaders. Among the city, community and business representatives were John Fierro, President and CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City Councilman Crispin Rea, Jaime Guillen, who leads KC's Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department and Raytown Alderman Theresa Garza, among many others. The Beacons of Change annual conference comes to Kansas City August 5-7.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arellano: Guess who suddenly has a 'TACO' allergy? How a tasty sounding acronym haunts Trump
Guess who suddenly has a "TACO" allergy? President Yuge Taco Salad himself. In the annals of four-letter words and acronyms Donald Trump has long hitched his political fortunes on, the word "taco" may be easy to overlook. There's MAGA, most famously. DOGE, courtesy of Elon Musk. Huge (pronounced yuge, of course). Wall, as in the one he continues to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Love' for himself, 'hate' against all who stand in his way. There's a four-letter term, however, that best sums up Trump's shambolic presidency, one no one would've ever associated with him when he announced his first successful presidential campaign a decade ago. Taco. His first use of the most quintessential of Mexican meals happened on Cinco de Mayo 2016, when Trump posted a portrait of himself grinning in front of a giant taco salad while proclaiming 'I Love Hispanics!' Latino leaders immediately ridiculed his Hispandering, with UnidosUS president Janet Murguia telling the New York Times that it was 'clueless, offensive and self-promoting' while also complaining, 'I don't know that any self-respecting Latino would even acknowledge that a taco bowl is part of our culture.' Read more: Column: From Trump's taco bowl to Amy Klobuchar's Elena, when 'Hispandering' goes wrong I might've been the only Trump critic in the country to defend his decision to promote taco salads. After all, it's a dish invented by a Mexican American family at the old Casa de Fritos stand in Disneyland. But also because the meal can be a beautiful, crunchy thing in the right hands. Besides, I realized what Trump was doing: getting his name in the news, trolling opponents, and having a hell of a good time doing it while welcoming Latinos into his basket of deplorables as he strove for the presidency. Hey, you couldn't blame the guy for trying. Guess what happened? Despite consistently trashing Latinos, Trump increased his share of that electorate in each of his presidential runs and leaned on them last year to capture swing states like Arizona and Nevada. Latino Republican politicians made historic gains across the country in his wake — especially in California, where the number of Latino GOP legislators jumped from four in 2022 to a record nine. The Trump taco salad tweet allowed his campaign to present their billionaire boss to Latinos as just any other Jose Schmo ready to chow down on Mexican food. It used the ridicule thrown at him as proof to other supporters that elites hated people like them. Trump must have at least felt confident the taco salad gambit from yesteryear worked because he reposted the image on social media this Cinco de Mayo, adding the line 'This was so wonderful, 9 years ago today!' It's not exactly live by the taco, die by the taco. (Come on, why would such a tasty force of good want to hurt anyone)? But Trump is suddenly perturbed by the mere mention of TACO. That's an acronym mentioned in a Financial Times newsletter earlier this month that means Trump Always Chickens Out. The insult is in reference to the growing belief in Wall Street that people who invest in stocks should keep in mind that the president talks tough on tariffs but never follows through because he folds under pressure like the Clippers. Or a taco, come to think of it. Trump raged when CNBC reporter Megan Cassella asked him about TACO at a White House press conference this week. 'Don't ever say what you said,' the commander in chief snarled before boasting about how he wasn't a chicken and was actually a tough guy. 'That's a nasty question.' No other reporter followed up with TACO questions, because the rest of the internet did. Images of Trump in everything from taco suits to taco crowns to carnivorous tacos swallowing Trump whole have bloomed ever since. News outlets are spreading Trump's out-of-proportion response to something he could've just laughed off, while "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" just aired a parody song to the tune of "Macho Man" titled — what else? — "Taco Man." The TACO coinage is perfect: snappy, easily understandable, truthful and seems Trump-proof. The master of appropriating insults just can't do anything to make TACO his — Trump Always Cares Outstandingly just doesn't have the same ring. It's also a reminder that Trump's anti-Latino agenda so far in his administration makes a predictable mockery of his taco salad boast and related Hispandering. Read more: Hiltzik: Explaining the newest Wall Street craze — the 'TACO' trade In just over four months, Trump and his lackeys have tried to deport as many Latino immigrants — legal and illegal — as possible and has threatened Mexico — one of this country's vital trading partners — with a 25% tariff. He has signed executive orders declaring English the official language of the United States and seeking to bring back penalties against truck drivers who supposedly don't speak English well enough at a time when immigrants make up about 18% of the troquero force and Latinos are a big chunk of it. Meanwhile, the economy — the main reason why so many Latinos went for Trump in 2024 in the first place — hasn't improved since the Biden administration and always seems one Trump speech away from getting even wobblier. As for Latinos, there are some signs Trump's early presidency has done him no great favors with them. An April survey by the Pew Research Center — considered the proverbial gold standard when it comes to objectively gauging how Latinos feel about issues — found 27% of them approve of how he's doing as president, down from 36% back in February. Trump was always an imperfect champion of the taco's winning potential, and not because the fish tacos at his Trump Grill come with French fries (labeled "Idaho" on the menu) and the taco salad currently costs a ghastly $25. He never really understood that a successful taco must appeal to everyone, never shatter or rip apart under pressure and can never take itself seriously like a burrito or a snooty mole. The president needs to move on from his taco dalliance and pay attention to another four-letter word, one more and more Americans utter after every pendejo move Trump and his flunkies commit: Help. 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.
Los Angeles Times
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Guess who suddenly has a ‘TACO' allergy? How a tasty sounding acronym haunts Trump
Guess who suddenly has a 'TACO' allergy? President Yuge Taco Salad himself. In the annals of four-letter words and acronyms Donald Trump has long hitched his political fortunes on, the word 'taco' may be easy to overlook. There's MAGA, most famously. DOGE, courtesy of Elon Musk. Huge (pronounced yuge, of course). Wall, as in the one he continues to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Love' for himself, 'hate' against all who stand in his way. There's a four-letter term, however, that best sums up Trump's shambolic presidency, one no one would've ever associated with him when he announced his first successful presidential campaign a decade ago. Taco. His first use of the most quintessential of Mexican meals happened on Cinco de Mayo 2016, when Trump posted a portrait of himself grinning in front of a giant taco salad while proclaiming 'I Love Hispanics!' Latino leaders immediately ridiculed his Hispandering, with UnidosUS president Janet Murguia telling the New York Times that it was 'clueless, offensive and self-promoting' while also complaining, 'I don't know that any self-respecting Latino would even acknowledge that a taco bowl is part of our culture.' I might've been the only Trump critic in the country to defend his decision to promote taco salads. After all, it's a dish invented by a Mexican American family at the old Casa de Fritos stand in Disneyland. But also because the meal can be a beautiful, crunchy thing in the right hands. Besides, I realized what Trump was doing: getting his name in the news, trolling opponents, and having a hell of a good time doing it while welcoming Latinos into his basket of deplorables as he strove for the presidency. Hey, you couldn't blame the guy for trying. Guess what happened? Despite consistently trashing Latinos, Trump increased his share of that electorate in each of his presidential runs and leaned on them last year to capture swing states like Arizona and Nevada. Latino Republican politicians made historic gains across the country in his wake — especially in California, where the number of Latino GOP legislators jumped from four in 2022 to a record nine. The Trump taco salad tweet allowed his campaign to present their billionaire boss to Latinos as just any other Jose Schmo ready to chow down on Mexican food. It used the ridicule thrown at him as proof to other supporters that elites hated people like them. Trump must have at least felt confident the taco salad gambit from yesteryear worked because he reposted the image on social media this Cinco de Mayo, adding the line 'This was so wonderful, 9 years ago today!' It's not exactly live by the taco, die by the taco. (Come on, why would such a tasty force of good want to hurt anyone)? But Trump is suddenly perturbed by the mere mention of TACO. That's an acronym mentioned in a Financial Times newsletter earlier this month that means Trump Always Chickens Out. The insult is in reference to the growing belief in Wall Street that people who invest in stocks should keep in mind that the president talks tough on tariffs but never follows through because he folds under pressure like the Clippers. Or a taco, come to think of it. Trump raged when CNBC reporter Megan Cassella asked him about TACO at a White House press conference this week. 'Don't ever say what you said,' the commander in chief snarled before boasting about how he wasn't a chicken and was actually a tough guy. 'That's a nasty question.' No other reporter followed up with TACO questions, because the rest of the internet did. Images of Trump in everything from taco suits to taco crowns to carnivorous tacos swallowing Trump whole have bloomed ever since. News outlets are spreading Trump's out-of-proportion response to something he could've just laughed off, while 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' just aired a parody song to the tune of 'Macho Man' titled — what else? — 'Taco Man.' The TACO coinage is perfect: snappy, easily understandable, truthful and seems Trump-proof. The master of appropriating insults just can't do anything to make TACO his — Trump Always Cares Outstandingly just doesn't have the same ring. It's also a reminder that Trump's anti-Latino agenda so far in his administration makes a predictable mockery of his taco salad boast and related Hispandering. In just over four months, Trump and his lackeys have tried to deport as many Latino immigrants — legal and illegal — as possible and has threatened Mexico — one of this country's vital trading partners — with a 25% tariff. He has signed executive orders declaring English the official language of the United States and seeking to bring back penalties against truck drivers who supposedly don't speak English well enough at a time when immigrants make up about 18% of the troquero force and Latinos are a big chunk of it. Meanwhile, the economy — the main reason why so many Latinos went for Trump in 2024 in the first place — hasn't improved since the Biden administration and always seems one Trump speech away from getting even wobblier. As for Latinos, there are some signs Trump's early presidency has done him no great favors with them. An April survey by the Pew Research Center — considered the proverbial gold standard when it comes to objectively gauging how Latinos feel about issues — found 27% of them approve of how he's doing as president, down from 36% back in February. Trump was always an imperfect champion of the taco's winning potential, and not because the fish tacos at his Trump Grill come with French fries (labeled 'Idaho' on the menu) and the taco salad currently costs a ghastly $25. He never really understood that a successful taco must appeal to everyone, never shatter or rip apart under pressure and can never take itself seriously like a burrito or a snooty mole. The president needs to move on from his taco dalliance and pay attention to another four-letter word, one more and more Americans utter after every pendejo move Trump and his flunkies commit: Help.
