Supreme Court Sides With Government On Asylum Appeals Case

Speaker 1: 00:00 The Supreme court makes a ruling on asylum. Speaker 2: 00:03 The court of appeals is going to have to defer to those lower administrative findings. Speaker 1: 00:10 I'm Jade Hindman with Maureen Kavanaugh. This is KPBS mid-day edition. The red tape standing in the way of tenants who need rent relief. Speaker 3: 00:28 Yeah, the stress of the pandemic, the stress of trying to make ends meet the stress of am I going to have a roof and Speaker 1: 00:35 Bigger and more destructive wildfires are predicted for the summer and giving actor Juanita more posthumous recognition that's ahead on midday edition. As thousands of asylum seekers await their chance to argue why they should be allowed to stay in the U S a unanimous decision by the us Supreme court today could impact the outcome of some of those cases. The ruling written by justice, Neil Gorsuch invalidated an earlier decision by California's ninth circuit court of appeals on what a judge could consider when reviewing an asylum appeal. Joining me now to discuss the decision is Dan Eaton, legal analyst and partner at the San Diego firm of seltzer Caplan McMahon. And Vitech Dan, welcome. Good to be with you Jade, remind us what was at stake with this decision. It was a lot Speaker 2: 01:39 At stake. The question is, uh, whose facts, uh, kind of, uh, court of appeals, uh, decide is right. Do you consider the facts as they were found, uh, by the immigration law judge and the board of immigration appeals, uh, in finding against, uh, these two particular individuals. So one who was seeking relief from removal, the other of whom was seeking asylum, or do you consider the alternative facts that are offered by these individuals? And what the court of appeals said was, look, when we are looking at these questions, we have to deem as true, the alternative facts that are offered from those that are seeking either relief from removal or asylum, uh, for purposes of determining whether they are entitled to relief. And we are not going to give any deference to the alternative conclusions of the board of immigration appeals, opposite and explicit finding, uh, that the individual seeking relief were not credible. And what are the key points Speaker 1: 02:42 Of justice Gorsuch's decision? Well, the key Speaker 2: 02:45 Points are basically this, that, uh, the ninth circuit got it wrong when it said that we are obligated under the immigration and nationality act to accept as true, the alternative stories of visa immigrants, without regard to the contrary findings of the immigration authorities, that's just a judge-made rule. Appeals courts are not well equipped to decide the credibility of people that are petitioning for relief. And what judge Gorsuch said is what you should have decided the rule you should have decided and used is the one that generally applies when you're reviewing administrative decisions. And the issue is that if no reasonable adjudicator could, uh, find, uh, as the administrative agency found, then, uh, you can find in favor of the asylum seeker or the person seeking relief from removal. Otherwise you really have to defer to the administrative agency. And in this case, the administrative agency ruled against both the person seeking asylum. It was from China and the person seeking relief from removal who was from Mexico. You Speaker 1: 04:02 Mentioned the two cases, this decision consolidated. Will you tell us more about those cases? Sure. Speaker 2: 04:07 The first one, uh, concerned a man, uh, by the name of, uh, Alcatraz Henriquez, who was captured, uh, for being in this country unlawfully from Mexico. He said, look, I am intelligent relief from removal, uh, back to Mexico because I'm afraid of, uh, for my life, if I'm re returned there, here's the problem. Uh, Congress has specifically said that you're not eligible for relief from removal. If you have been convicted of a serious crime. And in fact, uh, years before he had been convicted of a serious crime of, of battering a cohabited in this case, his girlfriend, uh, what, uh, Mr. [inaudible] said was, yeah, I know what the parole reports, what the probation report said in that case that I beat her and dragged her and so forth. But the fact is I was actually protecting my daughter. And that's why I am entitled to relief from removal. Speaker 2: 05:03 Ninth circuit said, well, we've got to consider that to be true in the case of the Chinese individual, Mr. Di uh, Mr. Dye said, I am concerned if that, if I'm returned, I'm going to be persecuted in China because my wife, uh, there were some issues with family planning and the Chinese authorities taking a particularly aggressive action. When my wife got pregnant with our second child, forcing her to have an abortion. And he had a, he had a different version of the, of the story. And, uh, basically the immigration authorities didn't, uh, said, no, there's not enough here for asylum on the one hand and relief from removal on the other. And basically what the ninth circuit said was that we have to believe the alternative facts being offered by these, the immigrants in the United States, Supreme court said, no, you actually don't. You should defer absent, uh, an indication that no reasonable adjudicator of facts of what have found as the immigration authorities did. Speaker 1: 06:07 So now the ninth circuit will have to rehear the cases of Ming Dai and Caesar Alcaraz Rica is based on the Supreme court decision. Is that right? Well, we Speaker 2: 06:17 Hear isn't quite right. They'll have to reconsider it certain way based on a standard that is very different from the one that they used. And that is a standard of deference to these administrative findings that went against both gentlemen. It means the bottom line is that it is making less, [inaudible] less likely, uh, that these individuals are going to, uh, get the relief that they are seeking. And that the ninth circuit said they were entitled to nine circuit found, realized that Mr. Alvarez Enriquez was entitled to relief from removal. That is he could stay. And Mr. Dye was entitled to asylum. That is going to have to be reconsidered. And in light of the findings below and the administrative findings below, it is unlikely that these men will prevail not a possible, but unlikely. Speaker 1: 07:03 And I think the key question here is how will this ruling affect the thousands of people who are currently seeking asylum? It's not Speaker 2: 07:09 Entirely clear because these cases are so fact-specific, which is the whole point. And when you're going through the process, your best shot is at the administrative stage before the immigration law judge. And before the board of immigration appeals, once it gets to the court of appeals, it's probably going to be too late. If there are adverse findings, because under the United States Supreme court ruling today, the court of appeals is going to have to defer to those lower administrative findings, absent really, uh, an indication that there was no other way the case could have come out except in your favor. And that's a very tough thing for an appellate to show. Speaker 1: 07:48 I've been speaking with Dan Eaton, a legal analyst and partner at the San Diego firm of seltzer Caplan McMahon. And Vitech Dan, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Jay Speaker 4: 08:05 Rent relief for tenants and landlords hit financially during the pandemic could be a huge benefit for many struggling San Diego ones. If they could actually get it. KPBS is investigative news partner. I knew source says of the $200 million the region has received in rental relief. Only 2% of the money was spent as of this may red tape and access problems have hampered the program so much local housing agencies are calling for reforms. And joining me is I knew source reporter Cody, Delaney, Cody, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having me now, the bare bones of these state and federal rent relief programs are pretty similar. What percentage of rent will they pay and who gets it? Speaker 5: 08:52 Yes. So the county and cities of San Diego in Chula Vista receive the aid and they each have to follow state law on how the money is spent. And it works like this participating landlords would have to accept 80% of any rent that's owed between April, 2020 through the end of March, 2021. If they refuse those terms, eligible tenants would still receive payment for 25% of their rental debt over that same period. And they would still be protected from eviction until June 30th, which is when the state moratorium is scheduled to end. And local governments are also working with utility providers to take care of any past due payments during that same time period. And Speaker 4: 09:36 How does that work between the tenant and landlord? Do both the tenant and landlord have to apply to get any assistance? Well, Speaker 5: 09:43 Either the tenant or the landlord can apply to get the assistance. Um, but records from the city of San Diego's program show that the vast majority of applicants so far have been tenants. And I'm hearing that could be for a number of reasons, either from the land, from the property owner, not knowing they're allowed to apply for the relief to them, just waiting for the opportunity to evict their tenant. And in some cases, rental property owners have gone a year or more without receiving any payments, you know, and, and some of those relationships could be frayed and I'm hearing some owners aren't even waiting for the moratorium to end. Speaker 4: 10:22 W what kinds of problems are people facing in trying to apply for these rent relief funds? Speaker 5: 10:29 Well, those who go through the application process, which I'm hearing can take quite a while. They're going several weeks without any word on the status of their applications. And then suddenly they're expected to work with their, the other party, either the tenant or the landlord, and provide documents within a few days notice. So people who aren't internet savvy or those who aren't checking their email every day, like maybe someone like myself is, uh, they could easily miss these deadlines. And I'm hearing a lot of people are just getting frustrated with the process and our inner giving up. Speaker 4: 11:05 And if they actually do go through with the process and are approved, how soon do they actually get the rent relief fund Speaker 5: 11:13 I'm hearing it's, uh, it's about a two month turnaround process from the time that you apply until the time that you received notification that you are eligible and you're going to receive payment. I'm wondering Speaker 4: 11:25 What the equivalency is between eviction moratoriums and rent relief. In other words, if people are in their homes and they can't get thrown out, does it reduce the urgency of their need for rental assistance? Speaker 5: 11:42 I'm actually hearing that people are getting thrown out. Um, so as I described earlier, you know, some landlords aren't willing to wait for this process to out. Uh, I talked with folks over at the legal aid society of San Diego, and they're working with tenants who are, have applied for the program and are waiting for relief. And the landlord saying, well, Hey, how long is this going to take this? It's a two month turnaround. And many of these cases, landlords have already, they've already waited, waited weeks if not months. So from their perspective, they're not willing to wait any longer. Um, so records from the county courts, they're, they're showing as many as 10 evictions are being filed a day. Speaker 4: 12:31 If a renter, uh, let's say, has found some way to borrow money from a friend or a relative or somewhere to pay their rent during the pandemic, is there any way that they can be compensated by these rent relief programs, or is it all about money still owed? Speaker 5: 12:47 Yeah, that that's been one of the biggest concerns facing tenants right now. It's, it's all about money still owed and, you know, and the debt that many have had to take on over the course of the pandemic to stay afloat, you know, that's, that's not going to be considered under these programs. You know, many people, they were paying rent on credit, you know, unsure what kind of relief would come down the pike. So that's something myself and many others are going to be watching out for in the months to come. And what Speaker 4: 13:16 Kind of reforms my governor Newsome be considering to make the program work better? Speaker 5: 13:21 Yeah. Governor Gavin Newsome, he's proposed giving cities and counties more money to pay 100% of back rent owed over that timeframe I had discussed earlier, um, and as well as rent for some future payments. And I'm hearing that these changes officials think that these changes will also encourage more applications. And that's actually been one of the concerns here locally is, is there's been a, uh, uh, a very low participation rate relative to the needs that we've seen across the region. Speaker 4: 13:56 Now, if these rent relief funds remain unspent, what happens to that money? Can cities and counties use it for any other purpose? Speaker 5: 14:05 No. So this money can only be spent for rent and utility assistance payments. And right now state officials are monitoring local governments. They're watching for how many applications are coming in and how many eligible, how many households are being determined to be eligible. And they're kind of projecting this rate across over the next few months to determine whether or not the state will be able to meet federal deadlines to have this money spent. Um, so right now, uh, the San Diego region, it's looking like they're going to meet these deadlines, but that's under the, the idea that, um, these, these proposals that the put forward that they will pass and that they will encourage more applications. So a lot's riding on it. It seems like a lot's riding on these, these proposals from the governor. Speaker 4: 15:02 I've been speaking with I news source reporter Cody, Delaney, Cody. Thank you. Speaker 5: 15:07 Thank you. [inaudible]. Speaker 4: 15:15 This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Jade Heinemann. Most of California is experiencing extreme drought right now. That means the possibility of bigger, more destructive wildfires earlier in the summer CAPP radio. Scott rod has this report from Butte county. Speaker 6: 15:37 Lunchtime brings a crew of laborers to this taco stand in Oroville. They're taking a break from clearing trees into brush around nearby homes. One of them tells sissy Savoy about free and reduced cost programs to remove hazardous vegetation in fire-prone areas. She leaves with a box of tacos and the company's contact info. Savoy is living in a tent on her best friend's property and plans to help him rebuild after his home burned. Last year, he barely Speaker 7: 16:06 Got out, you know, with not even a shirt on his back and his dog like had to drive through a, a wall of fire to get out. Speaker 6: 16:14 The region has seen bigger and bigger fires. In recent years, the wall fire, 6,000 acres, the campfire 150,000 acres and the north complex fire last year, over 300,000 Dakers. But Savoy, like many of her neighbors is committed to this place, Speaker 7: 16:34 Sitting up outside of my tent, the other night, looking at the trees. A lot of people go there and think it's really ugly. You know, so scarred damaged. Maybe I relate to that on scars and damage. And I was fortunate enough to have a lot of people love me back to health. Speaker 6: 16:47 She says she is a little nervous about this year and for good reason, the last 18 months we're among the driest and hottest on record in California moisture levels in fire fuels like grass and brush are below average. And the meager snowpack has largely soaked into the ground instead of flowing into lakes and rivers look no further than lake Oroville to see the drought's impact on this side, they made some new boat ramps and kind of get a view of the lake. Eric Eastman visits here. Often he owns a houseboat and is giving me a tour of the lake in his pontoon. The marina had to remove about 70 houseboats this year because they could have run a ground as the water continues to drop Eastman's boat was spared, but he says it has an impact on the whole community. I'd be devastated that we wouldn't be able to have our home on the water. Speaker 6: 17:41 We would still come here and many of the owners potluck every night and get together. And so we have friends boats that we could stay on, but it's not like staying on your boat. The shoreline steep, dry embankments loom over us lake Orville's water is less than half of what it usually is for this time of year. And it will only continue to drop. We ride past a hillside torched by last year's north complex fire, which sent a blizzard of embers onto the lake. I couldn't even see one boat to the next, so thick smoke. And they finally let people come off and blow the Ash and everything off your boats, because there were huge leaves and pine needles everywhere that I just can't believe that boat's in cash back on dry land. I meet up with Cal fire captain Robert Foxworthy. We hike along a wooded trail where much of the grass is already dried out and yellow prime for catching fire. Speaker 6: 18:35 So what is Cal fire doing to prepare we're hiring over 1200 additional firefighters that are going to go mainly to hand crews until they're actually out there fighting fire and doing fire suppression. They're going to be doing fuel reduction projects. Governor Gavin Newsome announced over half a billion dollars in early budget spending to expand vegetation management projects, and he's proposing over $5 billion to address the drought. Foxworthy offers this plea to the public. Now is the time to pack your go bags with essential belongings in documents, and to make sure the space around your home is clear of dangerous fire fuels in Butte county, I'm Scott rod, Speaker 1: 19:27 Four years, local activists and community organizations have been pushing for police reform from ending gang injunctions to the ban on carotid restraints. They have been the collective voice calling for change. Those calls were amplified after the murder of George Floyd, which immediately ushered in a carotid restraint ban here in the city and county a year later. Many of those community organizations feel their longstanding work is being erased from the narrative. Joining me is Buki Domingos and Darwin fishermen of the racial justice coalition of San Diego. Welcome to you both. Thank you. Thank you for having us on your show. So Darwin, I'll start with you. It's been a year since the carotid restraint was banned in the city and county. Why was it important to get this restraint banned and how has it improved interactions between law enforcement and the community since then, especially community members of color who were disproportionately put in carotid restraints Speaker 8: 20:24 With the choke hold. Most major cities had been banned when I came over from Washington DC, about eight years ago, I was really shocked to hear that it was still legal in San Diego and that some places like LA been banned almost 30 years ago. So I think it was really critical for San Diego. I just on one level that catch up with the rest of the United States and have policies, criminal justice policies that reflect the current time. And it's of course not just a choke hold there's many places where we're badly out of step. So that was really part of the basis of our starting that campaign. Speaker 1: 20:59 Darwin, you know, mayor Gloria introduced 11 proposed police reforms and public safety priorities. What's your reaction to those proposals? And do you think there was enough community input from organizations such as yours, the racial justice coalition of San Diego? Speaker 8: 21:15 Well, again, on one level, it's, it's roll on the ground. Hilarious, because this is a lot of what he's claiming is this reform has been pushed by the community for many years. And in now in that sense, this feels like a convenience in the sense of, again, post George Floyd, there's been this uprising, it's politically easier in that sense to put this forward, but the truth is there have been many, many folks that have put in lots of hours, lots of resources that have gotten us to this point. And I think that's really critical that we don't lose that. We have one of our core members, Deseret Smith. Her son was put in a choke hold when he was 15 years old at Lincoln high school. She spent many years visiting the politicians, visiting with organization and not being taken seriously. It's only, now that we're getting this policy change after years of not just the trauma of the event for her son, but also this rejection of not taking her voice seriously. And in that sense, the collective voice of Southeast not being taken seriously with these policies that the police have that have been detrimental to our community. Speaker 1: 22:20 Do you think having a new mayor, mayor Gloria, uh, changes that at all, Speaker 8: 22:25 Only to the extent that he will follow where the community's leading? Um, I, and I hope he continues to give Monica Montgomery step credit council member for her leadership on these issues. And I hope that she's able to gather enough folks from the city council and that he will not, um, block any of the legislation that we were able to develop in terms of, uh, for criminal justice reform as yet to be seen. I mean, it's great, the speeches and some of the rhetoric definitely with our current mayor is different than our previous mayor, but I haven't seen it actually translating to any significant policy change yet. Speaker 9: 23:02 And I would have liked that as well. So with the current mayor and the current leadership in San Diego, it is just an extension of the consistent exclusion of grassroots organization and their new public addresses. One was really remarkable on the 22nd of May, where they were looking up post Floyd almost a year anniversary. And they actually included the ban at the carotid restraint. And no mention was made of any of the 19 gold grassroots organizations that are part of the racial justice coalition of San Diego. Speaker 1: 23:40 And Buki do you think the police reforms we see happening do enough to address the systemic problems within law enforcement and the justice Speaker 9: 23:48 System? They definitely do not because almost on a daily basis now. So the last two months there has been incidents via ocean beach and LA Jolla with people of color being brutalized by police being maltreated by police. Speaker 1: 24:07 Where do you all think the focus should be right now in terms of police reform and criminal justice reform? Speaker 8: 24:13 Well, we definitely launched the campaign after chokehold ban was put in place the neck restraint ban for prosecutor resign, directed at the district attorney to hold her accountability for these police abuse, these rogue police officers. And we did this based on a report that came out about in, uh, 25 years, uh, 1997 to 2017. There had been over 400 officer involved shootings. And in that 25 year period, there had been no one that had been arrested and prosecuted for any of these shootings. And, and either San Diego in that sense is perfect. And all the shootings have been righteous or there's a serious problem with accountability on the citizens side with oversight, as well as with the district attorney. And we've focused in that sense on the district attorney and their responsibility to hold these officers responsible and accountable for their actions. So there's still a lot of work to be done. And again, this is just one piece of a larger puzzle where we definitely need a lot more criminal justice reform work being done, and policy changes. Speaker 1: 25:15 I've been speaking with Buki Domingos and Darwin fishermen of the racial justice coalition of San Diego. Thank you both for joining us. Thank you for having us. Speaker 9: 25:25 Thank you. Inviting us to your show. Jake [inaudible] Speaker 1: 25:37 In California, doctors, lawyers, and even barbers can lose their license to practice. If they do something wrong, there's no similar recourse for some of the most powerful civil servants around police advocates have been working for years to change that. And this year they think there's a real chance to pass legislation. They say would hold police accountable with Senate bill two K Q E D M J Johnson reports on the debate playing out in Sacramento, growing up Speaker 9: 26:05 In San Francisco, Michelle Monterosso remembers attending protests against police brutality with her brother. Sean Speaker 10: 26:14 Became personal. Once our brother was murdered, Sean Speaker 9: 26:16 Was killed by a Vallejo police officer. The family later found out the officer had been involved in three other shootings. The Solano county district attorney refused to bring charges against the officer. Recently state prosecutors announced they will investigate, but with criminal investigations, moving at a snail's pace, the families of people who've been killed by police say they're pursuing another path towards justice proposed legislation that would bar police who have acts of misconduct from being rehired by other agencies. Speaker 10: 26:47 We need to build a pathway where we can remove the dangerous police officers from our communities, et cetera. Then in a day, our loved ones are unfortunately just counting down the days until they become the next day. So this bill is long overdue. Speaker 9: 26:59 California is one of just four states that does not have any process to decertify police officers, police groups say they're all for a decertified program. They agree bad cops shouldn't continue to be part of law enforcement in California. They just don't like the details. One area they've zeroed in on is the advisory board proposed in the bill. The board would consist of nine members, seven of them civilians, and just two from law enforcement. Speaker 10: 27:26 I can guarantee you that there's probably no licenser program in the entire United States or two thirds of the people that sit on that panel are predisposed to the person coming before them. Speaker 9: 27:37 That's Brian Marvel, president of the police officers research association of California or poor rack, which represents over 70,000 law enforcement members in the state. The advisory board would review investigations and make recommendations to a governing body about de certifying a police officer. Marvel says it's not fair that the group includes two people. Who've experienced police misconduct or a family members of people killed by police. But Lizzie been a lobbyist for the ACLU, says family members and civilians are just one layer in a multi-layer process. That includes law enforced. Speaker 10: 28:10 We think that with law enforcement really dominating this whole process, we think it's really important that we have that one layer that is mostly civilians to ensure that they have an opportunity to, to have a say in the process as well, Speaker 9: 28:27 Disagreements, both sides are at the table negotiating. And last week the bill passed out of key committee, still the intense disagreements over the bills. Details show that while California is known as a progressive state, even here and even in the wake of last summer, social uprising against racism and police brutality, police reform has been difficult to pass in the California legislature. Yet Butrin of the ACLU says after years of law enforcement exercising, outsized power in Sacramento, things do seem to be shifting politically Speaker 10: 29:00 Their grip on the legislature, which used to be iron fisted has, has really loosened. And, and I think that, you know, we're seeing increasingly members of the legislature declare that they're not going to accept contributions from law enforcement. Their campaign contributions are becoming toxic. People don't want to be seen as being in the pocket of law enforcement unions. Speaker 9: 29:25 Isn't alone though. Advocates consider it the most significant proposal this year. Other bills being considered would require police officers to intervene. If they see other officers using excessive force to send community-based organizations, to respond to nine 11 calls, instead police officers and crack down on police officers making false reports. I'm MJ Johnson, Speaker 1: 29:48 Senate bill two is currently in the California state assembly. The San Diego police officer's association is among its opponents. Speaker 4: 30:00 Today. We continue our spotlight on the social justice reporting project, a multi-part series by the San Diego union Tribune. One of the reports features interviews with people who traveled through Mexico as part of what came to be known as the caravan back in 2018, that group of migrants from central America became a political issue in Washington and throughout American media. But the people who made the journey in search of a better life just needed to keep moving. Johnnie Mae is photographer and immigrant rights activist. Jeff Valen Suela author of the report. [inaudible] the goal is to keep going. And Jeff, welcome to the program. Thanks for having me. There are so many ways to talk about immigration. There are so many issues with the border and migrants. What made you choose to focus on the stories of people from the caravan, Speaker 8: 30:54 Primarily because it's work that I've done outside of photography as a volunteer and doing work to support immigrant rights movement to support the migrant communities here in Tijuana and also in San Diego. So it really was something that I had been doing already. And as a matter of fact, a lot of the photography work that I have came out of that. Um, and I didn't start it with a plan other than to be able to try to challenge the existing narratives, which was something that I saw a lot of. And a lot of times, um, a few years ago, especially were mostly focused around the victimization and people being victims more so than everything else that they, that they are Speaker 4: 31:37 Now, your focus is on four people in this report, two from Honduras, two from El Salvador to who are in this country and two who are still in Mexico. Did you choose to tell their stories because they were representative of many who traveled north. Speaker 8: 31:53 I specifically chose these, these four individuals. One of the, one of the reasons actually is that they all, there was a common thread and it's something that actually, I see, not just with these four individuals, but, um, with other people that have made that journey and ended up either in decline or in, or in the U S um, is that they continue to try to support those that come after them. They continue to support their community. Um, and other migrants making that journey, whether it's, uh, like Veronica, who was, um, you know, leading workshops and writing letters to people who are currently detained, um, in different, um, you know, for-profit, uh, immigrant prisons, or like Edgar who organizes and was very involved in speaking out against detention during the COVID-19 pandemic and last spring. So they've all continued to do something, despite all these challenges to continue to support those that follow. Speaker 4: 32:50 Now, two of the people you write about Walter and Wendy are into Juana and they are working there and maybe planning to stay, tell us about them. Speaker 8: 33:00 Walter's case. There's a reason I wanted to speak with Walter. He's someone that I've got to know that I actually met during one of the caravans down in Southern Mexico, in Chiapas. And actually, I forgot to say yesterday in an interview. So I want to quickly say happy birthday to Walter because yesterday was his birthday, but he actually was deported from Mexico back to Honduras for his involvement and accompanying caravans afterwards. And so, you know, it was a clear, clear representation or clear example of the criminalization that only increased at that time and during the Trump administration. And even right now, just by winning the lawsuit, because he had an alert place, a migratory alert placed on his passport and that prohibited him from finding work. And so just added to all the challenges. Um, and despite winning that case, he actually is now facing another, uh, battle and that his residency isn't being renewed. Speaker 8: 33:53 And with Wendy, Wendy is someone I met here in the Quanta. Actually, she used to work at a poopoo Syria, a Salvadorian restaurant here in the Quanah, and that shut down during the pandemic and during COVID last year. And she began selling boots as making them at home and selling them through like various groups of WhatsApp. And that's how, that's how I really got to know her as well. But she also spent time working at a shelter and helping other organizations that were coming in that wanted to donate clothes and different donations and help find places that can use those. And they can send the donations Speaker 4: 34:25 And Edgar and Veronica. You already mentioned them. They were held in us detention centers before being released into the United States. And it seems like that whole experience made them immigration activists. What are they doing now to help others in similar situations, Veronica Speaker 8: 34:44 And a few other members of, of previous caravans continue organizing in the U S and as a matter of fact, they all joined, um, thousands of others in Washington on May 1st as well. And so various different people from various caravans actually convened there in Washington DC for that weekend. So they continue to speak out and, you know, really share their stories. I think that's one of the most powerful tools that they have is being able to share their stories, um, which is why I wanted to focus on them and, and use this as a sort of platform to be able to continue telling those stories Speaker 4: 35:19 Thing, our debate over caravans and border shutdowns has done in recent years is to de-humanize the people who make this journey. And even today, a Supreme court ruling makes it more difficult for asylum seekers to be believed. So how do you think telling these personal stories of people can change that? Speaker 8: 35:40 I think there's always the public perception that it helps. It's something that we saw a lot of. And as we started hearing about family separations and things like that, and sometimes it's telling those stories, and one of the things that happens, I think, you know, like specifically with, with the caravan is that it becomes a sorta like singular entity that is, you know, you lose all the individual faces and stories that make it up, and it becomes easy to sort of just target and just blame and point the finger at. And as a result, we saw a lot of those policy changes. And so by telling their stories, they can continue to wake people up, continue to show that all these challenges and everything, you know, the reasons they leave their home countries is one part of it, but everything else in their journey, you know, it doesn't end when, when they make it to the border or when they, you know, as they're in detention centers across the us, um, it really continues. And I think people oftentimes forget about that or, or maybe are aren't, don't realize that there's so much more involved in and it doesn't just end there. And it didn't end in 2018 when, when the last caravans got here, Speaker 4: 36:46 Speaking with photographer and immigrant rights activist, Jeff felon, Suela author of the report. [inaudible] part of the union Tribune, social justice reporting project. Jeff, thank you very much. And congratulations on your story. Speaker 8: 37:02 Thank you so much for having me appreciate it. Speaker 1: 37:13 Listening to KPBS midday edition I'm Jade Hindman with Maureen Kavanaugh. Our net more is launching a one man campaign to get his aunt a posthumous star on the Hollywood walk of fame in her seven decade career. Juanita Moore performed in more than 80 films and TV shows, but she was largely uncredited for many of our roles more got her big break in 1959, when she was cast in the film imitation of life, her performance earned her an academy award nomination for best supporting actress and more became the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Oscar. More was a trailblazer for other black actors. Over the course of her career. Speaker 11: 37:58 She was a show girl at 18 at smalls paradise at the Zanzibar club, several venues throughout New York during the Harlem Renaissance. This was in the thirties, Speaker 12: 38:11 That's her nephew, our net more he's 75 and he's on a lone mission to get her a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Applications are due may 28. Speaker 11: 38:22 She sang at the London palladium at the move on Rouge, and she even had a chance to sing and dance with Josephine baker and other prominent blacks. During that time, Speaker 12: 38:34 When Juanita returned to California and got into acting, she found it was hard to break out of stereotypical roles. Speaker 11: 38:41 She was from the booed Wawa to the jungle. In other words, she played a maid to a Savage, and that was her early career. Speaker 12: 38:50 Those were the roles available to black women at the time Speaker 11: 38:55 Were the roles available to black women at, and one thing she wouldn't do is play the mammy fide role or the buffoon role. She would not do those. Speaker 12: 39:06 It wasn't until 1959, when she started an imitation of life. That her true talents were finally recognized. Speaker 13: 39:14 I just want to look at you. That's why I can't. Oh, you're happy here. Oh, you're finding what you really want from somebody else. And what white Speaker 12: 39:29 Juanita plays Annie, a mom who's light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane rejects her black identity and tries to pass as white. Speaker 13: 39:37 And if by accident, we should ever pass on the street, please don't recognize me. I won't say I promise. I said all that in my mind. Speaker 11: 39:49 I remember that it was a very emotional pitcher and it still remains. So I once was asked by a friend of mine. Did you cry during an imitation of life? I said, no, I didn't want him to think I cried. But yes, I cry even today. And I cried then. Oh, beautiful. Speaker 13: 40:17 I love you so much. Nothing you ever do gets tough. Well, Speaker 12: 40:23 In 1995, when Nita talked about that role in an interview with Turner classic movies, she remembered what the film's producer Ross hunter told her when she got the part nearly 40 years earlier, Juanita, Speaker 13: 40:36 He said, I've put my neck out for you. He said, if you know, good, the picture's is not going to be any good. And it just scared me to death. You know, to say that that's a lot of pressure. Speaker 11: 40:47 She says that really, that was her coming out too. She had been in movies prior to that playing small parts and some uncredited parts, but this was her opportunity to bust out at 44 years old. Speaker 14: 41:03 Ladies and gentlemen, I've been asked to give the award for the best performance, by an actress in a supporting role, or to put it more like simply the best pictures dealer. Speaker 12: 41:13 When he had got an academy award nomination, Speaker 14: 41:16 The nominees are homemade badly for room at the top, Susan Kona for imitation of life. I need her more for imitation of life. Speaker 12: 41:25 He didn't win. Juanita Moore was only the fifth black actor at that point to have been nominated for an Oscar. Speaker 11: 41:33 She was a trailblazer. She opened doors. And today a lot of the actors of color are not having to deal with some of the things she dealt with. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not like it was because of people like her and Sidney Portier and others that stuck their necks out early on after Speaker 12: 41:57 Imitation of life, Juanita hope she could star in her own films or at least be cast in more substantive roles, but she didn't get offered another part for Speaker 13: 42:06 A year. I didn't want to carry the trays anymore. And I knew that that was all on the job that I was going to get. I knew that, but I did not want to do that for, I don't know if being nominated to helped me or not, Speaker 12: 42:24 But true to her passion. She never quit acting. She went on to perform mostly small roles. Her last part was in 2000 as a grandmother in Disney's the kid with Bruce Willis. She died just before new year's day, 2014 at the age of 99 Arnett says when he was a kid growing up in LA, his aunt never talked much about her career. He's had to uncover her history himself after her death, including digging up hundreds of photos. Uh, Speaker 11: 42:57 This is my booklet that I put together on Juanita as Juanita Sam Davis, Jr. And they took this and sent me, it wasn't even in the movie, but he was a friend of Juanita. Speaker 12: 43:10 Our net is a retired salesman. He doesn't have big connections with the film industry, but over the last two years, he's launched a grassroots campaign for Juanita Moore to get a Hollywood star. Speaker 11: 43:22 You know, in the fifties, when I was growing up, when you saw a black person on the TV screen, you got excited and Juanita was that face you saw again and again and again, I'm very proud of her. She had are a lot of obstacles. The biggest one being racism. She's a star without a star Speaker 12: 43:46 Plans to submit his nomination for Juanita Moore star for the third year in a row. If she's not selected this summer, he says, he's going to keep.