How some San Diegans are speaking out against the Trump Administration
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s FRIDAY, JULY 17.>>>>
HOW SOME SAN DIEGANS ARE SPEAKING UP AGAINST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######
ELIGIBLE STUDENTS IN THE SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT WILL BE GRANTED AUTOMATIC ADMISSION TO SDSU STARTING FALL 2026.
SAN DIEGO CITY, MESA AND MIRAMAR COLLEGES ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT.
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE DISTRICT AND SDSU WAS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY (THURSDAY) AND IS BEING CALLED THE FIRST OF ITS KIND.
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TODAY IS OPENING DAY AT THE DEL MAR RACETRACK !
GATES OPEN AT 11:30 AM
OPENING DAY IS JUST AS MUCH ABOUT THE FASHION AND FOOD AS IT IS ABOUT THE HORSES
IN THE HAT CONTEST PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPETE FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN PRIZES.
THE CATEGORIES INCLUDE BEST RACING THEME AND MOST GLAMOROUS
RACING SEASON RUNS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 7TH.
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PRIDE ALSO STARTS TODAY WITH THE SPIRIT OF STONEWALL RALLY.
IT COMMEMORATES THE STONEWALL RIOTS IN 1969, WHEN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY STOOD UP AGAINST POLICE SANCTIONED VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION.
AT THE RALLY, THEY’LL ALSO BE RECOGNIZING LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT STARTS AT 6 P.M. BY THE HILLCREST PRIDE FLAG ON UNIVERSITY AVENUE.
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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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########## GOODTROUBLE
PROTESTS AGAINST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOOK PLACE ACROSS SAN DIEGO COUNTY YESTERDAY (THURSDAY). METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE THEME WAS "GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON."
GOODTROUBLE 1 (ab) 0:47 soq
natpop
AB: Hundreds of people lined the sidewalk of Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon Thursday morning holding American flags and signs mentioning issues like deportations, climate change, free speech and cuts to federal funding for public media. Lisa Getz is a lifelong Democrat who lives in Spring Valley. She said it was her first time ever participating in a protest.
LG: I always felt like there was enough people and so I didn't need to go. But now, we need more people to get out and let the people know that this is not okay.
AB: "Good trouble" is a term coined by the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, who died exactly five years ago. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
####### FIRETEST2A
DRIVERS ON THE 15 MAY HAVE NOTICED SMOKE NEAR POMERADO ROAD YESTERDAY.
UC SAN DIEGO RESEARCHERS WERE STUDYING HOW FIRE SPREADS THROUGH EARTHQUAKE-DAMAGED BUILDINGS MADE OF A LIGHTWEIGHT STEEL.
LAST MONTH, THEY TESTED HOW A 10-STORY BUILDING WOULD FARE DURING AN EARTHQUAKE. THIS TIME (Thursday), THEY MEASURED HOW FIRE MOVED THROUGH IT.
TARA [TAR-uh] HUTCHINSON IS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR.
FIRETEST2A [7s]
We have drones in the air that are trying to capture surface temperature, wind information, even particulate information.
U-C SAN DIEGO SAYS THESE TESTS COULD HELP DETERMINE WHETHER IT’S SAFE TO BUILD TALLER WITH THIS TYPE OF STEEL. IT COULD MAKE CONSTRUCTION FASTER AND LESS EXPENSIVE.
########## KOREAN ADOPT
IMAGINE GROWING UP IN THE U.S., GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL, STARTING A CAREER, HAVING A FAMILY - ONLY TO LEARN THAT YOU’RE NOT AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. BORDER REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SAYS THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN BORN IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND ADOPTED BY AMERICAN PARENTS IN THE 60S, 70S, AND 80S.
KOREANADOPT (gs) 4:52 SOQ
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Shirley Chung was adopted from South Korea in 1966 and raised in Texas. You can still hear it when she talks.
Shirley 00:15:51:19“I grew up in a Black household. Went to white private schools, went to Black churches with my parents, went to White churches with my friends I went to school with.”
Chung assumed she was an American citizen most of her life. Until she misplaced her Social Security card about five years ago and tried to get a new one. She was 57 at the time.
Shirley 00:08:26:13“So when I went to the Social Security Office that’s when they told me we can’t give you your card, you need to prove your status in this country, is what they said. I didn’t know what that meant.”
It meant that she wasn’t actually an American citizen.
Shirley 00:20:48:13“I think I was hurt more than anything because [it started triggering all these feelings of you don’t belong, you’re not white enough, you’re not black enough, you’re not Korean enough now you’re not American enough. Now your future is no longer secure.”]
Chung is just one of between 30,000 and 70,000 international adoptees who never became U.S. citizens.
Emily Howe is a lawyer trying to help Chung and other adoptees adjust their immigration status.
CHA_3203_02 00:10:08:14 / 00:24:02:10“There were individuals who were babies — you know 2 months old, 5 months old, 18 months old — who were shipped over overseas through no choice of their own.
CHA_3203_02 00:11:01:28 / 00:24:55:22“And now that they’re in their 40s and 50s and 60s, it should not be their problem.
This work is personal for Howe. She was born in Vietnam and adopted by American parents.
She became a U.S. citizen when she was still a child. The process worked for her. But she can’t imagine what it’s like for adoptees who didn’t get that opportunity.
CHA_3203_02 00:04:42:09 / 00:18:36:05“The concept of the issue of undocumented adoptees is so egregious and appalling, it’s just such a fundamental issue of basic human rights. That I had figured if and when I could do anything about it I should.”
Howe says that our outdated immigration laws don’t offer an easy way to fix this administrative problem. There is no form adoptees can fill or an appeal they can file. Instead, immigration lawyers find workarounds to establish citizenship – either through marriage, children, or some kind of humanitarian visa program.
That lack of easy fix is incredibly frustrating to Chung. Who says that her friends are often surprised to learn about her immigration status.
Shirley 00:29:06:24“Part of their response was well why don’t you just go and apply for citizenship? And I just kind of want to knock their teeth down their throat because I’m a very intelligent woman standing in front of you – if you thought it was that easy, don’t you think I would have done it?”
Instead of actually knocking teeth in – Chung has turned to advocacy work through the organization Adoptee Rights Campaign.
Joy Alessi is the executive director.
Adoptee Campaign 00:01:38:12“Oftentimes, what happened was after families went through the adoption process – it’s pretty lengthy, it was even back then – they get through court, they get their adoption finalized and they are very, very focused on the child and the family unit and so on and often times they just didn’t know they were supposed to do that last filing for the citizenship or sometimes they just forgot.”
Alessi says there are impacted adoptees from all over the world. But ones from South Korea are overrepresented.
That’s because after the Korean War, the U.S. and South Korean governments encouraged adoption between the two countries.
More recently, the South Korean government’sTruth and Reconciliation Commission found instances of fraud in the adoption system at that time.
Alessi is one of those Korean adoptees. She says Americans broadly support fixing the problem.
Adoptee Campaign 00:10:12:17“they understand that there’s a difference here and most of them are very sympathetic and willing to advocate. But Congress is a different beast.”
The Adoptee Rights Campaign has pushed Congress to pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act for about 10 years. The legislation would grant citizenship to adoptees who never formalized their status.
Lawmakers considered the bill in 2022 but never passed it.
Chung will continue to advocate for adoptees – who are especially afraid of deportation because of President Donald Trump’s aggressive enforcement strategies.
Shirley 00:36:31:21“I don’t know where we’re at. I just know that our stories need to get told. And we need to get the stories into the right person’s hands. The right senator, the right, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen? Is it going to take some of us to start getting picked up for us to start getting our story out there – I hope not.”
Chung plans to continue carrying on as an American - even if it’s taking time for the paperwork to catch up.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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And now, some news about this podcast. We’re making some changes here at KPBS and that means San Diego News Now will have a new host & producer!
Lawrence K. Jackson is taking the reins and launching a new chapter for this daily news podcast. And Lawrence joins me now to talk about the road ahead. Lawrence, welcome to San Diego News Now.
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That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast this week was produced by Lawrence K. Jackson and edited by Brooke Ruth. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. . I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
