Veterans helping Afghan asylum seekers
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s TUESDAY, JULY 1ST.>>>>
Veterans are attending immigration hearings with Afghan asylum seekers.More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
DOZENS OF MARINES HAVE BEEN MOVED TO A BORDER PATROL STATION IN EAST COUNTY.
CAL MATTERS REPORTS THE DEPLOYMENT IS AN INDICATION THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS CONTINUING TO BUILD UP MILITARY FORCES ALONG THE U-S-MEXICO BORDER.
SOME OF THE MARINES TOLD CAL MATTERS LAST WEEK THEY'VE BEEN PATROLLING THE BORDER IN CAMPO TWICE A DAY.
A JOINT TASK FORCE SOUTHERN BORDER SPOKESPERSON SAID THE MILITARY’S MAIN TASK IS REINFORCING PARTS OF THE BORDER BARRIER WITH CONCERTINA WIRE.
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PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO IS NOW OFFERING A NEW FORM OF H-I-V PREVENTION.
THE "PREP" INJECTION IS GIVEN EVERY TWO MONTHS AFTER THE INITIAL DOSES. THE TREATMENT IS NEEDED LESS FREQUENTLY COMPARED TO ITS PILL FORM.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS ROLLING OUT THE INJECTIONS ACROSS SAN DIEGO COUNTY IN THE COMING MONTHS.
PREP IN PILL FORM IS CURRENTLY OFFERED AT ALL PLANNED PARENTHOOD OFFICES IN THE COUNTY.
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TODAY (JULY 1) IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE IN THE SPECIAL ELECTION FOR THE NEXT SAN DIEGO COUNTY DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR.
THE DISTRICT 1 SEAT REPRESENTS THE SOUTH BAY AND PARTS OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO AND UNINCORPORATED AREAS.
THE RACE WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY HAS A MAJORITY ON THE INFLUENTIAL COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
IF YOU LIVE IN DISTRICT 1, YOU CAN FIND A LIST OF POLLING PLACES AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO VOTE AT KPBS DOT ORG SLASH VOTER HUB.
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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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HUNDREDS OF VETERANS ARE VOLUNTEERING TO ATTEND IMMIGRATION HEARINGS WITH AFGHAN ASYLUM-SEEKERS. MILITARY REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS THE EFFORT IS IN RESPONSE TO THE ARREST OF A FORMER MILITARY TRANSLATOR AT HIS SAN DIEGO ASYLUM HEARING.
SAYEDFOLO 1 (AD) (:54) SOQ
IN OUR MOST RECENT SURVEY OF OUR MEMBERSHIP, OVER 72% OF POST 911 VETERANS BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING MORE FOR OUR AFGHAN ALLIES,
KYLEANNE HUNTER IS THE CEO OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA.
AND THIS ISN'T POLITICAL. THIS IS PERSONAL FOR MANY OF US. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT THAT WE SERVED WITH.
WORKING WITH NON-PROFIT AFGHANEVAC, SHE SAYS IN THE LAST WEEK MORE THAN 200 VETERANS HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE BATTLE BUDDIES INITIATIVE, AGREEING TO ATTEND IMMIGRATION COURT ALONGSIDE AFGHANS.
SAYED NASER IS THE FORMER AFGHAN INTERPRETER AND LOGISTICS CONTRACTOR DETAINED BY ICE AFTER HIS ASYLUM HEARING JUNE 12TH.
LAST WEEK A JUDGE DISMISSED HIS ASYLUM CASE, SETTING HIM UP FOR DEPORTATION.
SAYED’S ATTORNEY SAYS HE’LL NEXT UNDERGO A CREDIBLE FEAR INTERVIEW WITH AN ASYLUM AGENT WHO’LL DECIDE WHETHER HE MEETS THE CRITERIA TO RE-APPLY FOR ASYLUM.THAT INTERVIEW HASN’T BEEN SCHEDULED AND SAYED REMAINS IN CUSTODY.
ANDREW DYER, KPBS NEWS
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THE LOCAL IMPACTS OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLANS HAVE BEEN UNFOLDING IN RECENT MONTHS. FROM TARGETING AN INDUSTRIAL PAINT SHOP IN EL CAJON TO ROUNDING UP THE WORKERS IN A BUSY SOUTH PARK RESTAURANT.
CONTRIBUTING NEW YORK TIMES OPINION WRITER AND FORMER K-P-B-S IMMIGRATION REPORTER JEAN GUERRERO, SPOKE WITH MIDDAY EDITION HOST JADE HINDMON TO SHARE HER ANALYSIS.
GUERRERO 1 (midday) TRT (4:03)
“What are your concerns about federal agents wearing masks with clothes that don't identify who they are or what agency they're with while driving unmarked vehicles? So, this is a public safety crisis for Latinos, for people with brown skin. Um, because what's happening is, you know, it's creating the conditions for human trafficking and and other crimes to be committed in broad daylight with impunity.
Uh, because witness are less likely to intervene fearing that they will be arrested and charged with obstructing federal agents. They're less likely to call for help and this creates perfect cover for not only state violence but for bad actors who can now operate you know in in a public street under the plausible disguise of of law enforcement.
So how do you see this movement of resistance to raids influencing Trump's deportation plans. This is kind of the worst nightmare of the administration, having people um risking their safety not just to resist ice, but to document and expose and bear witness to what they are doing.
Because what they want people to believe and what they've successfully convinced a majority of Americans to believe is that their immigration enforcement operations are prioritizing serious criminals.
But when you have people out on the streets shooting videos of the people that they're actually going out after, which is hotel workers, construction workers, um you know, nannies, valued community members, um mothers and and fathers um being torn from their crying children outside of their homes and on the streets.
This destabilizes that false narrative that they have created in which this operation is about law and order. And just over the weekend along right along with those videos we mentioned earlier, I saw a number of videos where, you know, the Haitian community was being targeted with these raids as well.
Talk to me a bit about how far reaching this is because, you know, there are perhaps some people who in the beginning of this thought, you know, this this will not apply to me. When in fact, this could be further reaching than than what people anticipated, correct? Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you're already seeing people who voted for Trump sort of questioning their decision and talking to the media about their friends and their neighbors and their mentees and other valued people in their lives who've been taken by ice and and how they're kind of surprised because they really thought that Trump was going to be prioritizing serious criminals even though there has been reporting for years about how including my own reporting about how you know Stephen Miller who is his top immigration advisor.
That That's not the goal. It's not about serious criminals. Stephen Miller has always said that the when he's talked about immigration, the main thing that he has taken issue with and tried to stop is legal immigration. This is why during the first administration they focused on strangling the asylum system and choking off access to refugees.
This is why they restricted green cards, and this is why we are now seeing the attack on birthright citizenship. Because again, this is about re-engineering the demographics of this country. And it was never going to be possible for Trump to keep his promise of mass deportations without rounding up innocent people like we're seeing.
Because the world that he and Stephen Miller created in which there's millions of immigrant gang members running Wild on the streets, it it does not exist.”
TAG: THAT WAS NEW YORK TIMES CONTRIBUTING OPINION WRITER JEAN GUERRERO SPEAKING WITH K-P-B-S MIDDAY EDITION HOST, JADE HINDMON.
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IN SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO, ACTIVISTS AND POLICE YESTERDAY (MONDAY) CELEBRATED A MODEST VICTORY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE. REPORTER THOMAS FUDGE JOINED THE CELEBRATION.
SHOOTINGS 1 :54 …SOQ.
A small group of people gathered near a park and police station on Skyline Drive to talk about the reduction in violence. Non-fatal shootings in the Southeast police division fell 54 percent between 2023 and 2024. Murders and other violent crimes also fell city-wide during the time period, following an increase in crime during the pandemic. Police captain Joanna Makwana spoke at the press conference, saying cooperation with community groups had led to violence prevention.
“This shared commitment has been a driving force behind a significant downward trend in crime that we witnessed last year. Proving that when law enforcement and communities work together, real change is possible.”
The neighborhood has a reputation for gang violence residents would like to dispel. One activist at the meeting said members of the Southeast San Diego community believe they need the police, even though they don’t always trust the police. SOQ.
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THIS YEAR MARKS 35 YEARS SINCE THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT BECAME LAW. EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE IS HONORING THE COMMUNITY BY FLYING THE DISABILITY PRIDE FLAG.
DISABILITYFLAG1 1:11 SOQ
Miguel Morales was in his senior year of high school when he started getting frequent headaches.
He went to the doctor…and had surgery to remove a brain tumor that night.
“Transitioning from my high school to college was extremely difficult for me, because I battled with my sense of self-worth.”
Now, he’s studying psychology at Southwestern College. He gets accommodations like additional time to take exams and an app that transcribes lectures into text.
Over time, he says, he embraced being part of the disabled community.
“I started seeing, like, this is great. I actually like this. I'm not going to see this as just something to get from. This is something I wanted to give back to and be part of.”
On Monday, Morales and other students, advocates and faculty raised the Disability Pride flag. It’s dark gray with five diagonal stripes in muted colors.
“This is like a sense of, like celebration for all those who have endured the same things we've endured. This is just something we can all be, you know, united in and then come together and celebrate.”
The flag will fly at Southwestern College through the end of July. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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That’s it for the podcast today. 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 day.
