CA attorney general leads rights seminar for immigrants

From CalMatters’ Wendy Fry: 

As California’s “Trump-proofing” efforts continue, Attorney General Rob Bonta was in Los Angeles Tuesday, issuing new “Know Your Rights” guidance for immigrant communities and warning people about notario fraud. 

Bonta reminded immigrants of their rights to an attorney; to access their police report; to apply for secure housing without sharing their immigration status; and to access emergency medical care. Immigrants, regardless of their legal status, have a right to a workplace free of harassment and discrimination, said Bonta. 

• Bonta: “Your employer cannot threaten to call immigration authorities as retaliation against you.”

Typically held by immigrant rights organizations, “Know Your Rights” workshops aim to offer immigrants tools for protecting their rights and to alleviate community fears about President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to conduct mass deportations. 

Tuesday’s event, held at the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, was the first in a series of statewide sessions and a signal of how hard California officials plan to push back. 

Both Bonta and other immigrant advocates have warned people to be careful about the legal help they seek and to only use qualified and licensed immigration attorneys. Scams offering fake immigration services or extorting payments by threatening deportation target vulnerable communities, especially in Los Angeles. Experts believe the scams are vastly underreported.

“Now is not the time to go to a notario, even if it feels urgent, even if it seems cheap,” said Gina Amato Lough, the directing attorney of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at Los Angeles-based Public Counsel, a nonprofit civil rights law firm. 

Bonta advised people to find legal aid through LawHelpCA.org. Amato Lough said people should always request receipts; request documents be translated into their first language; and make sure they carefully review any documents they sign.

A handful of California community colleges are piloting a new model for education that focuses on skills rather than grades. But some faculty members at Madera Community College argue that the experiment is doing too much, too soon, writes CalMatters community college reporter Adam Echelman.

In 2021, state lawmakers allocated more than $4 million to expand competency-based learning at eight community colleges, including Madera. Under this model, some schools offer no grades nor lectures, but do provide students materials to teach themselves. Students then must prove they have the relevant skills or “competency” through exams. The pilot is geared toward working adults, many of whom left community college during the pandemic, and have obligations outside of school.

But designing a degree program with this model is a tall order: It often means changing a college’s accreditation, its employee contracts and its financial aid system. Faculty at Madera said the college should opt out of the pilot — going against the college’s leadership, business community members and other local officials who stand by the program.

Read more about the debate dividing Madera’s campus in Adam’s story.

To boost California’s workforce and connect underrepresented populations — such as veterans, people with disabilities and immigrants — with jobs, the state has awarded over $52 million to various workforce development programs since 2014.

But how well is this effort, known as the Workforce Accelerator Fund, going? Zayna Syed looks into one apprenticeship that helps child care center employees work while they earn teaching permits in early childhood education. Other fund projects include building career pipelines in the hotel and wastewater industries.

Developed by the Service Employees International Union and its partner organizations, such as the YMCA of the East Bay, this child care apprenticeship serves mostly women — many of whom are low-income and immigrants.

But the fund program does have some shortfalls: Because it is intentionally broad and has funded various organizations, it’s difficult to measure the fund’s impact. Tracking systemic changes and past grantees also require time and money. 

Learn more about the Workforce Accelerator Fund in Zayna’s story.

In CalMatters’ latest installment of our series about new laws taking effect Jan. 1: State-licensed treatment centers for children and youth are required to be more transparent over their use of restraints and seclusion rooms. Find out how and why media personality Paris Hilton is involved.