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"content": "\n\u003cp>It was a campaign of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/mass-deportations\">mass deportation\u003c/a>, with immigration authorities engaged in racial profiling and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056762/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-sue-the-trump-administration-to-end-courthouse-arrests\">disregarding the rights\u003c/a> of the people they arrested, many of whom were in the United States legally. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s a charge that’s been leveled at President Donald Trump’s current enforcement efforts, with agents detaining people they perceived as immigrants without legal status on the streets of cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis, frequently without warrants and referring to them by racial slurs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It also describes a little-known chapter of U.S. history: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002189/over-1-million-were-deported-to-mexico-nearly-100-years-ago-most-of-them-were-u-s-citizens\">“Mexican Repatriation” \u003c/a>that began amid rising xenophobia in the 1920s and gained steam during the Great Depression, said historian Marla Ramírez, who spoke about the parallels at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies last week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100407\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A demonstrator holds a sign at the departing wing of San Francisco International Airport’s International Terminal where the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Customs and Border Protection has a hidden detention center where dozens of detainees have been arrested and held for more than a week on Sept. 16, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An estimated 1 million people were sent to Mexico in the period between World War I and World War II, and the majority of them were U.S. citizens, according to Ramírez, a professor at the University of Wisconsin and author of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674295940\">a recent book\u003c/a>, “Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What happened during the interwar period and what’s happening now is that we have this stereotypical image of an immigrant that’s always rooted in who’s white and who’s not white,” she said. “We see U.S. citizens of non-white phenotypes being questioned, being arrested even, because they’ve been imagined to be immigrants, even when they’re U.S. citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recent lawsuits have alleged — through officer bodycam footage, witnesses and individual testimonies — that agents have denied some people the opportunity to produce proof of legal status during their arrest, speak to an attorney while detained or present their case to an immigration judge before they are deported.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The current environment echoes the immigration policing of a century ago, Ramírez said, and it poses a danger not only to immigrants but to society as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Whenever we are willing to turn a blind eye to the civil rights and constitutional rights of a group, it becomes a dangerous, slippery slope,” she said. “It gives [the government] permission to ignore those same rights for other groups.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100391/judge-says-immigration-agents-must-stop-the-way-theyre-conducting-warrantless-arrests\">denied violating the rights\u003c/a> of people arrested during immigration enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the UC Berkeley talk, Julia Curry Rodríguez, an emerita professor from San José State University, said Ramírez’s research shows how authorities sometimes disregard policies and laws to make violations against immigrants appear justified. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the early part of the 20th century, we see a twisting of rules to do things that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” she said. “It tells us we have to be astute. … We can’t allow someone to tell us, ‘We have the right,’ when they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1876\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100817\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg 1876w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1876px) 100vw, 1876px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: The cover of Marla Ramírez’s book “Banished Citizens: A History of The Mexican American Woman who Endured Repatriation.”\u003cbr>Right: Marla Ramírez is an assistant professor of history and Chicano/a studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (Courtesy of Marla Ramírez)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ramírez searched the archives of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (the agency that predated the Department of Homeland Security) and found evidence that the government knew it was expelling U.S. citizens in typed rosters of people deported to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One list, from July 1939, included 36-year-old Juan Franco, a Mexican national, and his wife, Juana Cuevas, 28, whose nationality is listed as “United States,” as is that of their four children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another man, Pedro Cruz, 79, a Mexican national, was deported along with his wife, Isabel Martinez, and their seven children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and 12 grandchildren, all of them U.S. nationals, the archival records show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fact that these women and children were Americans means that “repatriation” and even “deportation” are inaccurate terms, Ramírez said. Instead, she chose to refer to these U.S. citizens as “banished” to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The government justified the removals with the assumption that men were the breadwinners in a family and if husbands were deported, their wives and children would become dependent on public benefits, or — in the phrasing of an 1882 immigration law — they would be “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100528/applying-for-a-green-card-or-a-visa-what-to-know-about-the-new-public-charge-rule\">public charges\u003c/a>,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/gettyimages-2238189274-scaled-e1789757180450.jpeg\" alt=\"A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-12085161\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond that, she said her research showed that immigration authorities dusted off a 19th-century legal doctrine known as “coverture,” under which a woman’s legal rights were “subsumed,” first by her father and then her husband. But, she said, by the time the “repatriation” began in the 1920s, those laws had long been overturned by the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through mental gymnastics, including in Congressional debates, public officials swept wives and children under a man’s non-citizen status, then applied to them a 1917 law that said immigrants deemed public charges could be deportable, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>So if the father or husband was to be removed, then the women and children were seen as a public charge,” she said. “Then these U.S. citizens were imagined also as removable even though they were not immigrants.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The impact of these removals rippled across the decades, she found, with families losing generational wealth and women fighting for years to prove their U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book documents the experience of Trinidad Rodríguez. Born in Redlands, Calif., to a U.S.-born mother, she was sent to Mexico with her family as a 5-year-old in 1922. As an adult, she spent years trying to return to California to obtain a copy of her birth certificate, which had been confiscated by authorities when she was removed from the U.S. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/GettyImages-2197914000-scaled-e1740613370625.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12026832\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester waves the national flags of Mexico during a demonstration for immigrants’ rights outside of Los Angeles City Hall on Feb. 5, 2025. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she finally got it, in 1969, she couldn’t afford the legal fees and applications to establish residency for herself and her family. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her son and his children were entitled to derive citizenship through Rodríguez. But years later, several grandchildren entered the U.S. without authorization and wound up living as immigrants without legal status, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Such stories have relevance not only because they show the history of unjust exclusionary practices of U.S. immigration authorities, said Cristina Mora, co-director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies, which hosted Ramírez. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s also an example of women’s resilience and their continued fight to obtain their rights,” she said. “Despite all these challenges, we’re still here. Generations of us are still here, still building, still creating and still demanding that this place live up to its values.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Recent lawsuits have alleged — through officer bodycam footage, witnesses and individual testimonies — that agents have denied some people the opportunity to produce proof of legal status during their arrest, speak to an attorney while detained or present their case to an immigration judge before they are deported.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Recent lawsuits have alleged — through officer bodycam footage, witnesses and individual testimonies — that agents have denied some people the opportunity to produce proof of legal status during their arrest, speak to an attorney while detained or present their case to an immigration judge before they are deported.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The current environment echoes the immigration policing of a century ago, Ramírez said, and it poses a danger not only to immigrants but to society as a whole.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Whenever we are willing to turn a blind eye to the civil rights and constitutional rights of a group, it becomes a dangerous, slippery slope,” she said. “It gives [the government] permission to ignore those same rights for other groups.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Whenever we are willing to turn a blind eye to the civil rights and constitutional rights of a group, it becomes a dangerous, slippery slope,” she said. “It gives [the government] permission to ignore those same rights for other groups.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100391/judge-says-immigration-agents-must-stop-the-way-theyre-conducting-warrantless-arrests\">denied violating the rights\u003c/a> of people arrested during immigration enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After the UC Berkeley talk, Julia Curry Rodríguez, an emerita professor from San José State University, said Ramírez’s research shows how authorities sometimes disregard policies and laws to make violations against immigrants appear justified. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>After the UC Berkeley talk, Julia Curry Rodríguez, an emerita professor from San José State University, said Ramírez’s research shows how authorities sometimes disregard policies and laws to make violations against immigrants appear justified. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In the early part of the 20th century, we see a twisting of rules to do things that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” she said. “It tells us we have to be astute. … We can’t allow someone to tell us, ‘We have the right,’ when they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In the early part of the 20th century, we see a twisting of rules to do things that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” she said. “It tells us we have to be astute. … We can’t allow someone to tell us, ‘We have the right,’ when they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100817\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg 1876w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: The cover of Marla Ramírez’s book “Banished Citizens: A History of The Mexican American Woman who Endured Repatriation.”\u003cbr>Right: Marla Ramírez is an assistant professor of history and Chicano/a studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Marla Ramírez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100817\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: The cover of Marla Ramírez’s book “Banished Citizens: A History of The Mexican American Woman who Endured Repatriation.”\u003cbr>Right: Marla Ramírez is an assistant professor of history and Chicano/a studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Marla Ramírez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ramírez searched the archives of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (the agency that predated the Department of Homeland Security) and found evidence that the government knew it was expelling U.S. citizens in typed rosters of people deported to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ramírez searched the archives of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (the agency that predated the Department of Homeland Security) and found evidence that the government knew it was expelling U.S. citizens in typed rosters of people deported to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One list, from July 1939, included 36-year-old Juan Franco, a Mexican national, and his wife, Juana Cuevas, 28, whose nationality is listed as “United States,” as is that of their four children.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One list, from July 1939, included 36-year-old Juan Franco, a Mexican national, and his wife, Juana Cuevas, 28, whose nationality is listed as “United States,” as is that of their four children.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another man, Pedro Cruz, 79, a Mexican national, was deported along with his wife, Isabel Martinez, and their seven children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and 12 grandchildren, all of them U.S. nationals, the archival records show.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another man, Pedro Cruz, 79, a Mexican national, was deported along with his wife, Isabel Martinez, and their seven children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and 12 grandchildren, all of them U.S. nationals, the archival records show.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fact that these women and children were Americans means that “repatriation” and even “deportation” are inaccurate terms, Ramírez said. Instead, she chose to refer to these U.S. citizens as “banished” to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fact that these women and children were Americans means that “repatriation” and even “deportation” are inaccurate terms, Ramírez said. Instead, she chose to refer to these U.S. citizens as “banished” to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The government justified the removals with the assumption that men were the breadwinners in a family and if husbands were deported, their wives and children would become dependent on public benefits, or — in the phrasing of an 1882 immigration law — they would be “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100528/applying-for-a-green-card-or-a-visa-what-to-know-about-the-new-public-charge-rule\">public charges\u003c/a>,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"alt": "A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/gettyimages-2238189274-scaled-e1789757180450.jpeg\" alt=\"A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-12085161\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/gettyimages-2238189274-scaled-e1789757180450.jpeg\" alt=\"A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-12085161\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond that, she said her research showed that immigration authorities dusted off a 19th-century legal doctrine known as “coverture,” under which a woman’s legal rights were “subsumed,” first by her father and then her husband. But, she said, by the time the “repatriation” began in the 1920s, those laws had long been overturned by the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Beyond that, she said her research showed that immigration authorities dusted off a 19th-century legal doctrine known as “coverture,” under which a woman’s legal rights were “subsumed,” first by her father and then her husband. But, she said, by the time the “repatriation” began in the 1920s, those laws had long been overturned by the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Through mental gymnastics, including in Congressional debates, public officials swept wives and children under a man’s non-citizen status, then applied to them a 1917 law that said immigrants deemed public charges could be deportable, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>So if the father or husband was to be removed, then the women and children were seen as a public charge,” she said. “Then these U.S. citizens were imagined also as removable even though they were not immigrants.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>So if the father or husband was to be removed, then the women and children were seen as a public charge,” she said. “Then these U.S. citizens were imagined also as removable even though they were not immigrants.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The impact of these removals rippled across the decades, she found, with families losing generational wealth and women fighting for years to prove their U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The impact of these removals rippled across the decades, she found, with families losing generational wealth and women fighting for years to prove their U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The book documents the experience of Trinidad Rodríguez. Born in Redlands, Calif., to a U.S.-born mother, she was sent to Mexico with her family as a 5-year-old in 1922. As an adult, she spent years trying to return to California to obtain a copy of her birth certificate, which had been confiscated by authorities when she was removed from the U.S. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The book documents the experience of Trinidad Rodríguez. Born in Redlands, Calif., to a U.S.-born mother, she was sent to Mexico with her family as a 5-year-old in 1922. As an adult, she spent years trying to return to California to obtain a copy of her birth certificate, which had been confiscated by authorities when she was removed from the U.S. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/GettyImages-2197914000-scaled-e1740613370625.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12026832\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester waves the national flags of Mexico during a demonstration for immigrants’ rights outside of Los Angeles City Hall on Feb. 5, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/GettyImages-2197914000-scaled-e1740613370625.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12026832\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester waves the national flags of Mexico during a demonstration for immigrants’ rights outside of Los Angeles City Hall on Feb. 5, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When she finally got it, in 1969, she couldn’t afford the legal fees and applications to establish residency for herself and her family. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her son and his children were entitled to derive citizenship through Rodríguez. But years later, several grandchildren entered the U.S. without authorization and wound up living as immigrants without legal status, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Her son and his children were entitled to derive citizenship through Rodríguez. But years later, several grandchildren entered the U.S. without authorization and wound up living as immigrants without legal status, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Such stories have relevance not only because they show the history of unjust exclusionary practices of U.S. immigration authorities, said Cristina Mora, co-director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies, which hosted Ramírez. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s also an example of women’s resilience and their continued fight to obtain their rights,” she said. “Despite all these challenges, we’re still here. Generations of us are still here, still building, still creating and still demanding that this place live up to its values.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s also an example of women’s resilience and their continued fight to obtain their rights,” she said. “Despite all these challenges, we’re still here. Generations of us are still here, still building, still creating and still demanding that this place live up to its values.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>It was a campaign of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/mass-deportations\">mass deportation\u003c/a>, with immigration authorities engaged in racial profiling and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056762/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-sue-the-trump-administration-to-end-courthouse-arrests\">disregarding the rights\u003c/a> of the people they arrested, many of whom were in the United States legally. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s a charge that’s been leveled at President Donald Trump’s current enforcement efforts, with agents detaining people they perceived as immigrants without legal status on the streets of cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis, frequently without warrants and referring to them by racial slurs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It also describes a little-known chapter of U.S. history: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002189/over-1-million-were-deported-to-mexico-nearly-100-years-ago-most-of-them-were-u-s-citizens\">“Mexican Repatriation” \u003c/a>that began amid rising xenophobia in the 1920s and gained steam during the Great Depression, said historian Marla Ramírez, who spoke about the parallels at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies last week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100407\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260916-HiddenICESFO-NG-27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A demonstrator holds a sign at the departing wing of San Francisco International Airport’s International Terminal where the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Customs and Border Protection has a hidden detention center where dozens of detainees have been arrested and held for more than a week on Sept. 16, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An estimated 1 million people were sent to Mexico in the period between World War I and World War II, and the majority of them were U.S. citizens, according to Ramírez, a professor at the University of Wisconsin and author of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674295940\">a recent book\u003c/a>, “Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What happened during the interwar period and what’s happening now is that we have this stereotypical image of an immigrant that’s always rooted in who’s white and who’s not white,” she said. “We see U.S. citizens of non-white phenotypes being questioned, being arrested even, because they’ve been imagined to be immigrants, even when they’re U.S. citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recent lawsuits have alleged — through officer bodycam footage, witnesses and individual testimonies — that agents have denied some people the opportunity to produce proof of legal status during their arrest, speak to an attorney while detained or present their case to an immigration judge before they are deported.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The current environment echoes the immigration policing of a century ago, Ramírez said, and it poses a danger not only to immigrants but to society as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Whenever we are willing to turn a blind eye to the civil rights and constitutional rights of a group, it becomes a dangerous, slippery slope,” she said. “It gives [the government] permission to ignore those same rights for other groups.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100391/judge-says-immigration-agents-must-stop-the-way-theyre-conducting-warrantless-arrests\">denied violating the rights\u003c/a> of people arrested during immigration enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the UC Berkeley talk, Julia Curry Rodríguez, an emerita professor from San José State University, said Ramírez’s research shows how authorities sometimes disregard policies and laws to make violations against immigrants appear justified. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the early part of the 20th century, we see a twisting of rules to do things that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” she said. “It tells us we have to be astute. … We can’t allow someone to tell us, ‘We have the right,’ when they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1876\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100817\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED.jpg 1876w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260921-Deportation-lessons-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1876px) 100vw, 1876px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: The cover of Marla Ramírez’s book “Banished Citizens: A History of The Mexican American Woman who Endured Repatriation.”\u003cbr>Right: Marla Ramírez is an assistant professor of history and Chicano/a studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (Courtesy of Marla Ramírez)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ramírez searched the archives of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (the agency that predated the Department of Homeland Security) and found evidence that the government knew it was expelling U.S. citizens in typed rosters of people deported to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One list, from July 1939, included 36-year-old Juan Franco, a Mexican national, and his wife, Juana Cuevas, 28, whose nationality is listed as “United States,” as is that of their four children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another man, Pedro Cruz, 79, a Mexican national, was deported along with his wife, Isabel Martinez, and their seven children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and 12 grandchildren, all of them U.S. nationals, the archival records show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fact that these women and children were Americans means that “repatriation” and even “deportation” are inaccurate terms, Ramírez said. Instead, she chose to refer to these U.S. citizens as “banished” to Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The government justified the removals with the assumption that men were the breadwinners in a family and if husbands were deported, their wives and children would become dependent on public benefits, or — in the phrasing of an 1882 immigration law — they would be “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100528/applying-for-a-green-card-or-a-visa-what-to-know-about-the-new-public-charge-rule\">public charges\u003c/a>,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/gettyimages-2238189274-scaled-e1789757180450.jpeg\" alt=\"A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-12085161\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A federal officer stands in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York in October 2025. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond that, she said her research showed that immigration authorities dusted off a 19th-century legal doctrine known as “coverture,” under which a woman’s legal rights were “subsumed,” first by her father and then her husband. But, she said, by the time the “repatriation” began in the 1920s, those laws had long been overturned by the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through mental gymnastics, including in Congressional debates, public officials swept wives and children under a man’s non-citizen status, then applied to them a 1917 law that said immigrants deemed public charges could be deportable, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>So if the father or husband was to be removed, then the women and children were seen as a public charge,” she said. “Then these U.S. citizens were imagined also as removable even though they were not immigrants.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The impact of these removals rippled across the decades, she found, with families losing generational wealth and women fighting for years to prove their U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book documents the experience of Trinidad Rodríguez. Born in Redlands, Calif., to a U.S.-born mother, she was sent to Mexico with her family as a 5-year-old in 1922. As an adult, she spent years trying to return to California to obtain a copy of her birth certificate, which had been confiscated by authorities when she was removed from the U.S. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/GettyImages-2197914000-scaled-e1740613370625.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12026832\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester waves the national flags of Mexico during a demonstration for immigrants’ rights outside of Los Angeles City Hall on Feb. 5, 2025. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she finally got it, in 1969, she couldn’t afford the legal fees and applications to establish residency for herself and her family. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her son and his children were entitled to derive citizenship through Rodríguez. But years later, several grandchildren entered the U.S. without authorization and wound up living as immigrants without legal status, Ramírez said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Such stories have relevance not only because they show the history of unjust exclusionary practices of U.S. immigration authorities, said Cristina Mora, co-director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies, which hosted Ramírez. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It’s also an example of women’s resilience and their continued fight to obtain their rights,” she said. “Despite all these challenges, we’re still here. Generations of us are still here, still building, still creating and still demanding that this place live up to its values.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How Trump’s Immigration Policies Can Leave Doctors Feeling Powerless",
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"headTitle": "How Trump’s Immigration Policies Can Leave Doctors Feeling Powerless | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>When a patient comes into Dr. Miguel San Miguel Benavides’ exam room at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-general-hospital\">San Francisco General Hospital\u003c/a> with a cough, a rash, diabetes or high blood pressure, he knows where to start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But over the past year, people have been bringing him a problem he feels less equipped to tackle as a primary care physician: their fear over immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among other actions, the Trump administration has rolled back protections keeping immigration agents away from healthcare facilities and sought to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/potential-implications-of-the-new-medicaid-data-sharing-agreement-between-cms-and-ice/\">give ICE access to Medicaid data\u003c/a>. Since then, San Miguel and colleagues at SF General who work with immigrant patients say they’ve watched with a sense of powerlessness as people avoid or delay treatment, and as mounting stress exacerbates their underlying conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/news/ice-tactics-and-deportation-fears-limit-access-to-health-care-for-children-of-immigrants-survey/\">2025 survey\u003c/a> of healthcare workers who serve immigrants echoes that experience: Among hundreds of respondents across 30 states, 84% said patient visits were down substantially; many said their ability to provide preventive care and manage chronic conditions suffered.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097362\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, poses for a portrait at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a small study from UCSF suggests that immigration policies can force some doctors to practice in a way that’s at odds with their sense of moral or professional duty, taking a toll on them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The experience has become routine for San Miguel as he finishes his residency.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the type of care that I always wanted to give,” he said of working with patients who, like him, immigrated to this country. “But I think part of that has become realizing that the amount of support we can give isn’t necessarily enough.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers call that kind of ethical conflict “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2012/11/21/165663154/moral-injury-the-psychological-wounds-of-war\">moral injury\u003c/a>,” a term coined by a Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatrist working with Vietnam War veterans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Marlene Martín, a UCSF clinical medicine professor, was inspired to do the study last summer, around the time ICE was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049326/as-ice-operations-expand-how-are-immigrant-allies-responding\">conducting widespread raids\u003c/a> in Los Angeles. A colleague who works with immigrant patients told her no one had shown up to their appointment that day at SF General. If that was happening in San Francisco, where there was relatively little high-profile ICE activity at the time, Martín wondered what doctors elsewhere were seeing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So she and her colleagues interviewed 38 primary care doctors in 13 states about their experiences caring for immigrant patients in this climate. They recently published their findings \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2851433\">in JAMA Internal Medicine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The interviews confirmed that doctors across the country were seeing patients miss appointments, with some suffering more from chronic diseases as their treatment lapsed. For instance, Martín said, one interviewee described a patient whose diabetes had spiraled out of control because his son, who’d been driving him to his appointments, had been arrested by ICE. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can’t fix that,” she said. “You can’t address that in a clinical visit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some doctors told the researchers they were afraid to even ask their patients how they were doing, “because it would open this whole topic that they didn’t know how to answer. They didn’t know how to make it better,” Martín said. “In medicine we’re used to being able to address things that patients are talking about and to help them get better.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One doctor described to researchers the kind of dilemmas they face, given fears about encountering immigration agents in hospitals: “Would I rather have [my patient] be at home while they’re having substernal, crushing chest pain vs. what are the costs and benefits of going [to the hospital]?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some cases, the interviewees reported their clinics had stopped accepting undocumented patients altogether, for fear of losing federal funding. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those experiences, day after day, are what can lead to moral injury.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What surprised study co-author Dr. Alicia Fernandez was how much doctors changed the way they practiced in response to immigration policy changes. “What we saw was many physicians and practices, entire practices, altering their patterns of care,” the UCSF professor and SF General primary care doctor said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some transitioned to telehealth appointments. Others switched medications so patients didn’t have to go into the clinic or pharmacy as often. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Fernandez said the changes can come at a cost — both for the patients and the doctors who care for them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1421\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Alicia Fernandez, a UCSF professor and general internist at SF General, talk at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We definitely feel that our patients are getting worse, and we feel that the care that we are giving is an inferior form of care, and that’s why it’s associated with moral distress,” Fernandez said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She points to a recent experience with an undocumented patient who’d avoided being seen out of fear. “He came in already having damage from his diabetes,” she said. “That’s a terrible feeling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This kind of distress isn’t just bad for individual doctors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Moral injury can contribute to burnout,” said Dr. Robert Pearl, a physician and Stanford professor who served as CEO of the Permanente Medical Group for nearly two decades. And data show burnout affects doctors’ quality of care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If the patient before you required all this extra work, has had this added fear, had all these challenges,” he said, referencing the study, “when the clinician sees you, he or she may not be as good and sharp as you would like them to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099231\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Individuals walk towards the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Burnout and moral injury can also lead doctors and other healthcare workers to leave their professions, he said, with particularly dire effects in primary care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We already have a shortage,” he said, so “when you need a primary care doctor, that individual might not be there. And we’re certainly seeing that in many communities across the United States, where it’s almost impossible to find a primary care physician with an open panel.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For doctors in the study who were themselves immigrants, the distress was compounded. That has broad implications given that almost half of the country’s internal medicine doctors are foreign-born, according to \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2852745?guestAccessKey=da3ba888-5ff2-456f-9d94-b301cf5d2884&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=081226\">a study\u003c/a> released last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the UCSF study on moral injury is small and qualitative, it points to ways healthcare institutions can support staff in an increasingly difficult environment. Doctors whose clinics protected patients’ immigration-related information and expanded telehealth, for example, described ways those changes helped them care for patients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A sense of powerlessness contributed to the moral distress doctors in the study felt. Carolyn Dewa, a psychiatry and behavioral medicine professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, said social support can protect against that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you feel supported by colleagues and peers, or you feel supported by supervisors,” she said, “if people are not isolated from one another but feel that they’re part of a group, it also is protective.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The doctors interviewed for the study also described the importance of having a sense of agency. “This paper pointed out that feeling like you could take an active role does help mitigate some of the distress,” said Dr. Anne Rosenthal, who runs the adult primary care clinic at SF General, where Fernandez and San Miguel work. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her clinic has tried to do that in part by training staff on what to do if immigration enforcement shows up and proactively educating patients about what they need to do to keep Medi-Cal coverage as state enrollment rules change.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/over-two-million-more-californians-projected-to-lack-health-insurance-by-2030/\">UC Berkeley Labor Center projects\u003c/a> half of undocumented residents in California under age 65 could be uninsured by 2030, double the rate now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We live in fear of losing our patients, because we know that their physical health will suffer, the health of their kids will suffer, and the health of the community will suffer,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among other actions, the Trump administration has rolled back protections keeping immigration agents away from healthcare facilities and sought to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/potential-implications-of-the-new-medicaid-data-sharing-agreement-between-cms-and-ice/\">give ICE access to Medicaid data\u003c/a>. Since then, San Miguel and colleagues at SF General who work with immigrant patients say they’ve watched with a sense of powerlessness as people avoid or delay treatment, and as mounting stress exacerbates their underlying conditions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/news/ice-tactics-and-deportation-fears-limit-access-to-health-care-for-children-of-immigrants-survey/\">2025 survey\u003c/a> of healthcare workers who serve immigrants echoes that experience: Among hundreds of respondents across 30 states, 84% said patient visits were down substantially; many said their ability to provide preventive care and manage chronic conditions suffered.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097362\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, poses for a portrait at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, a small study from UCSF suggests that immigration policies can force some doctors to practice in a way that’s at odds with their sense of moral or professional duty, taking a toll on them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The experience has become routine for San Miguel as he finishes his residency.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is the type of care that I always wanted to give,” he said of working with patients who, like him, immigrated to this country. “But I think part of that has become realizing that the amount of support we can give isn’t necessarily enough.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers call that kind of ethical conflict “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2012/11/21/165663154/moral-injury-the-psychological-wounds-of-war\">moral injury\u003c/a>,” a term coined by a Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatrist working with Vietnam War veterans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dr. Marlene Martín, a UCSF clinical medicine professor, was inspired to do the study last summer, around the time ICE was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049326/as-ice-operations-expand-how-are-immigrant-allies-responding\">conducting widespread raids\u003c/a> in Los Angeles. A colleague who works with immigrant patients told her no one had shown up to their appointment that day at SF General. If that was happening in San Francisco, where there was relatively little high-profile ICE activity at the time, Martín wondered what doctors elsewhere were seeing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dr. Marlene Martín, a UCSF clinical medicine professor, was inspired to do the study last summer, around the time ICE was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049326/as-ice-operations-expand-how-are-immigrant-allies-responding\">conducting widespread raids\u003c/a> in Los Angeles. A colleague who works with immigrant patients told her no one had shown up to their appointment that day at SF General. If that was happening in San Francisco, where there was relatively little high-profile ICE activity at the time, Martín wondered what doctors elsewhere were seeing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So she and her colleagues interviewed 38 primary care doctors in 13 states about their experiences caring for immigrant patients in this climate. They recently published their findings \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2851433\">in JAMA Internal Medicine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The interviews confirmed that doctors across the country were seeing patients miss appointments, with some suffering more from chronic diseases as their treatment lapsed. For instance, Martín said, one interviewee described a patient whose diabetes had spiraled out of control because his son, who’d been driving him to his appointments, had been arrested by ICE. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The interviews confirmed that doctors across the country were seeing patients miss appointments, with some suffering more from chronic diseases as their treatment lapsed. For instance, Martín said, one interviewee described a patient whose diabetes had spiraled out of control because his son, who’d been driving him to his appointments, had been arrested by ICE. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can’t fix that,” she said. “You can’t address that in a clinical visit.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You can’t fix that,” she said. “You can’t address that in a clinical visit.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some doctors told the researchers they were afraid to even ask their patients how they were doing, “because it would open this whole topic that they didn’t know how to answer. They didn’t know how to make it better,” Martín said. “In medicine we’re used to being able to address things that patients are talking about and to help them get better.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some doctors told the researchers they were afraid to even ask their patients how they were doing, “because it would open this whole topic that they didn’t know how to answer. They didn’t know how to make it better,” Martín said. “In medicine we’re used to being able to address things that patients are talking about and to help them get better.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One doctor described to researchers the kind of dilemmas they face, given fears about encountering immigration agents in hospitals: “Would I rather have [my patient] be at home while they’re having substernal, crushing chest pain vs. what are the costs and benefits of going [to the hospital]?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One doctor described to researchers the kind of dilemmas they face, given fears about encountering immigration agents in hospitals: “Would I rather have [my patient] be at home while they’re having substernal, crushing chest pain vs. what are the costs and benefits of going [to the hospital]?” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In some cases, the interviewees reported their clinics had stopped accepting undocumented patients altogether, for fear of losing federal funding. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those experiences, day after day, are what can lead to moral injury.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What surprised study co-author Dr. Alicia Fernandez was how much doctors changed the way they practiced in response to immigration policy changes. “What we saw was many physicians and practices, entire practices, altering their patterns of care,” the UCSF professor and SF General primary care doctor said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some transitioned to telehealth appointments. Others switched medications so patients didn’t have to go into the clinic or pharmacy as often. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Alicia Fernandez, a UCSF professor and general internist at SF General, talk at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We definitely feel that our patients are getting worse, and we feel that the care that we are giving is an inferior form of care, and that’s why it’s associated with moral distress,” Fernandez said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She points to a recent experience with an undocumented patient who’d avoided being seen out of fear. “He came in already having damage from his diabetes,” she said. “That’s a terrible feeling.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Moral injury can contribute to burnout,” said Dr. Robert Pearl, a physician and Stanford professor who served as CEO of the Permanente Medical Group for nearly two decades. And data show burnout affects doctors’ quality of care.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If the patient before you required all this extra work, has had this added fear, had all these challenges,” he said, referencing the study, “when the clinician sees you, he or she may not be as good and sharp as you would like them to be.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Burnout and moral injury can also lead doctors and other healthcare workers to leave their professions, he said, with particularly dire effects in primary care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For doctors in the study who were themselves immigrants, the distress was compounded. That has broad implications given that almost half of the country’s internal medicine doctors are foreign-born, according to \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2852745?guestAccessKey=da3ba888-5ff2-456f-9d94-b301cf5d2884&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=081226\">a study\u003c/a> released last month. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the UCSF study on moral injury is small and qualitative, it points to ways healthcare institutions can support staff in an increasingly difficult environment. Doctors whose clinics protected patients’ immigration-related information and expanded telehealth, for example, described ways those changes helped them care for patients.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A sense of powerlessness contributed to the moral distress doctors in the study felt. Carolyn Dewa, a psychiatry and behavioral medicine professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, said social support can protect against that. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A sense of powerlessness contributed to the moral distress doctors in the study felt. Carolyn Dewa, a psychiatry and behavioral medicine professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, said social support can protect against that. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If you feel supported by colleagues and peers, or you feel supported by supervisors,” she said, “if people are not isolated from one another but feel that they’re part of a group, it also is protective.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The doctors interviewed for the study also described the importance of having a sense of agency. “This paper pointed out that feeling like you could take an active role does help mitigate some of the distress,” said Dr. Anne Rosenthal, who runs the adult primary care clinic at SF General, where Fernandez and San Miguel work. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her clinic has tried to do that in part by training staff on what to do if immigration enforcement shows up and proactively educating patients about what they need to do to keep Medi-Cal coverage as state enrollment rules change.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Her clinic has tried to do that in part by training staff on what to do if immigration enforcement shows up and proactively educating patients about what they need to do to keep Medi-Cal coverage as state enrollment rules change.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/over-two-million-more-californians-projected-to-lack-health-insurance-by-2030/\">UC Berkeley Labor Center projects\u003c/a> half of undocumented residents in California under age 65 could be uninsured by 2030, double the rate now.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/over-two-million-more-californians-projected-to-lack-health-insurance-by-2030/\">UC Berkeley Labor Center projects\u003c/a> half of undocumented residents in California under age 65 could be uninsured by 2030, double the rate now.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We live in fear of losing our patients, because we know that their physical health will suffer, the health of their kids will suffer, and the health of the community will suffer,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is making it harder for primary care doctors who work with immigrant patients to do their jobs, a UCSF study finds.",
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"title": "How Trump’s Immigration Policies Can Leave Doctors Feeling Powerless | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>When a patient comes into Dr. Miguel San Miguel Benavides’ exam room at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-general-hospital\">San Francisco General Hospital\u003c/a> with a cough, a rash, diabetes or high blood pressure, he knows where to start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But over the past year, people have been bringing him a problem he feels less equipped to tackle as a primary care physician: their fear over immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among other actions, the Trump administration has rolled back protections keeping immigration agents away from healthcare facilities and sought to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/potential-implications-of-the-new-medicaid-data-sharing-agreement-between-cms-and-ice/\">give ICE access to Medicaid data\u003c/a>. Since then, San Miguel and colleagues at SF General who work with immigrant patients say they’ve watched with a sense of powerlessness as people avoid or delay treatment, and as mounting stress exacerbates their underlying conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/news/ice-tactics-and-deportation-fears-limit-access-to-health-care-for-children-of-immigrants-survey/\">2025 survey\u003c/a> of healthcare workers who serve immigrants echoes that experience: Among hundreds of respondents across 30 states, 84% said patient visits were down substantially; many said their ability to provide preventive care and manage chronic conditions suffered.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097362\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-5-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, poses for a portrait at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a small study from UCSF suggests that immigration policies can force some doctors to practice in a way that’s at odds with their sense of moral or professional duty, taking a toll on them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The experience has become routine for San Miguel as he finishes his residency.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the type of care that I always wanted to give,” he said of working with patients who, like him, immigrated to this country. “But I think part of that has become realizing that the amount of support we can give isn’t necessarily enough.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers call that kind of ethical conflict “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2012/11/21/165663154/moral-injury-the-psychological-wounds-of-war\">moral injury\u003c/a>,” a term coined by a Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatrist working with Vietnam War veterans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Marlene Martín, a UCSF clinical medicine professor, was inspired to do the study last summer, around the time ICE was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049326/as-ice-operations-expand-how-are-immigrant-allies-responding\">conducting widespread raids\u003c/a> in Los Angeles. A colleague who works with immigrant patients told her no one had shown up to their appointment that day at SF General. If that was happening in San Francisco, where there was relatively little high-profile ICE activity at the time, Martín wondered what doctors elsewhere were seeing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So she and her colleagues interviewed 38 primary care doctors in 13 states about their experiences caring for immigrant patients in this climate. They recently published their findings \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2851433\">in JAMA Internal Medicine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The interviews confirmed that doctors across the country were seeing patients miss appointments, with some suffering more from chronic diseases as their treatment lapsed. For instance, Martín said, one interviewee described a patient whose diabetes had spiraled out of control because his son, who’d been driving him to his appointments, had been arrested by ICE. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can’t fix that,” she said. “You can’t address that in a clinical visit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some doctors told the researchers they were afraid to even ask their patients how they were doing, “because it would open this whole topic that they didn’t know how to answer. They didn’t know how to make it better,” Martín said. “In medicine we’re used to being able to address things that patients are talking about and to help them get better.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One doctor described to researchers the kind of dilemmas they face, given fears about encountering immigration agents in hospitals: “Would I rather have [my patient] be at home while they’re having substernal, crushing chest pain vs. what are the costs and benefits of going [to the hospital]?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some cases, the interviewees reported their clinics had stopped accepting undocumented patients altogether, for fear of losing federal funding. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those experiences, day after day, are what can lead to moral injury.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What surprised study co-author Dr. Alicia Fernandez was how much doctors changed the way they practiced in response to immigration policy changes. “What we saw was many physicians and practices, entire practices, altering their patterns of care,” the UCSF professor and SF General primary care doctor said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some transitioned to telehealth appointments. Others switched medications so patients didn’t have to go into the clinic or pharmacy as often. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Fernandez said the changes can come at a cost — both for the patients and the doctors who care for them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1421\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-8-KQED-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel San Miguel Benavides, a resident physician at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Alicia Fernandez, a UCSF professor and general internist at SF General, talk at the hospital on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We definitely feel that our patients are getting worse, and we feel that the care that we are giving is an inferior form of care, and that’s why it’s associated with moral distress,” Fernandez said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She points to a recent experience with an undocumented patient who’d avoided being seen out of fear. “He came in already having damage from his diabetes,” she said. “That’s a terrible feeling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This kind of distress isn’t just bad for individual doctors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Moral injury can contribute to burnout,” said Dr. Robert Pearl, a physician and Stanford professor who served as CEO of the Permanente Medical Group for nearly two decades. And data show burnout affects doctors’ quality of care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If the patient before you required all this extra work, has had this added fear, had all these challenges,” he said, referencing the study, “when the clinician sees you, he or she may not be as good and sharp as you would like them to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099231\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Individuals walk towards the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Burnout and moral injury can also lead doctors and other healthcare workers to leave their professions, he said, with particularly dire effects in primary care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We already have a shortage,” he said, so “when you need a primary care doctor, that individual might not be there. And we’re certainly seeing that in many communities across the United States, where it’s almost impossible to find a primary care physician with an open panel.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For doctors in the study who were themselves immigrants, the distress was compounded. That has broad implications given that almost half of the country’s internal medicine doctors are foreign-born, according to \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2852745?guestAccessKey=da3ba888-5ff2-456f-9d94-b301cf5d2884&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=081226\">a study\u003c/a> released last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the UCSF study on moral injury is small and qualitative, it points to ways healthcare institutions can support staff in an increasingly difficult environment. Doctors whose clinics protected patients’ immigration-related information and expanded telehealth, for example, described ways those changes helped them care for patients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A sense of powerlessness contributed to the moral distress doctors in the study felt. Carolyn Dewa, a psychiatry and behavioral medicine professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, said social support can protect against that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you feel supported by colleagues and peers, or you feel supported by supervisors,” she said, “if people are not isolated from one another but feel that they’re part of a group, it also is protective.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The doctors interviewed for the study also described the importance of having a sense of agency. “This paper pointed out that feeling like you could take an active role does help mitigate some of the distress,” said Dr. Anne Rosenthal, who runs the adult primary care clinic at SF General, where Fernandez and San Miguel work. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her clinic has tried to do that in part by training staff on what to do if immigration enforcement shows up and proactively educating patients about what they need to do to keep Medi-Cal coverage as state enrollment rules change.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/over-two-million-more-californians-projected-to-lack-health-insurance-by-2030/\">UC Berkeley Labor Center projects\u003c/a> half of undocumented residents in California under age 65 could be uninsured by 2030, double the rate now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We live in fear of losing our patients, because we know that their physical health will suffer, the health of their kids will suffer, and the health of the community will suffer,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "trump-administration-nixes-longstanding-deal-to-help-investigate-labor-abuses",
"title": "Trump Administration Nixes Longstanding Deal to Help Investigate Labor Abuses",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration has ended a longstanding agreement that kept immigration authorities largely out of workplaces that the U.S. Department of Labor was actively investigating for potential abuses, KQED has learned. The move, the latest in a federal rollback of immigrant worker protections, could further undermine efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081923/california-wage-theft-law-needs-more-enforcement-muscle-advocates-say\">uphold minimum wage\u003c/a>, child labor and other laws covering most employees regardless of immigration status, according to worker advocates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The government has long recognized that non-citizens living in the U.S. without permanent legal status are less likely to complain about wage theft or unsafe job conditions if they fear their employer will retaliate by reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That understanding prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, and the Labor Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/DHS-DOL-MOU_4.19.18.pdf\">to agree\u003c/a> more than a decade ago to essentially separate their enforcement activities and share information to combat abusive employment practices. The goal was to avoid jeopardizing pending labor cases, which often require speaking with witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This agreement served as an important, if imperfect, backstop to say employers can’t use ICE as a weapon to protect their labor violations,” said Josh Rosenthal, who directs the workers’ rights program at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-scaled.jpg\" alt='A man wearing a white-brimmed hat that says \"Mexico\" embraces three children and a woman outside in front of a red van.' class=\"wp-image-12047862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People embrace outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, on July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, California. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There have been instances where, especially before this agreement, an employer would call ICE in the middle of a labor investigation and get all of the workers who had complained arrested or otherwise create trouble for their immigration situation,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the deal between the two federal agencies, first signed in December 2011 during President Barack Obama’s first term, ICE committed to refrain from auditing or making arrests at businesses that were the subject of existing labor probes, with some exceptions. Federal labor regulators have told workers for years that they have the right to minimum wage, safe job sites and other safeguards, no matter their citizenship status.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum of understanding “concerning enforcement activities at worksites” was later \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/MOU-Addendum_4.19.18.pdf\">expanded in 2016\u003c/a> to include the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agencies tasked with protecting employees’ rights to unionize and be free from discrimination. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the agreement has quietly been terminated, a Labor Department spokesperson confirmed to KQED. They declined to answer follow-up questions about when the change took place and why. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Until last week, several employment attorneys in California, as well as former federal labor officials, doubted the worksite enforcement deal was still being vigorously enforced, but believed the administration had not officially rescinded it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12013823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-800x573.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-160x115.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Workers fill food orders at a Chipotle restaurant on April 1, 2024, in San Rafael. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The referenced MOU is not currently in effect,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “The Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal labor laws for all employees and employers covered by such laws.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>DHS did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shift comes as reports of employers threatening workers with ICE arrest — in what worker advocates say is an attempt to chill complaints — have risen in California, according to legal aid groups and worker organizations. At the same time, workers are taking these threats more seriously, given the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, including by conducting worksite raids that were previously rare. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Retaliation is unlawful under state and federal laws. California lawmakers are advancing \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2495\">a bill\u003c/a> that would clarify that it is also illegal to threaten employees with immigration consequences to dissuade them from exercising their rights. Employers could be liable for up to $10,000 in civil penalties per violation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Biden administration went a step further by offering temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to people who came forward to report labor violations and cooperated with investigations, through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.uscis.gov/archive/dhs-support-of-the-enforcement-of-labor-and-employment-laws\">Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement\u003c/a> program, launched in 2023. But that program was rescinded shortly after President Donald Trump took office in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paul DeCamp, who led the Labor Department’s wage and hour division from 2006 to 2007 during the George W. Bush administration, said he wasn’t surprised by the termination of the worksite enforcement deal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Given the current administration’s heavy emphasis on immigration enforcement, I think that the MOU was seen in some respects as holding back a bit on immigration enforcement. The writing was on the wall,” said DeCamp, who represents employers with the firm Epstein, Becker, Green in Washington, D.C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The immigration laws are, in some respects, in tension with the labor laws in terms of how they play out for the workers. It is difficult to enforce one vigorously without causing some damage on the other front,” he said. “What we see now is a prioritization that emphasizes immigration enforcement, even if that does come at some increased risk with respect to the wage and hour enforcement.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, employees can report immigration-related threats by employers to the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office, which also investigates allegations of wage theft. But other states that rely more on the federal government to protect worker rights, such as Tennessee and Texas, could feel a bigger impact, Rosenthal, with the Asian Law Caucus, said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When immigrant workers are protected under our workplace laws, everyone is protected because it keeps bad actors from exploiting vulnerable workers on the basis of their immigration status,” he said. “The administration is weakening the rights of all workers. U.S. Citizens, green card holders and others.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The government has long recognized that non-citizens living in the U.S. without permanent legal status are less likely to complain about wage theft or unsafe job conditions if they fear their employer will retaliate by reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That understanding prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, and the Labor Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/DHS-DOL-MOU_4.19.18.pdf\">to agree\u003c/a> more than a decade ago to essentially separate their enforcement activities and share information to combat abusive employment practices. The goal was to avoid jeopardizing pending labor cases, which often require speaking with witnesses. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The memorandum of understanding “concerning enforcement activities at worksites” was later \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/MOU-Addendum_4.19.18.pdf\">expanded in 2016\u003c/a> to include the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agencies tasked with protecting employees’ rights to unionize and be free from discrimination. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The shift comes as reports of employers threatening workers with ICE arrest — in what worker advocates say is an attempt to chill complaints — have risen in California, according to legal aid groups and worker organizations. At the same time, workers are taking these threats more seriously, given the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, including by conducting worksite raids that were previously rare. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Biden administration went a step further by offering temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to people who came forward to report labor violations and cooperated with investigations, through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.uscis.gov/archive/dhs-support-of-the-enforcement-of-labor-and-employment-laws\">Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement\u003c/a> program, launched in 2023. But that program was rescinded shortly after President Donald Trump took office in 2025.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Paul DeCamp, who led the Labor Department’s wage and hour division from 2006 to 2007 during the George W. Bush administration, said he wasn’t surprised by the termination of the worksite enforcement deal.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When immigrant workers are protected under our workplace laws, everyone is protected because it keeps bad actors from exploiting vulnerable workers on the basis of their immigration status,” he said. “The administration is weakening the rights of all workers. U.S. Citizens, green card holders and others.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The formal agreement between federal labor and immigration authorities, in place since 2011, aimed to encourage non-citizen workers to speak up about wage theft and other potential problems.",
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"title": "Trump Administration Nixes Longstanding Deal to Help Investigate Labor Abuses | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Trump administration has ended a longstanding agreement that kept immigration authorities largely out of workplaces that the U.S. Department of Labor was actively investigating for potential abuses, KQED has learned. The move, the latest in a federal rollback of immigrant worker protections, could further undermine efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081923/california-wage-theft-law-needs-more-enforcement-muscle-advocates-say\">uphold minimum wage\u003c/a>, child labor and other laws covering most employees regardless of immigration status, according to worker advocates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The government has long recognized that non-citizens living in the U.S. without permanent legal status are less likely to complain about wage theft or unsafe job conditions if they fear their employer will retaliate by reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That understanding prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, and the Labor Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/DHS-DOL-MOU_4.19.18.pdf\">to agree\u003c/a> more than a decade ago to essentially separate their enforcement activities and share information to combat abusive employment practices. The goal was to avoid jeopardizing pending labor cases, which often require speaking with witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This agreement served as an important, if imperfect, backstop to say employers can’t use ICE as a weapon to protect their labor violations,” said Josh Rosenthal, who directs the workers’ rights program at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-scaled.jpg\" alt='A man wearing a white-brimmed hat that says \"Mexico\" embraces three children and a woman outside in front of a red van.' class=\"wp-image-12047862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/AP25192726071193-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People embrace outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, on July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, California. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There have been instances where, especially before this agreement, an employer would call ICE in the middle of a labor investigation and get all of the workers who had complained arrested or otherwise create trouble for their immigration situation,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the deal between the two federal agencies, first signed in December 2011 during President Barack Obama’s first term, ICE committed to refrain from auditing or making arrests at businesses that were the subject of existing labor probes, with some exceptions. Federal labor regulators have told workers for years that they have the right to minimum wage, safe job sites and other safeguards, no matter their citizenship status.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum of understanding “concerning enforcement activities at worksites” was later \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/MOU-Addendum_4.19.18.pdf\">expanded in 2016\u003c/a> to include the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agencies tasked with protecting employees’ rights to unionize and be free from discrimination. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the agreement has quietly been terminated, a Labor Department spokesperson confirmed to KQED. They declined to answer follow-up questions about when the change took place and why. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Until last week, several employment attorneys in California, as well as former federal labor officials, doubted the worksite enforcement deal was still being vigorously enforced, but believed the administration had not officially rescinded it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12013823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-800x573.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2130942018-160x115.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Workers fill food orders at a Chipotle restaurant on April 1, 2024, in San Rafael. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The referenced MOU is not currently in effect,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “The Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal labor laws for all employees and employers covered by such laws.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>DHS did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shift comes as reports of employers threatening workers with ICE arrest — in what worker advocates say is an attempt to chill complaints — have risen in California, according to legal aid groups and worker organizations. At the same time, workers are taking these threats more seriously, given the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, including by conducting worksite raids that were previously rare. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Retaliation is unlawful under state and federal laws. California lawmakers are advancing \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2495\">a bill\u003c/a> that would clarify that it is also illegal to threaten employees with immigration consequences to dissuade them from exercising their rights. Employers could be liable for up to $10,000 in civil penalties per violation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Biden administration went a step further by offering temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to people who came forward to report labor violations and cooperated with investigations, through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.uscis.gov/archive/dhs-support-of-the-enforcement-of-labor-and-employment-laws\">Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement\u003c/a> program, launched in 2023. But that program was rescinded shortly after President Donald Trump took office in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paul DeCamp, who led the Labor Department’s wage and hour division from 2006 to 2007 during the George W. Bush administration, said he wasn’t surprised by the termination of the worksite enforcement deal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Given the current administration’s heavy emphasis on immigration enforcement, I think that the MOU was seen in some respects as holding back a bit on immigration enforcement. The writing was on the wall,” said DeCamp, who represents employers with the firm Epstein, Becker, Green in Washington, D.C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The immigration laws are, in some respects, in tension with the labor laws in terms of how they play out for the workers. It is difficult to enforce one vigorously without causing some damage on the other front,” he said. “What we see now is a prioritization that emphasizes immigration enforcement, even if that does come at some increased risk with respect to the wage and hour enforcement.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, employees can report immigration-related threats by employers to the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office, which also investigates allegations of wage theft. But other states that rely more on the federal government to protect worker rights, such as Tennessee and Texas, could feel a bigger impact, Rosenthal, with the Asian Law Caucus, said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When immigrant workers are protected under our workplace laws, everyone is protected because it keeps bad actors from exploiting vulnerable workers on the basis of their immigration status,” he said. “The administration is weakening the rights of all workers. U.S. Citizens, green card holders and others.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-ice-custody-deaths-rise-state-bill-would-force-release-of-911-call-data",
"title": "As ICE Custody Deaths Rise, State Bill Would Force Release of 911 Call Data",
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"headTitle": "As ICE Custody Deaths Rise, State Bill Would Force Release of 911 Call Data | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A bill that would require local agencies to release data on 911 calls originating from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/immigrant-detention-centers\">privately operated detention facilities\u003c/a> is heading for a vote on the state assembly floor this week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s part of a raft of new bills by state lawmakers aiming for more scrutiny of immigration detention in California, at a time when deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have spiked, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092950/a-judge-sent-a-doctor-to-evaluate-californias-largest-ice-detention-center-what-he-found\">investigations and courts have found\u003c/a> facilities failing to provide essential medical care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, said she introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB423\">SB 423\u003c/a> because the number of people in ICE detention in California has grown dramatically during President Donald Trump’s second term, to \u003ca href=\"https://sd33.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd33.senate.ca.gov/files/pdf/SB%20423%20(Gonzalez)%20Private%20Detention%20Facility%20Fact%20Sheet_0.pdf\">more than 6,000 people\u003c/a>, and many are held for long periods in sometimes inhumane conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1174\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091944\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Members of the Tule Lake pilgrimage, including survivors of the incarceration camp, protest the conditions in modern-day immigrant detention facilities on July 4, 2026. (Peyton Gast/JPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While she does not have an ICE facility in her district, she said she does have many immigrant constituents, including some whose family members have been incarcerated in immigration jails. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When families’ safety, health and wellbeing are at stake, transparency is not optional—it is urgent,” she said in a statement. “No private contract or detention center wall should be used to hide dangerous conditions or silence people who have been mistreated inside these facilities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities, if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if there’s an active investigation underway and requires the names of affected individuals to be redacted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting\">55 people\u003c/a> have died \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHR-HRW-Report-US-Deaths-ICE-detention-2026.pdf\">in ICE custody\u003c/a> since President Trump returned to office — six of them in California. The state attorney general and other watchdog organizations have documented medical neglect and inhumane treatment in the eight facilities currently operating throughout the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Private prison companies operate all of those facilities. Though the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089974/private-prison-company-sells-two-of-californias-immigrant-detention-centers-to-the-federal-government\">recently purchased two\u003c/a> from CoreCivic — Otay Mesa Detention Center, in San Diego County, and California City Detention Facility, in Kern County — the corrections company continues to operate them. The bill’s language specifies that it \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-7320/\">applies to any privately operated detention facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition back the bill. The coalition, a press freedom advocacy group, said the public and policymakers need this kind of transparency to better understand what’s happening inside private detention facilities, where thousands of people are being held, but authorities have restricted access by journalists and lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paloma Esquivel, a former \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> reporter now at the First Amendment Coalition, said that, as a journalist, she pushed county sheriffs for 911 records after ICE and detention facility staff resisted her requests for information about emergencies, but she was often stonewalled.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We have a very strong interest and even an obligation to understand how these facilities are functioning and what is happening inside these facilities that are being paid for with billions of dollars in taxpayer money,” Esquivel said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People gather outside 100 Montgomery St. during a rally calling for the release of journalist Sami Hamdi on Oct. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. The event is part of an ‘ICE Watch’ organized to protest his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Diego Sheriff’s Department told KQED it does not have a position on the bill. The Kern County Sheriff’s Department said it will continue to comply with California laws, “as we always do.” Other sheriffs could not be reached for comment. Private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SB 423 is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. If it passes, it will go back to the state senate for approval. The legislature must act on all remaining bills before it adjourns on Aug. 31. If the bill passes, it will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he has until Sep. 30 to sign legislation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It is one of several bills that would increase oversight of immigration detention in California. Here are some others:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>SB 942 would establish a “bill of rights” for people held for civil immigration proceedings, to match the rights of people in other types of civil detention in the state. It would guarantee a right to humane care and freedom from abuse, among other protections, and would empower the state attorney general to investigate and enforce them.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>SB 941 would prevent private, for-profit detention facilities from marking up commissary items by more than 35% above the vendor price, mirroring the standards for state-run correctional facilities.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>SB 1399 would extend the power of the California Department of Justice to inspect immigration facilities beyond 2027, when the current inspection program is due to sunset.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Immigrant Defense Advocates and Attorney General Rob Bonta cosponsor all three bills.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, said she introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB423\">SB 423\u003c/a> because the number of people in ICE detention in California has grown dramatically during President Donald Trump’s second term, to \u003ca href=\"https://sd33.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd33.senate.ca.gov/files/pdf/SB%20423%20(Gonzalez)%20Private%20Detention%20Facility%20Fact%20Sheet_0.pdf\">more than 6,000 people\u003c/a>, and many are held for long periods in sometimes inhumane conditions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While she does not have an ICE facility in her district, she said she does have many immigrant constituents, including some whose family members have been incarcerated in immigration jails. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When families’ safety, health and wellbeing are at stake, transparency is not optional—it is urgent,” she said in a statement. “No private contract or detention center wall should be used to hide dangerous conditions or silence people who have been mistreated inside these facilities.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bill would require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities, if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if there’s an active investigation underway and requires the names of affected individuals to be redacted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting\">55 people\u003c/a> have died \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHR-HRW-Report-US-Deaths-ICE-detention-2026.pdf\">in ICE custody\u003c/a> since President Trump returned to office — six of them in California. The state attorney general and other watchdog organizations have documented medical neglect and inhumane treatment in the eight facilities currently operating throughout the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At least \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting\">55 people\u003c/a> have died \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHR-HRW-Report-US-Deaths-ICE-detention-2026.pdf\">in ICE custody\u003c/a> since President Trump returned to office — six of them in California. The state attorney general and other watchdog organizations have documented medical neglect and inhumane treatment in the eight facilities currently operating throughout the state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Private prison companies operate all of those facilities. Though the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089974/private-prison-company-sells-two-of-californias-immigrant-detention-centers-to-the-federal-government\">recently purchased two\u003c/a> from CoreCivic — Otay Mesa Detention Center, in San Diego County, and California City Detention Facility, in Kern County — the corrections company continues to operate them. The bill’s language specifies that it \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-7320/\">applies to any privately operated detention facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Private prison companies operate all of those facilities. Though the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089974/private-prison-company-sells-two-of-californias-immigrant-detention-centers-to-the-federal-government\">recently purchased two\u003c/a> from CoreCivic — Otay Mesa Detention Center, in San Diego County, and California City Detention Facility, in Kern County — the corrections company continues to operate them. The bill’s language specifies that it \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-7320/\">applies to any privately operated detention facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition back the bill. The coalition, a press freedom advocacy group, said the public and policymakers need this kind of transparency to better understand what’s happening inside private detention facilities, where thousands of people are being held, but authorities have restricted access by journalists and lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition back the bill. The coalition, a press freedom advocacy group, said the public and policymakers need this kind of transparency to better understand what’s happening inside private detention facilities, where thousands of people are being held, but authorities have restricted access by journalists and lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Paloma Esquivel, a former \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> reporter now at the First Amendment Coalition, said that, as a journalist, she pushed county sheriffs for 911 records after ICE and detention facility staff resisted her requests for information about emergencies, but she was often stonewalled.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We have a very strong interest and even an obligation to understand how these facilities are functioning and what is happening inside these facilities that are being paid for with billions of dollars in taxpayer money,” Esquivel said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Paloma Esquivel, a former \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> reporter now at the First Amendment Coalition, said that, as a journalist, she pushed county sheriffs for 911 records after ICE and detention facility staff resisted her requests for information about emergencies, but she was often stonewalled.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We have a very strong interest and even an obligation to understand how these facilities are functioning and what is happening inside these facilities that are being paid for with billions of dollars in taxpayer money,” Esquivel said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People gather outside 100 Montgomery St. during a rally calling for the release of journalist Sami Hamdi on Oct. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. The event is part of an ‘ICE Watch’ organized to protest his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077400\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People gather outside 100 Montgomery St. during a rally calling for the release of journalist Sami Hamdi on Oct. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. The event is part of an ‘ICE Watch’ organized to protest his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The San Diego Sheriff’s Department told KQED it does not have a position on the bill. The Kern County Sheriff’s Department said it will continue to comply with California laws, “as we always do.” Other sheriffs could not be reached for comment. Private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The San Diego Sheriff’s Department told KQED it does not have a position on the bill. The Kern County Sheriff’s Department said it will continue to comply with California laws, “as we always do.” Other sheriffs could not be reached for comment. Private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SB 423 is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. If it passes, it will go back to the state senate for approval. The legislature must act on all remaining bills before it adjourns on Aug. 31. If the bill passes, it will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he has until Sep. 30 to sign legislation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>SB 423 is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. If it passes, it will go back to the state senate for approval. The legislature must act on all remaining bills before it adjourns on Aug. 31. If the bill passes, it will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he has until Sep. 30 to sign legislation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It is one of several bills that would increase oversight of immigration detention in California. Here are some others:\u003c/p>\n",
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"SB 942 would establish a “bill of rights” for people held for civil immigration proceedings, to match the rights of people in other types of civil detention in the state. It would guarantee a right to humane care and freedom from abuse, among other protections, and would empower the state attorney general to investigate and enforce them.",
"SB 941 would prevent private, for-profit detention facilities from marking up commissary items by more than 35% above the vendor price, mirroring the standards for state-run correctional facilities.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>SB 942 would establish a “bill of rights” for people held for civil immigration proceedings, to match the rights of people in other types of civil detention in the state. It would guarantee a right to humane care and freedom from abuse, among other protections, and would empower the state attorney general to investigate and enforce them.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>SB 942 would establish a “bill of rights” for people held for civil immigration proceedings, to match the rights of people in other types of civil detention in the state. It would guarantee a right to humane care and freedom from abuse, among other protections, and would empower the state attorney general to investigate and enforce them.\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>SB 941 would prevent private, for-profit detention facilities from marking up commissary items by more than 35% above the vendor price, mirroring the standards for state-run correctional facilities.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>SB 1399 would extend the power of the California Department of Justice to inspect immigration facilities beyond 2027, when the current inspection program is due to sunset.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Immigrant Defense Advocates and Attorney General Rob Bonta cosponsor all three bills.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A bill that would require local agencies to release data on 911 calls originating from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/immigrant-detention-centers\">privately operated detention facilities\u003c/a> is heading for a vote on the state assembly floor this week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s part of a raft of new bills by state lawmakers aiming for more scrutiny of immigration detention in California, at a time when deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have spiked, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092950/a-judge-sent-a-doctor-to-evaluate-californias-largest-ice-detention-center-what-he-found\">investigations and courts have found\u003c/a> facilities failing to provide essential medical care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, said she introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB423\">SB 423\u003c/a> because the number of people in ICE detention in California has grown dramatically during President Donald Trump’s second term, to \u003ca href=\"https://sd33.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd33.senate.ca.gov/files/pdf/SB%20423%20(Gonzalez)%20Private%20Detention%20Facility%20Fact%20Sheet_0.pdf\">more than 6,000 people\u003c/a>, and many are held for long periods in sometimes inhumane conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1174\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091944\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/JPR-wwii-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Members of the Tule Lake pilgrimage, including survivors of the incarceration camp, protest the conditions in modern-day immigrant detention facilities on July 4, 2026. (Peyton Gast/JPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While she does not have an ICE facility in her district, she said she does have many immigrant constituents, including some whose family members have been incarcerated in immigration jails. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When families’ safety, health and wellbeing are at stake, transparency is not optional—it is urgent,” she said in a statement. “No private contract or detention center wall should be used to hide dangerous conditions or silence people who have been mistreated inside these facilities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities, if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if there’s an active investigation underway and requires the names of affected individuals to be redacted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting\">55 people\u003c/a> have died \u003ca href=\"https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHR-HRW-Report-US-Deaths-ICE-detention-2026.pdf\">in ICE custody\u003c/a> since President Trump returned to office — six of them in California. The state attorney general and other watchdog organizations have documented medical neglect and inhumane treatment in the eight facilities currently operating throughout the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Private prison companies operate all of those facilities. Though the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089974/private-prison-company-sells-two-of-californias-immigrant-detention-centers-to-the-federal-government\">recently purchased two\u003c/a> from CoreCivic — Otay Mesa Detention Center, in San Diego County, and California City Detention Facility, in Kern County — the corrections company continues to operate them. The bill’s language specifies that it \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-7320/\">applies to any privately operated detention facility\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition back the bill. The coalition, a press freedom advocacy group, said the public and policymakers need this kind of transparency to better understand what’s happening inside private detention facilities, where thousands of people are being held, but authorities have restricted access by journalists and lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paloma Esquivel, a former \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> reporter now at the First Amendment Coalition, said that, as a journalist, she pushed county sheriffs for 911 records after ICE and detention facility staff resisted her requests for information about emergencies, but she was often stonewalled.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We have a very strong interest and even an obligation to understand how these facilities are functioning and what is happening inside these facilities that are being paid for with billions of dollars in taxpayer money,” Esquivel said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20251031_Rally-for-Sami-Hamdi_GH-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People gather outside 100 Montgomery St. during a rally calling for the release of journalist Sami Hamdi on Oct. 31, 2025, in San Francisco. The event is part of an ‘ICE Watch’ organized to protest his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Diego Sheriff’s Department told KQED it does not have a position on the bill. The Kern County Sheriff’s Department said it will continue to comply with California laws, “as we always do.” Other sheriffs could not be reached for comment. Private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SB 423 is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. If it passes, it will go back to the state senate for approval. The legislature must act on all remaining bills before it adjourns on Aug. 31. If the bill passes, it will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he has until Sep. 30 to sign legislation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It is one of several bills that would increase oversight of immigration detention in California. Here are some others:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>SB 942 would establish a “bill of rights” for people held for civil immigration proceedings, to match the rights of people in other types of civil detention in the state. It would guarantee a right to humane care and freedom from abuse, among other protections, and would empower the state attorney general to investigate and enforce them.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>SB 941 would prevent private, for-profit detention facilities from marking up commissary items by more than 35% above the vendor price, mirroring the standards for state-run correctional facilities.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>SB 1399 would extend the power of the California Department of Justice to inspect immigration facilities beyond 2027, when the current inspection program is due to sunset.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Immigrant Defense Advocates and Attorney General Rob Bonta cosponsor all three bills.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "it-wasnt-right-woman-arrested-by-ice-at-sfo-is-a-san-francisco-photographer-barista",
"title": "‘It Wasn’t Right’: Woman Arrested by ICE at SFO Is a San Francisco Photographer, Barista",
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"headTitle": "‘It Wasn’t Right’: Woman Arrested by ICE at SFO Is a San Francisco Photographer, Barista | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A Ukrainian woman who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years was detained by immigration enforcement agents at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-international-airport\">San Francisco International Airport\u003c/a> on Wednesday after a flight home from Portland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Iryna Gorb, 38, was arrested by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after landing in San Francisco, where she has lived and worked for more than a decade. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She is currently in detention at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073215/judge-orders-ice-to-provide-medical-care-in-largest-immigration-jail-in-california\">California City Detention Facility\u003c/a> in Kern County, according to Andy Eblin, who’s been a friend of Gorb’s for 13 years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Videos of Gorb’s arrest circulated on social media Wednesday evening after Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson, who was traveling through the airport at the time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DoriaforRichmond\">posted\u003c/a> footage of the incident on Facebook. She said two ICE agents approached Gorb in a store in Terminal 3.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doria Robinson speaks at the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They put hands on her, pulled her down to the ground and we see the agent get on top of her,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the videos, Gorb can be heard yelling: “They’re f—n ICE, I’m from Ukraine, please, somebody.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She can be seen telling the agents to let her go, and heard saying, “You’re f—ing choking me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robinson said the officials did not respond to bystanders who asked them to identify themselves. They handcuffed Gorb to an airport wheelchair and rolled her away, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t right,” Robinson said. “It just felt in your heart and your soul that that was not right. That was not the way we should be doing things.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb called him from an ICE field office in Stockton late Wednesday, and told him she had been detained and would be transferred to the California City Detention Facility. She asked him to tell her boss at Better Half Coffee in Nob Hill, where she is a head barista, and a few friends whom she was supposed to cat-sit for this week, that she would not be able to work. Eblin said Gorb also requested that he ask her neighbor to water her plants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can’t think of a better explanation of Iryna as a person than those concerns,” Eblin said. “She’s a good person that helped out a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said she was “not certain exactly” why she was detained, and as far as he knew, she hadn’t received any paperwork regarding her visa status. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Gorb entered the U.S. lawfully in 2010 under a visa that expired in May 2011. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gorb overstayed her visa and remained in the United States illegally for 15 years in violation of our nation’s laws. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb moved to the U.S. to attend college in Boston before relocating to San Francisco 13 years ago. He said she’s an active part of the city’s coffee and art communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-2000x2667.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-2000x2667.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iryna Gorb worked as a head barista at Better Half Coffee in Nob Hill and was an active member of San Francisco’s coffee community, according to friends. (Courtesy of Andy Eblin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Gorb is a professional photographer and has run a vintage pop-up over the years, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Her absence leaves a tremendous void in our cafe and in our community,” Better Half, the coffee shop where Gorb works, posted on social media Thursday. “She has been such an important part of this space, and her presence will be deeply missed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said that when he was able to connect with Gorb again Thursday evening, she had been transferred to California City and sounded “substantially rattled.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said she’s expected to meet with an attorney on Friday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our predominant concern at this point is getting her released on bond so she’s able to wait out any proceedings in a safe, dignified place and dignified setting, which California City is absolutely not,” Eblin told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, immigration advocates began seeing ICE detentions at airports outside of Customs and Border Protection last year anecdotally, but in the last month, they have become a “consistent tactic.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What we’re seeing now is ICE showing up at airports because they have information about travelers, they have ID information,” she said. “The Department of Homeland Security includes TSA, so it just appears that TSA is now cooperating with ICE at a level that we haven’t seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said via email that ICE and DHS operate outside the jurisdiction of U.S. airports, and that SFO is “not involved in any decisions about their operations, nor are we notified when they occur.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Atkinson said for people who are not U.S. citizens, “now is not a safe time to be traveling through airports unless you’ve spoken to an attorney and you assess what risk there is.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Iryna Gorb, 38, was arrested by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after landing in San Francisco, where she has lived and worked for more than a decade. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She is currently in detention at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073215/judge-orders-ice-to-provide-medical-care-in-largest-immigration-jail-in-california\">California City Detention Facility\u003c/a> in Kern County, according to Andy Eblin, who’s been a friend of Gorb’s for 13 years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Videos of Gorb’s arrest circulated on social media Wednesday evening after Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson, who was traveling through the airport at the time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DoriaforRichmond\">posted\u003c/a> footage of the incident on Facebook. She said two ICE agents approached Gorb in a store in Terminal 3.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doria Robinson speaks at the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb called him from an ICE field office in Stockton late Wednesday, and told him she had been detained and would be transferred to the California City Detention Facility. She asked him to tell her boss at Better Half Coffee in Nob Hill, where she is a head barista, and a few friends whom she was supposed to cat-sit for this week, that she would not be able to work. Eblin said Gorb also requested that he ask her neighbor to water her plants. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I can’t think of a better explanation of Iryna as a person than those concerns,” Eblin said. “She’s a good person that helped out a lot.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eblin said she was “not certain exactly” why she was detained, and as far as he knew, she hadn’t received any paperwork regarding her visa status. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Gorb entered the U.S. lawfully in 2010 under a visa that expired in May 2011. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Gorb overstayed her visa and remained in the United States illegally for 15 years in violation of our nation’s laws. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb moved to the U.S. to attend college in Boston before relocating to San Francisco 13 years ago. He said she’s an active part of the city’s coffee and art communities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Her absence leaves a tremendous void in our cafe and in our community,” Better Half, the coffee shop where Gorb works, posted on social media Thursday. “She has been such an important part of this space, and her presence will be deeply missed.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our predominant concern at this point is getting her released on bond so she’s able to wait out any proceedings in a safe, dignified place and dignified setting, which California City is absolutely not,” Eblin told KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, immigration advocates began seeing ICE detentions at airports outside of Customs and Border Protection last year anecdotally, but in the last month, they have become a “consistent tactic.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What we’re seeing now is ICE showing up at airports because they have information about travelers, they have ID information,” she said. “The Department of Homeland Security includes TSA, so it just appears that TSA is now cooperating with ICE at a level that we haven’t seen before.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said via email that ICE and DHS operate outside the jurisdiction of U.S. airports, and that SFO is “not involved in any decisions about their operations, nor are we notified when they occur.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A friend coordinating her legal aid said the 38-year-old Ukrainian immigrant is in a federal immigration detention facility in California City. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A Ukrainian woman who has lived in the U.S. for 16 years was detained by immigration enforcement agents at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-international-airport\">San Francisco International Airport\u003c/a> on Wednesday after a flight home from Portland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Iryna Gorb, 38, was arrested by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after landing in San Francisco, where she has lived and worked for more than a decade. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She is currently in detention at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073215/judge-orders-ice-to-provide-medical-care-in-largest-immigration-jail-in-california\">California City Detention Facility\u003c/a> in Kern County, according to Andy Eblin, who’s been a friend of Gorb’s for 13 years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Videos of Gorb’s arrest circulated on social media Wednesday evening after Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson, who was traveling through the airport at the time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DoriaforRichmond\">posted\u003c/a> footage of the incident on Facebook. She said two ICE agents approached Gorb in a store in Terminal 3.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01540_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doria Robinson speaks at the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They put hands on her, pulled her down to the ground and we see the agent get on top of her,” Robinson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the videos, Gorb can be heard yelling: “They’re f—n ICE, I’m from Ukraine, please, somebody.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She can be seen telling the agents to let her go, and heard saying, “You’re f—ing choking me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robinson said the officials did not respond to bystanders who asked them to identify themselves. They handcuffed Gorb to an airport wheelchair and rolled her away, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t right,” Robinson said. “It just felt in your heart and your soul that that was not right. That was not the way we should be doing things.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb called him from an ICE field office in Stockton late Wednesday, and told him she had been detained and would be transferred to the California City Detention Facility. She asked him to tell her boss at Better Half Coffee in Nob Hill, where she is a head barista, and a few friends whom she was supposed to cat-sit for this week, that she would not be able to work. Eblin said Gorb also requested that he ask her neighbor to water her plants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can’t think of a better explanation of Iryna as a person than those concerns,” Eblin said. “She’s a good person that helped out a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said she was “not certain exactly” why she was detained, and as far as he knew, she hadn’t received any paperwork regarding her visa status. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Gorb entered the U.S. lawfully in 2010 under a visa that expired in May 2011. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gorb overstayed her visa and remained in the United States illegally for 15 years in violation of our nation’s laws. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said Gorb moved to the U.S. to attend college in Boston before relocating to San Francisco 13 years ago. He said she’s an active part of the city’s coffee and art communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-2000x2667.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-2000x2667.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260724-SFO-ICE-02-KQED-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iryna Gorb worked as a head barista at Better Half Coffee in Nob Hill and was an active member of San Francisco’s coffee community, according to friends. (Courtesy of Andy Eblin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Gorb is a professional photographer and has run a vintage pop-up over the years, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Her absence leaves a tremendous void in our cafe and in our community,” Better Half, the coffee shop where Gorb works, posted on social media Thursday. “She has been such an important part of this space, and her presence will be deeply missed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eblin said that when he was able to connect with Gorb again Thursday evening, she had been transferred to California City and sounded “substantially rattled.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said she’s expected to meet with an attorney on Friday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our predominant concern at this point is getting her released on bond so she’s able to wait out any proceedings in a safe, dignified place and dignified setting, which California City is absolutely not,” Eblin told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, immigration advocates began seeing ICE detentions at airports outside of Customs and Border Protection last year anecdotally, but in the last month, they have become a “consistent tactic.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What we’re seeing now is ICE showing up at airports because they have information about travelers, they have ID information,” she said. “The Department of Homeland Security includes TSA, so it just appears that TSA is now cooperating with ICE at a level that we haven’t seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said via email that ICE and DHS operate outside the jurisdiction of U.S. airports, and that SFO is “not involved in any decisions about their operations, nor are we notified when they occur.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Atkinson said for people who are not U.S. citizens, “now is not a safe time to be traveling through airports unless you’ve spoken to an attorney and you assess what risk there is.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-america-turns-250-san-franciscos-role-in-defining-citizenship-endures",
"title": "As America Turns 250, San Francisco’s Role in Defining Citizenship Endures",
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"headTitle": "As America Turns 250, San Francisco’s Role in Defining Citizenship Endures | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It was a high-pressure moment when Cecillia Wang stepped into the U.S. Supreme Court in April to deliver oral arguments defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/birthright-citizenship\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a>. But, she said, she had the spirit of millions of Americans’ ancestors with her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I felt a lot of the weight of all those hopes and aspirations, and really a belief in the promise of this country, that birthright citizenship is so much a part of the fabric of what it means to be an American,” Wang said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the landmark case \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11423\">\u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>Wang — the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">President Donald Trump’s executive order\u003c/a>, which seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to babies whose parents aren’t citizens or permanent legal residents. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its highly anticipated ruling by the end of the month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today’s debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Asian American historians, legal scholars and civil rights advocates say those contributions remain largely absent from the national narrative, even as the rights they helped establish face renewed challenges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The semiquincentennial, they say, offers an opportunity to examine who helped build American democracy — and to recognize that immigrants were not only beneficiaries of constitutional rights, but among their architects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The right to automatic American citizenship was established in 1898 under the 14th Amendment when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, a Chinese cook born in San Francisco, successfully defended his claim to U.S. citizenship after officials argued that his parents’ Chinese citizenship disqualified him from it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a constitutional lawyer, Wang has worked many cases at the Supreme Court, but she said this was the first one to hit very close to home: Wang is a recipient of birthright citizenship, and her personal history made her role at the nation’s highest court meaningful for many immigrants and second-generation Americans — especially Asian Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088380\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-1536x1040.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cecillia Wang spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump attended in person as the court heard a landmark case weighing the constitutionality of his effort to end birthright citizenship. (Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people have told me, both friends and loved ones, but also total strangers: ‘I listened to \u003ca href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-barbara-oral-argument/675665\">that argument;\u003c/a> it’s the first time I’ve ever listened to a Supreme Court argument. My parents, who are immigrants, listened to [it] and they’ve never listened to [one] before,’” Wang said. “‘And we’re all cheering you on.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wang said the effort to overturn a centuries-old constitutional right has helped spotlight critical and often overlooked Asian American history, particularly highlighting how the Chinese community’s 19th-century legal victories helped secure foundational protections for both Americans and noncitizens. Many constitutional protections are now under attack by the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is only one example. Early Chinese immigrants filed more than 10,000 lawsuits to fight discrimination and raised money to hire prominent white lawyers to argue on their behalf. Some cases reached the Supreme Court, and the resulting decisions continue to undergird many modern civil rights cases, including disputes over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">equal protection and due process\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Efforts to reframe the American story have been fueled by descendants of some of the country’s earliest immigrants. They’ve illuminated little-known chapters of the nation’s history by unearthing family archives and sharing personal stories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong walks through Ross Alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 14, 2026. Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, who won birthright citizenship in 1898 in the Supreme Court. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Norman Wong, a Bay Area resident and the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, has been on a media blitz since January to share his family’s legacy and protect birthright citizenship. He’s appeared at public events, been invited to speak on panels and been interviewed by national and local news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for birthright citizenship hearings and gave a speech outside of the Supreme Court. It’s work that Wong didn’t expect to do at this stage of his life, but it’s a role and responsibility that he accepts willingly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I consider it a duty and a privilege to, in a sense, serve, because these times need people to volunteer and help,” Wong, 76, said. “I think especially for Chinese Americans who are afraid of [how] their history might implicate them … We need to get out from under that rock.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For most of his life, Wong had no idea he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark. His father, Wong Yook Jim, rarely spoke about his past or their family lineage, let alone who Wong’s great-grandfather was. Wong only discovered the connection in his 50s — but he was no stranger to Asian American history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1091\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088377\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-160x87.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-1536x838.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Wong Yook Jim, grandson of Wong Kim Ark, with his two sons, Gary (left) and Norman Wong (right), during the early 1950s in San Francisco.Right: Wong Yook Jim during the mid-1950s.Norman Wong didn’t know he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark until he was in his 50s because his Chinese family never spoke about their family history. He says of his father, “He didn’t talk about his mother or his father or any of that … We didn’t even know he actually came from China … as far as I knew, he could have been born here.” (Courtesy of Norman Wong.)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>As a UC Berkeley student during the 1970s, Wong was a part of the multiracial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11830384/how-the-longest-student-strike-in-u-s-history-created-ethnic-studies\">Third World Liberation Front movement\u003c/a> in the Bay Area, when widespread student strikes helped establish the country’s first ethnic studies programs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was during that period that the Asian American identity was first conceived. Wong also protested the demolition of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DAt5-VRqL3z/\">San Francisco’s International Hotel\u003c/a> — a landmark event widely regarded as the catalyst for the Asian American movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong said his activism as a young man helped prepare him for his current role as a public advocate for immigrants and other vulnerable groups in America. He’s not only fiery in his efforts to preserve his great-grandfather’s contributions, but also in his critiques of the Trump administration, especially as it prepares to host the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s ironic that Trump is our president while we’re extolling the virtues of the United States, and he’s showing the worst side of America,” Wong said. “I think the main story is ‘who we should be as a people?’ instead of just celebrating that we’re Americans.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, said having people like Wong speak out exemplifies how vital it is to connect history to the present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong stands in front of a mural depicting his great-grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, on the corner of Sacramento and Grant streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sunday, June 14, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really significant to share our stories to change the narrative about Asian Americans, to change the narrative of America,” Jeung said. “I think digging up and reclaiming our history is critical to helping us face the challenges of what we’re dealing with now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeung is a co-founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11876972/inside-the-california-organization-tracking-anti-asian-hate-incidents\">Stop AAPI Hate\u003c/a>, a movement that started during the COVID era, which has helped reshape the way the country views racism against Asians. But Jeung said Asian American activism isn’t new; it’s always been a part of the Asian American experience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Asians were really unruly when they came. They were engaged in massive disobedience against every law … They used every means available to their disposal to challenge racist laws,” Jeung said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One example is the 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case, \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/118/356/\">\u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">Chinese laundrymen sued San Francisco\u003c/a> because of an unfair laundry ordinance — one of many discriminatory laws designed to make life and earning a livelihood difficult for Chinese immigrants. With the help of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the laundrymen won and secured 14th Amendment protections, including equal rights and due process for noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk through the intersection at Pacific and Stockton streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeung said that the current debates over constitutional protections and who qualifies for U.S. citizenship are especially relevant to Asian Americans because 19th-century Asians were, in his words, the “foundational aliens” — the group through which the boundaries of American citizenship were drawn and the limits of constitutional rights were tested. The restrictions imposed on Chinese immigrants helped define who could — and could not — be considered American.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The whole idea of American citizenship and belonging was based on the opposite, the Asian as the paradigmatic alien,” Jeung said. “And so today, the treatment of immigrants is sort of based on how America treated Asians initially as aliens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That treatment includes being regarded as economic scapegoats, as threats to national security, ineligible for citizenship despite legal ties, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">being denied due process rights\u003c/a> and subjected to hostile political rhetoric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Jeung said early Chinese immigrants also created a model of how to seek justice. By organizing across their community and bringing their fights to the courts, they called out the hypocrisy of America and challenged the nation to live up to its espoused values.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I am an American” in various languages is etched into a plaque honoring Wong Kim Ark in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to have inalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness … but aliens didn’t get those rights, and the same holds true today. Undocumented people don’t have the right to … due process, habeas corpus; they don’t have the right to be innocent until proven guilty,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because of the parallels between the past and present, Jeung believes the country’s upcoming celebrations should raise some critical questions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a question for America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Are those rights inalienable, are they sacred to all? Or why do we only hold them for a certain privileged few?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, a legal and civil rights nonprofit in San Francisco, has worked for decades to ensure rights are upheld for some of the most vulnerable groups in the Asian American community. The organization was part of the nationwide class action in \u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>, and Kohli said this has been a “pivotal moment” for the Asian Law Caucus, as many constitutional protections beyond birthright citizenship are under threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The ground has really shifted under most civil rights organizations,” Kohli said. “We have to be more strategic, more creative than ever … we need to build a coalition of supporters … we can’t just fight in court. We have to win on the streets as well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kohli pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081927/supreme-court-ruling-on-voting-wont-change-california-districts-but-could-hurt-democrats\">recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act\u003c/a> by the Supreme Court — including decisions limiting the consideration of race in drawing congressional maps — as emblematic of the direction the country is heading towards as it approaches its 250th anniversary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[The Trump administration] has revealed to us the vulnerabilities in our democracy,” Kohli said. “The checks and balances of power relied on people acting with integrity … one of the things that was not contemplated … is that an administration could act with such impunity and feel very justified in violating not just norms, but the law.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because of vulnerabilities in the nation’s democratic institutions, Kohli and other advocates argue that preserving a multiracial democracy will require deeper solidarity across communities and a recognition of the connections between different groups’ struggles for rights and belonging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Wang, that broader struggle for rights and belonging stretches beyond the Chinese American experience. That’s why she said there’s another important group of ancestors to acknowledge when discussing birthright citizenship and other constitutional ideals: Black freedom fighters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An American flag, a San Francisco flag and the Chinese flag fly on Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“[They] both achieved the end of slavery, and Reconstruction in the form of civil rights legislation in the 1960s…we need to connect those efforts,” Wang said, noting that the constitutional protections invoked by Chinese immigrants originated from Black Americans’ struggle against slavery. Without the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/reconstruction-amendments/\">Reconstruction Amendments\u003c/a> and the legal framework earned by Black Americans, Chinese litigants wouldn’t have been able to test those guarantees in court – and secure them for generations of Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the political climate and the ongoing challenges to constitutional protections may easily overshadow the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary for some, Wang said she still plans to commemorate the milestone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to let the president take away my joy,” she said. “I remember the bicentennial; I was a little kid and remember the excitement of it … there are a lot of people who have a critique of American exceptionalism and those critiques are very valid. But for me personally, I feel so fortunate to be a U.S. citizen. I feel so fortunate to be American. And I think being a civil rights lawyer is a really profound expression of American patriotism.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wang marvels at the fact that she, a Chinese American lawyer and daughter of immigrants, was able to argue the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court at a time when Chinese people like Wong Kim Ark lived in an era when they were barred from testifying in court.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A mural depicting Wong Kim Ark is seen through the Floating Sushi Boat restaurant on the corner of Sacramento and Grant in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>That arc of history is not lost on Norman Wong. It may explain why he’s been so tireless in his efforts to share who his great-grandfather was and what he achieved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked what’s next for his family’s legacy after the Supreme Court issues its ruling, Wong said he hopes there will no longer be a need for such a public role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I’m not needed anymore, I’ll just fade away,” Wong said. “People shouldn’t worry about [birthright citizenship], and all of this will be a footnote.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For now, though, Wong believes there are still countless family stories waiting to be told — if others are willing to share them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be ashamed of our personal history. It’s time for us to say who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">As we tell these stories, \u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/appYRab8nOv1F5DoN/pagzLWLgeFJm7OqcO/form\">we want to hear from you\u003c/a>. Do you have family ties to San Francisco Chinatown or the Bay Area’s early Chinese American communities? Family photographs, letters, documents or stories passed down through generations? Do you know of local histories, legal battles or community contributions that deserve greater attention?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">Reporter Cecilia Lei is collecting stories, memories and historical materials that may inform or be featured in our reporting. Email her at clei@kqed.org and help us preserve and share this history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/appYRab8nOv1F5DoN/pagzLWLgeFJm7OqcO/form\">SHARE YOUR STORY\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was a high-pressure moment when Cecillia Wang stepped into the U.S. Supreme Court in April to deliver oral arguments defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/birthright-citizenship\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a>. But, she said, she had the spirit of millions of Americans’ ancestors with her.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was a high-pressure moment when Cecillia Wang stepped into the U.S. Supreme Court in April to deliver oral arguments defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/birthright-citizenship\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a>. But, she said, she had the spirit of millions of Americans’ ancestors with her.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I felt a lot of the weight of all those hopes and aspirations, and really a belief in the promise of this country, that birthright citizenship is so much a part of the fabric of what it means to be an American,” Wang said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I felt a lot of the weight of all those hopes and aspirations, and really a belief in the promise of this country, that birthright citizenship is so much a part of the fabric of what it means to be an American,” Wang said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the landmark case \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11423\">\u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>Wang — the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">President Donald Trump’s executive order\u003c/a>, which seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to babies whose parents aren’t citizens or permanent legal residents. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its highly anticipated ruling by the end of the month.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the landmark case \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11423\">\u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>Wang — the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">President Donald Trump’s executive order\u003c/a>, which seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to babies whose parents aren’t citizens or permanent legal residents. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its highly anticipated ruling by the end of the month.\u003c/p>\n"
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"title": "Find more of KQED’s coverage of California’s 175th and the United States’ 250th"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today’s debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Asian American historians, legal scholars and civil rights advocates say those contributions remain largely absent from the national narrative, even as the rights they helped establish face renewed challenges.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today’s debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Asian American historians, legal scholars and civil rights advocates say those contributions remain largely absent from the national narrative, even as the rights they helped establish face renewed challenges.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The semiquincentennial, they say, offers an opportunity to examine who helped build American democracy — and to recognize that immigrants were not only beneficiaries of constitutional rights, but among their architects.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The semiquincentennial, they say, offers an opportunity to examine who helped build American democracy — and to recognize that immigrants were not only beneficiaries of constitutional rights, but among their architects.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The right to automatic American citizenship was established in 1898 under the 14th Amendment when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, a Chinese cook born in San Francisco, successfully defended his claim to U.S. citizenship after officials argued that his parents’ Chinese citizenship disqualified him from it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The right to automatic American citizenship was established in 1898 under the 14th Amendment when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, a Chinese cook born in San Francisco, successfully defended his claim to U.S. citizenship after officials argued that his parents’ Chinese citizenship disqualified him from it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a constitutional lawyer, Wang has worked many cases at the Supreme Court, but she said this was the first one to hit very close to home: Wang is a recipient of birthright citizenship, and her personal history made her role at the nation’s highest court meaningful for many immigrants and second-generation Americans — especially Asian Americans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As a constitutional lawyer, Wang has worked many cases at the Supreme Court, but she said this was the first one to hit very close to home: Wang is a recipient of birthright citizenship, and her personal history made her role at the nation’s highest court meaningful for many immigrants and second-generation Americans — especially Asian Americans.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088380\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-1536x1040.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cecillia Wang spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump attended in person as the court heard a landmark case weighing the constitutionality of his effort to end birthright citizenship.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088380\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cecillia Wang spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump attended in person as the court heard a landmark case weighing the constitutionality of his effort to end birthright citizenship.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people have told me, both friends and loved ones, but also total strangers: ‘I listened to \u003ca href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-barbara-oral-argument/675665\">that argument;\u003c/a> it’s the first time I’ve ever listened to a Supreme Court argument. My parents, who are immigrants, listened to [it] and they’ve never listened to [one] before,’” Wang said. “‘And we’re all cheering you on.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people have told me, both friends and loved ones, but also total strangers: ‘I listened to \u003ca href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-barbara-oral-argument/675665\">that argument;\u003c/a> it’s the first time I’ve ever listened to a Supreme Court argument. My parents, who are immigrants, listened to [it] and they’ve never listened to [one] before,’” Wang said. “‘And we’re all cheering you on.’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wang said the effort to overturn a centuries-old constitutional right has helped spotlight critical and often overlooked Asian American history, particularly highlighting how the Chinese community’s 19th-century legal victories helped secure foundational protections for both Americans and noncitizens. Many constitutional protections are now under attack by the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wang said the effort to overturn a centuries-old constitutional right has helped spotlight critical and often overlooked Asian American history, particularly highlighting how the Chinese community’s 19th-century legal victories helped secure foundational protections for both Americans and noncitizens. Many constitutional protections are now under attack by the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is only one example. Early Chinese immigrants filed more than 10,000 lawsuits to fight discrimination and raised money to hire prominent white lawyers to argue on their behalf. Some cases reached the Supreme Court, and the resulting decisions continue to undergird many modern civil rights cases, including disputes over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">equal protection and due process\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is only one example. Early Chinese immigrants filed more than 10,000 lawsuits to fight discrimination and raised money to hire prominent white lawyers to argue on their behalf. Some cases reached the Supreme Court, and the resulting decisions continue to undergird many modern civil rights cases, including disputes over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">equal protection and due process\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Efforts to reframe the American story have been fueled by descendants of some of the country’s earliest immigrants. They’ve illuminated little-known chapters of the nation’s history by unearthing family archives and sharing personal stories.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Efforts to reframe the American story have been fueled by descendants of some of the country’s earliest immigrants. They’ve illuminated little-known chapters of the nation’s history by unearthing family archives and sharing personal stories.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong walks through Ross Alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 14, 2026. Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, who won birthright citizenship in 1898 in the Supreme Court.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088375\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong walks through Ross Alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 14, 2026. Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, who won birthright citizenship in 1898 in the Supreme Court.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Norman Wong, a Bay Area resident and the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, has been on a media blitz since January to share his family’s legacy and protect birthright citizenship. He’s appeared at public events, been invited to speak on panels and been interviewed by national and local news outlets.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Norman Wong, a Bay Area resident and the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, has been on a media blitz since January to share his family’s legacy and protect birthright citizenship. He’s appeared at public events, been invited to speak on panels and been interviewed by national and local news outlets.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In April, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for birthright citizenship hearings and gave a speech outside of the Supreme Court. It’s work that Wong didn’t expect to do at this stage of his life, but it’s a role and responsibility that he accepts willingly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In April, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for birthright citizenship hearings and gave a speech outside of the Supreme Court. It’s work that Wong didn’t expect to do at this stage of his life, but it’s a role and responsibility that he accepts willingly.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I consider it a duty and a privilege to, in a sense, serve, because these times need people to volunteer and help,” Wong, 76, said. “I think especially for Chinese Americans who are afraid of [how] their history might implicate them … We need to get out from under that rock.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I consider it a duty and a privilege to, in a sense, serve, because these times need people to volunteer and help,” Wong, 76, said. “I think especially for Chinese Americans who are afraid of [how] their history might implicate them … We need to get out from under that rock.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For most of his life, Wong had no idea he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark. His father, Wong Yook Jim, rarely spoke about his past or their family lineage, let alone who Wong’s great-grandfather was. Wong only discovered the connection in his 50s — but he was no stranger to Asian American history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For most of his life, Wong had no idea he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark. His father, Wong Yook Jim, rarely spoke about his past or their family lineage, let alone who Wong’s great-grandfather was. Wong only discovered the connection in his 50s — but he was no stranger to Asian American history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088377\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-160x87.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-1536x838.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Wong Yook Jim, grandson of Wong Kim Ark, with his two sons, Gary (left) and Norman Wong (right), during the early 1950s in San Francisco.Right: Wong Yook Jim during the mid-1950s.Norman Wong didn’t know he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark until he was in his 50s because his Chinese family never spoke about their family history. He says of his father, “He didn’t talk about his mother or his father or any of that … We didn’t even know he actually came from China … as far as I knew, he could have been born here.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088377\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Wong Yook Jim, grandson of Wong Kim Ark, with his two sons, Gary (left) and Norman Wong (right), during the early 1950s in San Francisco.Right: Wong Yook Jim during the mid-1950s.Norman Wong didn’t know he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark until he was in his 50s because his Chinese family never spoke about their family history. He says of his father, “He didn’t talk about his mother or his father or any of that … We didn’t even know he actually came from China … as far as I knew, he could have been born here.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a UC Berkeley student during the 1970s, Wong was a part of the multiracial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11830384/how-the-longest-student-strike-in-u-s-history-created-ethnic-studies\">Third World Liberation Front movement\u003c/a> in the Bay Area, when widespread student strikes helped establish the country’s first ethnic studies programs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As a UC Berkeley student during the 1970s, Wong was a part of the multiracial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11830384/how-the-longest-student-strike-in-u-s-history-created-ethnic-studies\">Third World Liberation Front movement\u003c/a> in the Bay Area, when widespread student strikes helped establish the country’s first ethnic studies programs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was during that period that the Asian American identity was first conceived. Wong also protested the demolition of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DAt5-VRqL3z/\">San Francisco’s International Hotel\u003c/a> — a landmark event widely regarded as the catalyst for the Asian American movement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was during that period that the Asian American identity was first conceived. Wong also protested the demolition of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DAt5-VRqL3z/\">San Francisco’s International Hotel\u003c/a> — a landmark event widely regarded as the catalyst for the Asian American movement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wong said his activism as a young man helped prepare him for his current role as a public advocate for immigrants and other vulnerable groups in America. He’s not only fiery in his efforts to preserve his great-grandfather’s contributions, but also in his critiques of the Trump administration, especially as it prepares to host the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wong said his activism as a young man helped prepare him for his current role as a public advocate for immigrants and other vulnerable groups in America. He’s not only fiery in his efforts to preserve his great-grandfather’s contributions, but also in his critiques of the Trump administration, especially as it prepares to host the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s ironic that Trump is our president while we’re extolling the virtues of the United States, and he’s showing the worst side of America,” Wong said. “I think the main story is ‘who we should be as a people?’ instead of just celebrating that we’re Americans.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think it’s ironic that Trump is our president while we’re extolling the virtues of the United States, and he’s showing the worst side of America,” Wong said. “I think the main story is ‘who we should be as a people?’ instead of just celebrating that we’re Americans.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, said having people like Wong speak out exemplifies how vital it is to connect history to the present.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, said having people like Wong speak out exemplifies how vital it is to connect history to the present.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong stands in front of a mural depicting his great-grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, on the corner of Sacramento and Grant streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sunday, June 14, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088374\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong stands in front of a mural depicting his great-grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, on the corner of Sacramento and Grant streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sunday, June 14, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s really significant to share our stories to change the narrative about Asian Americans, to change the narrative of America,” Jeung said. “I think digging up and reclaiming our history is critical to helping us face the challenges of what we’re dealing with now.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jeung is a co-founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11876972/inside-the-california-organization-tracking-anti-asian-hate-incidents\">Stop AAPI Hate\u003c/a>, a movement that started during the COVID era, which has helped reshape the way the country views racism against Asians. But Jeung said Asian American activism isn’t new; it’s always been a part of the Asian American experience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Jeung is a co-founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11876972/inside-the-california-organization-tracking-anti-asian-hate-incidents\">Stop AAPI Hate\u003c/a>, a movement that started during the COVID era, which has helped reshape the way the country views racism against Asians. But Jeung said Asian American activism isn’t new; it’s always been a part of the Asian American experience.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Asians were really unruly when they came. They were engaged in massive disobedience against every law … They used every means available to their disposal to challenge racist laws,” Jeung said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Asians were really unruly when they came. They were engaged in massive disobedience against every law … They used every means available to their disposal to challenge racist laws,” Jeung said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One example is the 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case, \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/118/356/\">\u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">Chinese laundrymen sued San Francisco\u003c/a> because of an unfair laundry ordinance — one of many discriminatory laws designed to make life and earning a livelihood difficult for Chinese immigrants. With the help of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the laundrymen won and secured 14th Amendment protections, including equal rights and due process for noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One example is the 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case, \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/118/356/\">\u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">Chinese laundrymen sued San Francisco\u003c/a> because of an unfair laundry ordinance — one of many discriminatory laws designed to make life and earning a livelihood difficult for Chinese immigrants. With the help of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the laundrymen won and secured 14th Amendment protections, including equal rights and due process for noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk through the intersection at Pacific and Stockton streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088373\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk through the intersection at Pacific and Stockton streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jeung said that the current debates over constitutional protections and who qualifies for U.S. citizenship are especially relevant to Asian Americans because 19th-century Asians were, in his words, the “foundational aliens” — the group through which the boundaries of American citizenship were drawn and the limits of constitutional rights were tested. The restrictions imposed on Chinese immigrants helped define who could — and could not — be considered American.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Jeung said that the current debates over constitutional protections and who qualifies for U.S. citizenship are especially relevant to Asian Americans because 19th-century Asians were, in his words, the “foundational aliens” — the group through which the boundaries of American citizenship were drawn and the limits of constitutional rights were tested. The restrictions imposed on Chinese immigrants helped define who could — and could not — be considered American.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The whole idea of American citizenship and belonging was based on the opposite, the Asian as the paradigmatic alien,” Jeung said. “And so today, the treatment of immigrants is sort of based on how America treated Asians initially as aliens.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The whole idea of American citizenship and belonging was based on the opposite, the Asian as the paradigmatic alien,” Jeung said. “And so today, the treatment of immigrants is sort of based on how America treated Asians initially as aliens.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That treatment includes being regarded as economic scapegoats, as threats to national security, ineligible for citizenship despite legal ties, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">being denied due process rights\u003c/a> and subjected to hostile political rhetoric.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That treatment includes being regarded as economic scapegoats, as threats to national security, ineligible for citizenship despite legal ties, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">being denied due process rights\u003c/a> and subjected to hostile political rhetoric.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Jeung said early Chinese immigrants also created a model of how to seek justice. By organizing across their community and bringing their fights to the courts, they called out the hypocrisy of America and challenged the nation to live up to its espoused values.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But Jeung said early Chinese immigrants also created a model of how to seek justice. By organizing across their community and bringing their fights to the courts, they called out the hypocrisy of America and challenged the nation to live up to its espoused values.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I am an American” in various languages is etched into a plaque honoring Wong Kim Ark in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088372\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I am an American” in various languages is etched into a plaque honoring Wong Kim Ark in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to have inalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness … but aliens didn’t get those rights, and the same holds true today. Undocumented people don’t have the right to … due process, habeas corpus; they don’t have the right to be innocent until proven guilty,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to have inalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness … but aliens didn’t get those rights, and the same holds true today. Undocumented people don’t have the right to … due process, habeas corpus; they don’t have the right to be innocent until proven guilty,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because of the parallels between the past and present, Jeung believes the country’s upcoming celebrations should raise some critical questions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Because of the parallels between the past and present, Jeung believes the country’s upcoming celebrations should raise some critical questions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a question for America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Are those rights inalienable, are they sacred to all? Or why do we only hold them for a certain privileged few?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a question for America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Are those rights inalienable, are they sacred to all? Or why do we only hold them for a certain privileged few?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, a legal and civil rights nonprofit in San Francisco, has worked for decades to ensure rights are upheld for some of the most vulnerable groups in the Asian American community. The organization was part of the nationwide class action in \u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>, and Kohli said this has been a “pivotal moment” for the Asian Law Caucus, as many constitutional protections beyond birthright citizenship are under threat.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, a legal and civil rights nonprofit in San Francisco, has worked for decades to ensure rights are upheld for some of the most vulnerable groups in the Asian American community. The organization was part of the nationwide class action in \u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>, and Kohli said this has been a “pivotal moment” for the Asian Law Caucus, as many constitutional protections beyond birthright citizenship are under threat.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The ground has really shifted under most civil rights organizations,” Kohli said. “We have to be more strategic, more creative than ever … we need to build a coalition of supporters … we can’t just fight in court. We have to win on the streets as well.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The ground has really shifted under most civil rights organizations,” Kohli said. “We have to be more strategic, more creative than ever … we need to build a coalition of supporters … we can’t just fight in court. We have to win on the streets as well.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kohli pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081927/supreme-court-ruling-on-voting-wont-change-california-districts-but-could-hurt-democrats\">recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act\u003c/a> by the Supreme Court — including decisions limiting the consideration of race in drawing congressional maps — as emblematic of the direction the country is heading towards as it approaches its 250th anniversary. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kohli pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081927/supreme-court-ruling-on-voting-wont-change-california-districts-but-could-hurt-democrats\">recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act\u003c/a> by the Supreme Court — including decisions limiting the consideration of race in drawing congressional maps — as emblematic of the direction the country is heading towards as it approaches its 250th anniversary. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[The Trump administration] has revealed to us the vulnerabilities in our democracy,” Kohli said. “The checks and balances of power relied on people acting with integrity … one of the things that was not contemplated … is that an administration could act with such impunity and feel very justified in violating not just norms, but the law.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[The Trump administration] has revealed to us the vulnerabilities in our democracy,” Kohli said. “The checks and balances of power relied on people acting with integrity … one of the things that was not contemplated … is that an administration could act with such impunity and feel very justified in violating not just norms, but the law.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because of vulnerabilities in the nation’s democratic institutions, Kohli and other advocates argue that preserving a multiracial democracy will require deeper solidarity across communities and a recognition of the connections between different groups’ struggles for rights and belonging.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Because of vulnerabilities in the nation’s democratic institutions, Kohli and other advocates argue that preserving a multiracial democracy will require deeper solidarity across communities and a recognition of the connections between different groups’ struggles for rights and belonging.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Wang, that broader struggle for rights and belonging stretches beyond the Chinese American experience. That’s why she said there’s another important group of ancestors to acknowledge when discussing birthright citizenship and other constitutional ideals: Black freedom fighters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Wang, that broader struggle for rights and belonging stretches beyond the Chinese American experience. That’s why she said there’s another important group of ancestors to acknowledge when discussing birthright citizenship and other constitutional ideals: Black freedom fighters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An American flag, a San Francisco flag and the Chinese flag fly on Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088378\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An American flag, a San Francisco flag and the Chinese flag fly on Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[They] both achieved the end of slavery, and Reconstruction in the form of civil rights legislation in the 1960s…we need to connect those efforts,” Wang said, noting that the constitutional protections invoked by Chinese immigrants originated from Black Americans’ struggle against slavery. Without the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/reconstruction-amendments/\">Reconstruction Amendments\u003c/a> and the legal framework earned by Black Americans, Chinese litigants wouldn’t have been able to test those guarantees in court – and secure them for generations of Americans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[They] both achieved the end of slavery, and Reconstruction in the form of civil rights legislation in the 1960s…we need to connect those efforts,” Wang said, noting that the constitutional protections invoked by Chinese immigrants originated from Black Americans’ struggle against slavery. Without the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/reconstruction-amendments/\">Reconstruction Amendments\u003c/a> and the legal framework earned by Black Americans, Chinese litigants wouldn’t have been able to test those guarantees in court – and secure them for generations of Americans.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the political climate and the ongoing challenges to constitutional protections may easily overshadow the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary for some, Wang said she still plans to commemorate the milestone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the political climate and the ongoing challenges to constitutional protections may easily overshadow the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary for some, Wang said she still plans to commemorate the milestone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to let the president take away my joy,” she said. “I remember the bicentennial; I was a little kid and remember the excitement of it … there are a lot of people who have a critique of American exceptionalism and those critiques are very valid. But for me personally, I feel so fortunate to be a U.S. citizen. I feel so fortunate to be American. And I think being a civil rights lawyer is a really profound expression of American patriotism.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to let the president take away my joy,” she said. “I remember the bicentennial; I was a little kid and remember the excitement of it … there are a lot of people who have a critique of American exceptionalism and those critiques are very valid. But for me personally, I feel so fortunate to be a U.S. citizen. I feel so fortunate to be American. And I think being a civil rights lawyer is a really profound expression of American patriotism.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wang marvels at the fact that she, a Chinese American lawyer and daughter of immigrants, was able to argue the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court at a time when Chinese people like Wong Kim Ark lived in an era when they were barred from testifying in court.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wang marvels at the fact that she, a Chinese American lawyer and daughter of immigrants, was able to argue the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court at a time when Chinese people like Wong Kim Ark lived in an era when they were barred from testifying in court.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A mural depicting Wong Kim Ark is seen through the Floating Sushi Boat restaurant on the corner of Sacramento and Grant in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088379\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A mural depicting Wong Kim Ark is seen through the Floating Sushi Boat restaurant on the corner of Sacramento and Grant in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That arc of history is not lost on Norman Wong. It may explain why he’s been so tireless in his efforts to share who his great-grandfather was and what he achieved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That arc of history is not lost on Norman Wong. It may explain why he’s been so tireless in his efforts to share who his great-grandfather was and what he achieved.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I’m not needed anymore, I’ll just fade away,” Wong said. “People shouldn’t worry about [birthright citizenship], and all of this will be a footnote.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be ashamed of our personal history. It’s time for us to say who we are.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">As we tell these stories, \u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/appYRab8nOv1F5DoN/pagzLWLgeFJm7OqcO/form\">we want to hear from you\u003c/a>. Do you have family ties to San Francisco Chinatown or the Bay Area’s early Chinese American communities? Family photographs, letters, documents or stories passed down through generations? Do you know of local histories, legal battles or community contributions that deserve greater attention?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">Reporter Cecilia Lei is collecting stories, memories and historical materials that may inform or be featured in our reporting. Email her at clei@kqed.org and help us preserve and share this history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">Reporter Cecilia Lei is collecting stories, memories and historical materials that may inform or be featured in our reporting. Email her at clei@kqed.org and help us preserve and share this history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/appYRab8nOv1F5DoN/pagzLWLgeFJm7OqcO/form\">SHARE YOUR STORY\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Cases involving Chinese immigrants from San Francisco reached the U.S. Supreme Court and helped establish birthright citizenship, now under threat as America celebrates 250 years as a nation.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It was a high-pressure moment when Cecillia Wang stepped into the U.S. Supreme Court in April to deliver oral arguments defending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/birthright-citizenship\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a>. But, she said, she had the spirit of millions of Americans’ ancestors with her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I felt a lot of the weight of all those hopes and aspirations, and really a belief in the promise of this country, that birthright citizenship is so much a part of the fabric of what it means to be an American,” Wang said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the landmark case \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11423\">\u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>Wang — the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">President Donald Trump’s executive order\u003c/a>, which seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to babies whose parents aren’t citizens or permanent legal residents. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its highly anticipated ruling by the end of the month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today’s debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Asian American historians, legal scholars and civil rights advocates say those contributions remain largely absent from the national narrative, even as the rights they helped establish face renewed challenges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The semiquincentennial, they say, offers an opportunity to examine who helped build American democracy — and to recognize that immigrants were not only beneficiaries of constitutional rights, but among their architects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The right to automatic American citizenship was established in 1898 under the 14th Amendment when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, a Chinese cook born in San Francisco, successfully defended his claim to U.S. citizenship after officials argued that his parents’ Chinese citizenship disqualified him from it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a constitutional lawyer, Wang has worked many cases at the Supreme Court, but she said this was the first one to hit very close to home: Wang is a recipient of birthright citizenship, and her personal history made her role at the nation’s highest court meaningful for many immigrants and second-generation Americans — especially Asian Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088380\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2268796836-1536x1040.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cecillia Wang spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump attended in person as the court heard a landmark case weighing the constitutionality of his effort to end birthright citizenship. (Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people have told me, both friends and loved ones, but also total strangers: ‘I listened to \u003ca href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-barbara-oral-argument/675665\">that argument;\u003c/a> it’s the first time I’ve ever listened to a Supreme Court argument. My parents, who are immigrants, listened to [it] and they’ve never listened to [one] before,’” Wang said. “‘And we’re all cheering you on.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wang said the effort to overturn a centuries-old constitutional right has helped spotlight critical and often overlooked Asian American history, particularly highlighting how the Chinese community’s 19th-century legal victories helped secure foundational protections for both Americans and noncitizens. Many constitutional protections are now under attack by the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Birthright citizenship is only one example. Early Chinese immigrants filed more than 10,000 lawsuits to fight discrimination and raised money to hire prominent white lawyers to argue on their behalf. Some cases reached the Supreme Court, and the resulting decisions continue to undergird many modern civil rights cases, including disputes over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">equal protection and due process\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Efforts to reframe the American story have been fueled by descendants of some of the country’s earliest immigrants. They’ve illuminated little-known chapters of the nation’s history by unearthing family archives and sharing personal stories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong walks through Ross Alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 14, 2026. Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, who won birthright citizenship in 1898 in the Supreme Court. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Norman Wong, a Bay Area resident and the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, has been on a media blitz since January to share his family’s legacy and protect birthright citizenship. He’s appeared at public events, been invited to speak on panels and been interviewed by national and local news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for birthright citizenship hearings and gave a speech outside of the Supreme Court. It’s work that Wong didn’t expect to do at this stage of his life, but it’s a role and responsibility that he accepts willingly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I consider it a duty and a privilege to, in a sense, serve, because these times need people to volunteer and help,” Wong, 76, said. “I think especially for Chinese Americans who are afraid of [how] their history might implicate them … We need to get out from under that rock.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For most of his life, Wong had no idea he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark. His father, Wong Yook Jim, rarely spoke about his past or their family lineage, let alone who Wong’s great-grandfather was. Wong only discovered the connection in his 50s — but he was no stranger to Asian American history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1091\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088377\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-160x87.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/normanarchival-1536x838.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Wong Yook Jim, grandson of Wong Kim Ark, with his two sons, Gary (left) and Norman Wong (right), during the early 1950s in San Francisco.Right: Wong Yook Jim during the mid-1950s.Norman Wong didn’t know he was a descendant of Wong Kim Ark until he was in his 50s because his Chinese family never spoke about their family history. He says of his father, “He didn’t talk about his mother or his father or any of that … We didn’t even know he actually came from China … as far as I knew, he could have been born here.” (Courtesy of Norman Wong.)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>As a UC Berkeley student during the 1970s, Wong was a part of the multiracial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11830384/how-the-longest-student-strike-in-u-s-history-created-ethnic-studies\">Third World Liberation Front movement\u003c/a> in the Bay Area, when widespread student strikes helped establish the country’s first ethnic studies programs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was during that period that the Asian American identity was first conceived. Wong also protested the demolition of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DAt5-VRqL3z/\">San Francisco’s International Hotel\u003c/a> — a landmark event widely regarded as the catalyst for the Asian American movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong said his activism as a young man helped prepare him for his current role as a public advocate for immigrants and other vulnerable groups in America. He’s not only fiery in his efforts to preserve his great-grandfather’s contributions, but also in his critiques of the Trump administration, especially as it prepares to host the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s ironic that Trump is our president while we’re extolling the virtues of the United States, and he’s showing the worst side of America,” Wong said. “I think the main story is ‘who we should be as a people?’ instead of just celebrating that we’re Americans.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, said having people like Wong speak out exemplifies how vital it is to connect history to the present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260614-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norman Wong stands in front of a mural depicting his great-grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, on the corner of Sacramento and Grant streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sunday, June 14, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really significant to share our stories to change the narrative about Asian Americans, to change the narrative of America,” Jeung said. “I think digging up and reclaiming our history is critical to helping us face the challenges of what we’re dealing with now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeung is a co-founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11876972/inside-the-california-organization-tracking-anti-asian-hate-incidents\">Stop AAPI Hate\u003c/a>, a movement that started during the COVID era, which has helped reshape the way the country views racism against Asians. But Jeung said Asian American activism isn’t new; it’s always been a part of the Asian American experience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Asians were really unruly when they came. They were engaged in massive disobedience against every law … They used every means available to their disposal to challenge racist laws,” Jeung said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One example is the 1886 U.S. Supreme Court case, \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/118/356/\">\u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">Chinese laundrymen sued San Francisco\u003c/a> because of an unfair laundry ordinance — one of many discriminatory laws designed to make life and earning a livelihood difficult for Chinese immigrants. With the help of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the laundrymen won and secured 14th Amendment protections, including equal rights and due process for noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk through the intersection at Pacific and Stockton streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeung said that the current debates over constitutional protections and who qualifies for U.S. citizenship are especially relevant to Asian Americans because 19th-century Asians were, in his words, the “foundational aliens” — the group through which the boundaries of American citizenship were drawn and the limits of constitutional rights were tested. The restrictions imposed on Chinese immigrants helped define who could — and could not — be considered American.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The whole idea of American citizenship and belonging was based on the opposite, the Asian as the paradigmatic alien,” Jeung said. “And so today, the treatment of immigrants is sort of based on how America treated Asians initially as aliens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That treatment includes being regarded as economic scapegoats, as threats to national security, ineligible for citizenship despite legal ties, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">being denied due process rights\u003c/a> and subjected to hostile political rhetoric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Jeung said early Chinese immigrants also created a model of how to seek justice. By organizing across their community and bringing their fights to the courts, they called out the hypocrisy of America and challenged the nation to live up to its espoused values.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260607-ChinatownActivism-JY-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I am an American” in various languages is etched into a plaque honoring Wong Kim Ark in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 7, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were supposed to have inalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness … but aliens didn’t get those rights, and the same holds true today. Undocumented people don’t have the right to … due process, habeas corpus; they don’t have the right to be innocent until proven guilty,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because of the parallels between the past and present, Jeung believes the country’s upcoming celebrations should raise some critical questions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a question for America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Are those rights inalienable, are they sacred to all? Or why do we only hold them for a certain privileged few?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, a legal and civil rights nonprofit in San Francisco, has worked for decades to ensure rights are upheld for some of the most vulnerable groups in the Asian American community. The organization was part of the nationwide class action in \u003cem>Trump v. Barbara\u003c/em>, and Kohli said this has been a “pivotal moment” for the Asian Law Caucus, as many constitutional protections beyond birthright citizenship are under threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The ground has really shifted under most civil rights organizations,” Kohli said. “We have to be more strategic, more creative than ever … we need to build a coalition of supporters … we can’t just fight in court. We have to win on the streets as well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kohli pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12081927/supreme-court-ruling-on-voting-wont-change-california-districts-but-could-hurt-democrats\">recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act\u003c/a> by the Supreme Court — including decisions limiting the consideration of race in drawing congressional maps — as emblematic of the direction the country is heading towards as it approaches its 250th anniversary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[The Trump administration] has revealed to us the vulnerabilities in our democracy,” Kohli said. “The checks and balances of power relied on people acting with integrity … one of the things that was not contemplated … is that an administration could act with such impunity and feel very justified in violating not just norms, but the law.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because of vulnerabilities in the nation’s democratic institutions, Kohli and other advocates argue that preserving a multiracial democracy will require deeper solidarity across communities and a recognition of the connections between different groups’ struggles for rights and belonging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Wang, that broader struggle for rights and belonging stretches beyond the Chinese American experience. That’s why she said there’s another important group of ancestors to acknowledge when discussing birthright citizenship and other constitutional ideals: Black freedom fighters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An American flag, a San Francisco flag and the Chinese flag fly on Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“[They] both achieved the end of slavery, and Reconstruction in the form of civil rights legislation in the 1960s…we need to connect those efforts,” Wang said, noting that the constitutional protections invoked by Chinese immigrants originated from Black Americans’ struggle against slavery. Without the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/reconstruction-amendments/\">Reconstruction Amendments\u003c/a> and the legal framework earned by Black Americans, Chinese litigants wouldn’t have been able to test those guarantees in court – and secure them for generations of Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the political climate and the ongoing challenges to constitutional protections may easily overshadow the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary for some, Wang said she still plans to commemorate the milestone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to let the president take away my joy,” she said. “I remember the bicentennial; I was a little kid and remember the excitement of it … there are a lot of people who have a critique of American exceptionalism and those critiques are very valid. But for me personally, I feel so fortunate to be a U.S. citizen. I feel so fortunate to be American. And I think being a civil rights lawyer is a really profound expression of American patriotism.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wang marvels at the fact that she, a Chinese American lawyer and daughter of immigrants, was able to argue the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court at a time when Chinese people like Wong Kim Ark lived in an era when they were barred from testifying in court.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260620-ChinatownActivism-JY-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A mural depicting Wong Kim Ark is seen through the Floating Sushi Boat restaurant on the corner of Sacramento and Grant in San Francisco’s Chinatown on June 20, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>That arc of history is not lost on Norman Wong. It may explain why he’s been so tireless in his efforts to share who his great-grandfather was and what he achieved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked what’s next for his family’s legacy after the Supreme Court issues its ruling, Wong said he hopes there will no longer be a need for such a public role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I’m not needed anymore, I’ll just fade away,” Wong said. “People shouldn’t worry about [birthright citizenship], and all of this will be a footnote.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For now, though, Wong believes there are still countless family stories waiting to be told — if others are willing to share them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be ashamed of our personal history. It’s time for us to say who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">As we tell these stories, \u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/appYRab8nOv1F5DoN/pagzLWLgeFJm7OqcO/form\">we want to hear from you\u003c/a>. Do you have family ties to San Francisco Chinatown or the Bay Area’s early Chinese American communities? Family photographs, letters, documents or stories passed down through generations? Do you know of local histories, legal battles or community contributions that deserve greater attention?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400\">Reporter Cecilia Lei is collecting stories, memories and historical materials that may inform or be featured in our reporting. Email her at clei@kqed.org and help us preserve and share this history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "like-an-angel-meet-the-helpers-working-at-bay-area-immigration-court",
"title": "‘Like an Angel’: Meet the Helpers Working at Bay Area Immigration Court",
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"content": "\u003cp>The woman nodded nervously as the judge told her, through a Spanish interpreter, that this was her last chance to apply for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/asylum\">asylum\u003c/a>. She’d already been given two opportunities. Now she had until July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thank you,” the woman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside the immigration courtroom in Concord, Sergio Jaime Lopez greeted her with a smile. Sharply dressed and warm, the 39-year-old explained he was there to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman, Rosaura, was from Mexico. Small, middle-aged and visibly flustered, she stumbled through an explanation in Spanish. “It’s just that sometimes — I mean, how would I know?” she said. “I told my daughters, but — well, no. So where do I go to apply for that, then? Or — I don’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I want is to help you,” Jaime said, handing her an asylum application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rosaura, who, like other asylum seekers KQED spoke to, asked to use only her first name for fear of retribution, told him she lived far away, in a small town near the southern end of the Central Valley. He handed her a packet listing free and low-cost legal resources by region, then offered to connect her with a volunteer who could help her fill out the paperwork — aware that, with most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078868/as-legal-aid-groups-face-budget-cuts-san-francisco-awards-1-group-millions\">immigration legal aid groups\u003c/a> overwhelmed by calls, she’d be unlikely to get a lawyer in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to show up with the application in hand,” he told her, referring to her next court date. “Otherwise, the judge told you, ‘I will deport you if you don’t bring me anything.’ OK?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stickers and flyers on a table in the Undocumented Community Center at the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, on Nov. 28, 2023. At this center, students without legal status can access financial and legal aid as well as guidance in navigating grant applications. \u003ccite>(Photo by Amaya Edwards for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He took down her phone number and told her to expect a call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime’s days are filled with Rosauras — people navigating the complex bureaucracy of immigration court, often without attorneys, interpreters or a clear sense of what judges are asking of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my experience, people are too afraid in that courtroom to understand what is happening,” said Jaime, the community defense program manager for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oursafecenter.org/\">SAFE Center\u003c/a> in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His work to help people understand has taken on new urgency as the Trump administration aggressively reshapes the nation’s immigration system, including by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">shutting down San Francisco’s longtime immigration court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, it was Northern California’s principal immigration court. Over time, advocates built around it one of the most extensive immigrant-defense networks in the U.S. — a web of nonprofit legal organizations, volunteer court companions, rapid-response groups and pro bono attorneys who help immigrants find their way through a system where they’re not guaranteed legal representation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by the end of this year, thousands of cases handled at the downtown courtroom on Montgomery Street are expected to be transferred to Concord, about 30 miles to the northeast, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975904/new-bay-area-immigration-court-opens-aims-to-tackle-deportation-backlog\">the immigration court is only a couple of years old\u003c/a> and the support infrastructure around it is still developing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime knows the importance of building up that network. He once stood in front of an immigration judge himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A firsthand look at a complex system\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Granada, a picturesque colonial city on the shores of Nicaragua’s largest lake, Jaime studied business administration, worked in sales, married and started a family. Then, he said, the political situation changed. “It was not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of concern for relatives still in Nicaragua, he spoke only cautiously about why he fled. “People in power … want to remain in power no matter what,” he said. “And that’s when it’s really dangerous for other people to speak against them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, he left behind his pregnant wife and began a six-month journey north through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Along the way, he spent two weeks in a derelict jail in Chiapas and was slashed by a stranger with a knife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12011934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12011934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The heavily fortified U.S.-Mexico border fence ends in the Pacific Ocean between the Playas de Tijuana neighborhood and Border Field State Park in San Diego, Sept. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Zoë Meyers for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the U.S. border, he applied for asylum from Tijuana under the Trump administration’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/migrant-protection-protocols/\">“Remain in Mexico” program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After one of his hearings, he was unexpectedly detained while returning to Tijuana and spent six months in a San Diego detention facility. There, he began teaching himself the intricacies of the U.S. immigration system, studying books and case law in the library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At that point I realized, oh my God, this is so complex,” he said. “Because even with my education level, I couldn’t understand much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He wrote letters to immigration legal aid organizations until one agreed to take his case. After his release, he moved to the Bay Area, where a woman with extra space in her Piedmont home offered him a place to stay through an immigrant support network.[aside postID=news_12082287 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/250820-ICEActivity-05_qed.jpg']He lived there until 2023, when he was granted asylum. “It felt so good … because I had the hope that I’m going to see my family soon,” he said. The following year, his wife and two children joined him in California. So when Jaime learned about a new job helping immigrants like him navigate the Concord court, he immediately felt drawn to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he’s at the court nearly every day it’s open, helping people find their courtrooms, understand judges’ instructions and connect with services, while training a growing cohort of volunteers to do the same. He runs the volunteer \u003ca href=\"https://www.im4humanintegrity.org/2025/03/welcome-navigator-bienvenidos-navegadores/\">welcome navigator program\u003c/a> at the court, a collaboration between various community and legal services organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the people appearing in Concord immigration court were released into the United States after crossing the border and issued notices to appear before an immigration judge. Many are seeking asylum. Their first hearings are often brief procedural appearances where judges explain charges, deadlines and legal rights. Individual asylum hearings, where a judge decides whether someone can remain in the country, are typically scheduled years into the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University, \u003ca href=\"https://tracreports.org/phptools/immigration/backlog/\">more than 3 million\u003c/a> cases are pending in immigration courts across the country. Concord alone already has nearly 60,000 such cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084722 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The office building that houses the immigration court in Concord on May 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With thousands more cases coming from San Francisco, the backlog means “people are going to have longer and longer waits to actually have their day in court,” said Milli Atkinson, who runs the San Francisco Bar Association’s Immigrant Legal Defense Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many immigration advocates and legal observers see the restructuring of the Bay Area courts as part of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068969/sf-immigration-courts-looming-closure-raises-concerns-about-path-to-asylum\">broader shift in the culture of the immigration court system\u003c/a> under the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By closing courts and reassigning cases — and in this case, to Concord — the Executive Office for Immigration Review is thinking, ‘How do we change that pro-immigrant culture that we saw in the immigration courts for many years?’” UC Davis law professor Kevin Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The kids feel their fear’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On a morning in late April, Jaime stood near the door of a packed courtroom. Next to him, a volunteer court observer took careful notes on the proceedings, sweat stippling his forehead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sat behind two computer screens, the top of her head barely visible above them. Lawyers from around the state appeared remotely on large monitors while their neatly dressed clients sat in person before the judge, one after another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An hour in, it was hot, and the kids in the audience were starting to squirm. Jaime spotted a girl, maybe 5 years old, with dark bushy bangs, in the back row of the gallery, and he quietly squeezed through the aisle to hand her a picture book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085604\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12085604 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sergio Jaime Lopez, community defense program manager for the SAFE Center, outside the Concord immigration court on May 7, 2026. Jaime helps people in deportation proceedings navigate the court and connect with resources and legal representation. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The girl looked through the book a few times, then turned her attention to grooming her father’s hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Jaime, seeing these children is one of the hardest parts of the work. “Sometimes they smile, they’re really happy, they don’t care about what is going on. But sometimes also, I can see the fathers are terrified,” he said. “The kids feel their fear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon, the young girl was lying on the floor between benches while a man in an orange jumpsuit appeared by video from a detention facility in Louisiana. Amid confusion about his arrest record, which appeared to include a conviction for leaving the scene of an accident, the government attorney asked for additional time to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge addressed the man: “Do you want more time to find an attorney?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Locked up in here, I can’t get one,” he said, explaining that he’d tried calling around, but nobody answered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She repeated her question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, I don’t want anything,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the back of the room, Jaime’s colleague crouched down to offer the girl more books. When her family was finally called before the judge, alongside several other people without attorneys, she carried one with her to the front of the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the judge explained that the proceedings would determine whether the family had a right to remain in the United States, the girl sat cross-legged on the floor, paging through the comic book. Her parents took the judge up on her offer of more time to find an attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024761\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ixchel Barragán, left, and Maria Zavaleta, associate attorney with Bean, Lloyd, Mukherji, & Taylor, LLP, at an informational session about immigration services at Willow Cove Elementary in Pittsburg, California, Jan. 29, 2025. More than 300 people attended the event organized by Stand Together Contra Costa and the Pittsburg Unified School District, which offered free, private consultations with immigration attorneys, medical services and a resource fair. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Jaime walked them out of the courtroom and offered a free consultation with the attorney of the day — a position staffed by lawyers who volunteer their time and attorneys with \u003ca href=\"https://standtogethercontracosta.org/\">Stand Together Contra Costa\u003c/a>, a collaboration between the county and other organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Concord courthouse now has attorneys of the day on hand about 70% of the time, and advocates say they’re working to get to full-time coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers who aren’t attorneys have also been trained to help people complete asylum applications when they have nowhere else to turn — as in Rosaura’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reciprocating life-changing support\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Concord immigration court is housed in a modern, mirrored office building near downtown. Often, a line forms outside before it opens at 8, serenaded by a makeshift chorus made up of congregants from around the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a Tuesday morning, a small group from Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland and Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek stood on the sidewalk singing “This Little Light of Mine” in alternating Spanish and English verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They held signs that read “Keep families together,” “Don’t lose hope,” and “We are here with you.” Cars honked as they passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084723\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084723 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Rae, a volunteer at the Concord immigration court, at her home in Oakland on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People have come up to us, hugged us, thanked us, sometimes in tears,” said Penny Rosenwasser, of Kehilla. “The lawyers come up, too, and just thank us, because it gives them support as well. We’re all part of it together, a team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary Rae, a volunteer in training, started her work at the court out on the sidewalk. Today, she stood in the lobby preparing to begin a day of learning alongside Jaime. She’d already watched the required videos and tagged along with other volunteers; now she was here to learn from the man in charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rae, 73 with silver shoulder-length hair and metal-framed glasses, is a former emergency medicine doctor from Texas who moved to California after retiring in 2020. “I just feel the need to help these people. They’re coming here to start a better life,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court occupies the top three floors of the 10-story building, also home to an urgent care center and various businesses. When Rae emerged on the top floor, she encountered a security line curled around the narrow elevator bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One by one, people fed their bags into the X-ray scanner and stepped through the metal detector. Rae, with her replacement hip and knee, got a thorough wanding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Much more rigorous than TSA,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside, the walls, ceiling and linoleum floors were white. Fluorescent lights blazed down on notices tacked to the walls with warnings about asylum fraud and the “benefits and consequences” of self-deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024763\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024763\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorneys provide simultaneous translation for a member of the public attending an informational session about immigration services at Willow Cove Elementary in Pittsburg, California, Jan. 29, 2025. More than 300 people attended the event organized by Stand Together Contra Costa and the Pittsburg Unified School District, which offered free, private consultations with immigration attorneys, medical services and a resource fair. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jaime, in an azure blazer and black-rimmed glasses, greeted Rae and launched into a tutorial. He described the role of volunteers: Be present, supportive and smile; give people resource packets and connect them with the attorney of the day. He showed her where he stores the box of donated children’s books in various languages and explained that there’s limited grant funding available to cover the $100 annual asylum application fee. He reminded her not to give legal advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every couple of minutes, he stopped to attend to a need, speaking in Spanish to people looking for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do you have court?” he asked a lost-looking woman, then showed her to courtroom 17.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers wearing baby blue lanyards or blue vests that read “Contra Costa Civil Rights Alliance” stepped in and out of courtrooms, ushering people to the pro bono attorney room and explaining judges’ instructions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s this?” a man asked Jaime upon emerging from the courtroom with a document in hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The judge gave you more time to get an attorney,” Jaime said. “It’s not a requirement, but it helps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He offered the man a consultation with the attorney volunteering that day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059883\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ernesto Reyes holds a sign outside the San Francisco Immigration Court in downtown San Francisco on Oct. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Is it free?” the man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime assured him it was and showed him to a waiting area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have court in September. What should I do?” another man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then a woman with a black ponytail reaching down her back asked: “Do I have to come back with an attorney?” He explained that she — like everyone else seeking asylum — would have to prove to the judge that she had a well-founded fear of persecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know it because you lived it, but the judge doesn’t know any of that. It’s up to you to explain it and provide evidence,” Jaime said. “An attorney can help with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rae stood beside him, doing her best to take notes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t expect you to do all that,” Jaime said with a smile. He could tell Rae was a bit overwhelmed. “It’s a lot of information. You don’t need to know everything right now.”[aside postID=news_12085305 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251124-SJHUDCUTS-JG-07-KQED.jpg']Rae is one of more than 100 volunteers Jaime has trained to do this work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of them have provided life-changing support for the people they serve — among them a weary-eyed woman from El Salvador named Janet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after arriving in the United States, Janet found someone she believed was an attorney and paid her about $4,500 to shepherd her asylum case. But when she went to court, the judge had no record of her application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Janet reached back out to the woman she had hired, the woman assured her she would resubmit the application before Janet’s next hearing. But that day, there was still no application on file.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A welcome navigator at the Concord court encouraged her to speak with the attorney of the day. Unable to reach the person Janet had hired, or find her online, the attorney delivered a hard truth: “‘I’m going to be honest with you, she’s a scammer,’” Janet said. “I didn’t know what to do, whether to cry or — I don’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge gave her one final opportunity to apply for asylum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when I found a volunteer here,” Janet said. The volunteer helped her fill out the application, and Janet’s case is now back on track after the scam cost her a year and a half. She’s scheduled to return to court in 2029 for a decision on her asylum claim and can apply for a work permit in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was like an angel placed in my path,” Janet said of the volunteer who worked with her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12085605 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Rae, a volunteer at the Concord immigration court, at her home in Oakland on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jaime had his own angels helping him on his asylum journey. Now, his work is a way of honoring all the support he got and reciprocating it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As many people help me, I want to help too,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even changing one life would make the effort worthwhile in his eyes. But it’s clear that the network of volunteers he’s empowered with the empathy and savvy required of the job has gone far beyond that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside in the sunshine, he offered Rae a final piece of advice: “Be kind with everybody.” Not just people in deportation proceedings, but the guards, the judges and the government attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The system is not perfect, but it’s the only one right now,” he said, and “people are still winning asylum, even in this really bad scenario.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After San Francisco’s immigration court closed, advocates are bracing for an influx of cases in Concord and building up a support system there — and one man is at the heart of the effort.",
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"title": "‘Like an Angel’: Meet the Helpers Working at Bay Area Immigration Court | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The woman nodded nervously as the judge told her, through a Spanish interpreter, that this was her last chance to apply for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/asylum\">asylum\u003c/a>. She’d already been given two opportunities. Now she had until July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thank you,” the woman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside the immigration courtroom in Concord, Sergio Jaime Lopez greeted her with a smile. Sharply dressed and warm, the 39-year-old explained he was there to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman, Rosaura, was from Mexico. Small, middle-aged and visibly flustered, she stumbled through an explanation in Spanish. “It’s just that sometimes — I mean, how would I know?” she said. “I told my daughters, but — well, no. So where do I go to apply for that, then? Or — I don’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I want is to help you,” Jaime said, handing her an asylum application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rosaura, who, like other asylum seekers KQED spoke to, asked to use only her first name for fear of retribution, told him she lived far away, in a small town near the southern end of the Central Valley. He handed her a packet listing free and low-cost legal resources by region, then offered to connect her with a volunteer who could help her fill out the paperwork — aware that, with most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078868/as-legal-aid-groups-face-budget-cuts-san-francisco-awards-1-group-millions\">immigration legal aid groups\u003c/a> overwhelmed by calls, she’d be unlikely to get a lawyer in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to show up with the application in hand,” he told her, referring to her next court date. “Otherwise, the judge told you, ‘I will deport you if you don’t bring me anything.’ OK?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/112823_DACA-Students_AE_CM_20-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stickers and flyers on a table in the Undocumented Community Center at the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, on Nov. 28, 2023. At this center, students without legal status can access financial and legal aid as well as guidance in navigating grant applications. \u003ccite>(Photo by Amaya Edwards for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He took down her phone number and told her to expect a call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime’s days are filled with Rosauras — people navigating the complex bureaucracy of immigration court, often without attorneys, interpreters or a clear sense of what judges are asking of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my experience, people are too afraid in that courtroom to understand what is happening,” said Jaime, the community defense program manager for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oursafecenter.org/\">SAFE Center\u003c/a> in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His work to help people understand has taken on new urgency as the Trump administration aggressively reshapes the nation’s immigration system, including by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">shutting down San Francisco’s longtime immigration court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, it was Northern California’s principal immigration court. Over time, advocates built around it one of the most extensive immigrant-defense networks in the U.S. — a web of nonprofit legal organizations, volunteer court companions, rapid-response groups and pro bono attorneys who help immigrants find their way through a system where they’re not guaranteed legal representation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by the end of this year, thousands of cases handled at the downtown courtroom on Montgomery Street are expected to be transferred to Concord, about 30 miles to the northeast, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11975904/new-bay-area-immigration-court-opens-aims-to-tackle-deportation-backlog\">the immigration court is only a couple of years old\u003c/a> and the support infrastructure around it is still developing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime knows the importance of building up that network. He once stood in front of an immigration judge himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A firsthand look at a complex system\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Granada, a picturesque colonial city on the shores of Nicaragua’s largest lake, Jaime studied business administration, worked in sales, married and started a family. Then, he said, the political situation changed. “It was not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of concern for relatives still in Nicaragua, he spoke only cautiously about why he fled. “People in power … want to remain in power no matter what,” he said. “And that’s when it’s really dangerous for other people to speak against them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, he left behind his pregnant wife and began a six-month journey north through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Along the way, he spent two weeks in a derelict jail in Chiapas and was slashed by a stranger with a knife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12011934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12011934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241031-BORDER-CROSSINGS-ZM-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The heavily fortified U.S.-Mexico border fence ends in the Pacific Ocean between the Playas de Tijuana neighborhood and Border Field State Park in San Diego, Sept. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Zoë Meyers for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the U.S. border, he applied for asylum from Tijuana under the Trump administration’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/migrant-protection-protocols/\">“Remain in Mexico” program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After one of his hearings, he was unexpectedly detained while returning to Tijuana and spent six months in a San Diego detention facility. There, he began teaching himself the intricacies of the U.S. immigration system, studying books and case law in the library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At that point I realized, oh my God, this is so complex,” he said. “Because even with my education level, I couldn’t understand much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He wrote letters to immigration legal aid organizations until one agreed to take his case. After his release, he moved to the Bay Area, where a woman with extra space in her Piedmont home offered him a place to stay through an immigrant support network.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>He lived there until 2023, when he was granted asylum. “It felt so good … because I had the hope that I’m going to see my family soon,” he said. The following year, his wife and two children joined him in California. So when Jaime learned about a new job helping immigrants like him navigate the Concord court, he immediately felt drawn to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he’s at the court nearly every day it’s open, helping people find their courtrooms, understand judges’ instructions and connect with services, while training a growing cohort of volunteers to do the same. He runs the volunteer \u003ca href=\"https://www.im4humanintegrity.org/2025/03/welcome-navigator-bienvenidos-navegadores/\">welcome navigator program\u003c/a> at the court, a collaboration between various community and legal services organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the people appearing in Concord immigration court were released into the United States after crossing the border and issued notices to appear before an immigration judge. Many are seeking asylum. Their first hearings are often brief procedural appearances where judges explain charges, deadlines and legal rights. Individual asylum hearings, where a judge decides whether someone can remain in the country, are typically scheduled years into the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University, \u003ca href=\"https://tracreports.org/phptools/immigration/backlog/\">more than 3 million\u003c/a> cases are pending in immigration courts across the country. Concord alone already has nearly 60,000 such cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084722 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The office building that houses the immigration court in Concord on May 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With thousands more cases coming from San Francisco, the backlog means “people are going to have longer and longer waits to actually have their day in court,” said Milli Atkinson, who runs the San Francisco Bar Association’s Immigrant Legal Defense Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many immigration advocates and legal observers see the restructuring of the Bay Area courts as part of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068969/sf-immigration-courts-looming-closure-raises-concerns-about-path-to-asylum\">broader shift in the culture of the immigration court system\u003c/a> under the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By closing courts and reassigning cases — and in this case, to Concord — the Executive Office for Immigration Review is thinking, ‘How do we change that pro-immigrant culture that we saw in the immigration courts for many years?’” UC Davis law professor Kevin Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The kids feel their fear’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On a morning in late April, Jaime stood near the door of a packed courtroom. Next to him, a volunteer court observer took careful notes on the proceedings, sweat stippling his forehead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sat behind two computer screens, the top of her head barely visible above them. Lawyers from around the state appeared remotely on large monitors while their neatly dressed clients sat in person before the judge, one after another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An hour in, it was hot, and the kids in the audience were starting to squirm. Jaime spotted a girl, maybe 5 years old, with dark bushy bangs, in the back row of the gallery, and he quietly squeezed through the aisle to hand her a picture book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085604\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12085604 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260507-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sergio Jaime Lopez, community defense program manager for the SAFE Center, outside the Concord immigration court on May 7, 2026. Jaime helps people in deportation proceedings navigate the court and connect with resources and legal representation. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The girl looked through the book a few times, then turned her attention to grooming her father’s hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Jaime, seeing these children is one of the hardest parts of the work. “Sometimes they smile, they’re really happy, they don’t care about what is going on. But sometimes also, I can see the fathers are terrified,” he said. “The kids feel their fear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon, the young girl was lying on the floor between benches while a man in an orange jumpsuit appeared by video from a detention facility in Louisiana. Amid confusion about his arrest record, which appeared to include a conviction for leaving the scene of an accident, the government attorney asked for additional time to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge addressed the man: “Do you want more time to find an attorney?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Locked up in here, I can’t get one,” he said, explaining that he’d tried calling around, but nobody answered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She repeated her question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, I don’t want anything,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the back of the room, Jaime’s colleague crouched down to offer the girl more books. When her family was finally called before the judge, alongside several other people without attorneys, she carried one with her to the front of the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the judge explained that the proceedings would determine whether the family had a right to remain in the United States, the girl sat cross-legged on the floor, paging through the comic book. Her parents took the judge up on her offer of more time to find an attorney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024761\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02022-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ixchel Barragán, left, and Maria Zavaleta, associate attorney with Bean, Lloyd, Mukherji, & Taylor, LLP, at an informational session about immigration services at Willow Cove Elementary in Pittsburg, California, Jan. 29, 2025. More than 300 people attended the event organized by Stand Together Contra Costa and the Pittsburg Unified School District, which offered free, private consultations with immigration attorneys, medical services and a resource fair. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Jaime walked them out of the courtroom and offered a free consultation with the attorney of the day — a position staffed by lawyers who volunteer their time and attorneys with \u003ca href=\"https://standtogethercontracosta.org/\">Stand Together Contra Costa\u003c/a>, a collaboration between the county and other organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Concord courthouse now has attorneys of the day on hand about 70% of the time, and advocates say they’re working to get to full-time coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers who aren’t attorneys have also been trained to help people complete asylum applications when they have nowhere else to turn — as in Rosaura’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reciprocating life-changing support\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Concord immigration court is housed in a modern, mirrored office building near downtown. Often, a line forms outside before it opens at 8, serenaded by a makeshift chorus made up of congregants from around the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a Tuesday morning, a small group from Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland and Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek stood on the sidewalk singing “This Little Light of Mine” in alternating Spanish and English verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They held signs that read “Keep families together,” “Don’t lose hope,” and “We are here with you.” Cars honked as they passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084723\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084723 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-IMMIGRATIONCOURTVOLUNTEERS-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Rae, a volunteer at the Concord immigration court, at her home in Oakland on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People have come up to us, hugged us, thanked us, sometimes in tears,” said Penny Rosenwasser, of Kehilla. “The lawyers come up, too, and just thank us, because it gives them support as well. We’re all part of it together, a team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary Rae, a volunteer in training, started her work at the court out on the sidewalk. Today, she stood in the lobby preparing to begin a day of learning alongside Jaime. She’d already watched the required videos and tagged along with other volunteers; now she was here to learn from the man in charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rae, 73 with silver shoulder-length hair and metal-framed glasses, is a former emergency medicine doctor from Texas who moved to California after retiring in 2020. “I just feel the need to help these people. They’re coming here to start a better life,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court occupies the top three floors of the 10-story building, also home to an urgent care center and various businesses. When Rae emerged on the top floor, she encountered a security line curled around the narrow elevator bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One by one, people fed their bags into the X-ray scanner and stepped through the metal detector. Rae, with her replacement hip and knee, got a thorough wanding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Much more rigorous than TSA,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside, the walls, ceiling and linoleum floors were white. Fluorescent lights blazed down on notices tacked to the walls with warnings about asylum fraud and the “benefits and consequences” of self-deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024763\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024763\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250125_Immigration-Forum_DB_02190-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorneys provide simultaneous translation for a member of the public attending an informational session about immigration services at Willow Cove Elementary in Pittsburg, California, Jan. 29, 2025. More than 300 people attended the event organized by Stand Together Contra Costa and the Pittsburg Unified School District, which offered free, private consultations with immigration attorneys, medical services and a resource fair. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jaime, in an azure blazer and black-rimmed glasses, greeted Rae and launched into a tutorial. He described the role of volunteers: Be present, supportive and smile; give people resource packets and connect them with the attorney of the day. He showed her where he stores the box of donated children’s books in various languages and explained that there’s limited grant funding available to cover the $100 annual asylum application fee. He reminded her not to give legal advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every couple of minutes, he stopped to attend to a need, speaking in Spanish to people looking for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do you have court?” he asked a lost-looking woman, then showed her to courtroom 17.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers wearing baby blue lanyards or blue vests that read “Contra Costa Civil Rights Alliance” stepped in and out of courtrooms, ushering people to the pro bono attorney room and explaining judges’ instructions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s this?” a man asked Jaime upon emerging from the courtroom with a document in hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The judge gave you more time to get an attorney,” Jaime said. “It’s not a requirement, but it helps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He offered the man a consultation with the attorney volunteering that day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059883\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251014-ANTIFAROUNDTABLEFOLO-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ernesto Reyes holds a sign outside the San Francisco Immigration Court in downtown San Francisco on Oct. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Is it free?” the man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaime assured him it was and showed him to a waiting area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have court in September. What should I do?” another man said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then a woman with a black ponytail reaching down her back asked: “Do I have to come back with an attorney?” He explained that she — like everyone else seeking asylum — would have to prove to the judge that she had a well-founded fear of persecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know it because you lived it, but the judge doesn’t know any of that. It’s up to you to explain it and provide evidence,” Jaime said. “An attorney can help with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rae stood beside him, doing her best to take notes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t expect you to do all that,” Jaime said with a smile. He could tell Rae was a bit overwhelmed. “It’s a lot of information. You don’t need to know everything right now.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Rae is one of more than 100 volunteers Jaime has trained to do this work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of them have provided life-changing support for the people they serve — among them a weary-eyed woman from El Salvador named Janet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after arriving in the United States, Janet found someone she believed was an attorney and paid her about $4,500 to shepherd her asylum case. But when she went to court, the judge had no record of her application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Janet reached back out to the woman she had hired, the woman assured her she would resubmit the application before Janet’s next hearing. But that day, there was still no application on file.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A welcome navigator at the Concord court encouraged her to speak with the attorney of the day. Unable to reach the person Janet had hired, or find her online, the attorney delivered a hard truth: “‘I’m going to be honest with you, she’s a scammer,’” Janet said. “I didn’t know what to do, whether to cry or — I don’t know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge gave her one final opportunity to apply for asylum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when I found a volunteer here,” Janet said. The volunteer helped her fill out the application, and Janet’s case is now back on track after the scam cost her a year and a half. She’s scheduled to return to court in 2029 for a decision on her asylum claim and can apply for a work permit in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was like an angel placed in my path,” Janet said of the volunteer who worked with her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12085605 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-ImmigrationCourtVolunteers-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Rae, a volunteer at the Concord immigration court, at her home in Oakland on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jaime had his own angels helping him on his asylum journey. Now, his work is a way of honoring all the support he got and reciprocating it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As many people help me, I want to help too,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even changing one life would make the effort worthwhile in his eyes. But it’s clear that the network of volunteers he’s empowered with the empathy and savvy required of the job has gone far beyond that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside in the sunshine, he offered Rae a final piece of advice: “Be kind with everybody.” Not just people in deportation proceedings, but the guards, the judges and the government attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The system is not perfect, but it’s the only one right now,” he said, and “people are still winning asylum, even in this really bad scenario.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>For many, the lot on the corner of Third and Harrison streets in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is just a place to park before heading to a Giants game or an event downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, around 50 people gathered at the unremarkable concrete patch in the South of Market neighborhood for a different reason: to commemorate the 140th anniversary of \u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins, \u003c/em>a late 19th-century \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd included longtime Asian American activists, Chinatown organizers, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisors Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Matt Dorsey, Rafael Mandelman and Danny Sauter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So often, we think about the times that San Francisco has done something … that has changed the country and the world,” said Dorsey, who represents the district where the lot is located. “We always think about 20th-century [contributions], but the reality is that it started in the 19th century with the Chinese American community in San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site was once home to Yick Wo, a laundry business that was owned and operated by a Chinese immigrant named Lee Yick from 1864 to 1886. It was one of over 200 Chinese-owned laundries scattered across San Francisco, but this one holds particular significance: it was at the center of a consequential ruling that established that the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses apply to all — even noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083335\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083335 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Historian and Chinese Historical Society board member David Lei attends a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>David Lei, a local Chinese American community historian, said he has always believed the lot deserved substantial recognition. He tried to champion that effort over the past 15 years by speaking about Yick Wo’s history, but it was\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\"> last year’s spotlight on the case\u003c/a> from KQED, as the Trump administration ramped up its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077496/trumps-mass-deportations-could-cost-the-bay-area-67-billion-a-year-report-says\">massive deportation campaign\u003c/a> — often \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">without regard to immigrants’ rights\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">to\u003c/a> a fair hearing — that the history began to resonate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of [read] between the lines and it seemed like David was saying, ‘Oh, a little help here, please!’” said Karen Kai, a lawyer and board member of San Francisco Heritage, a nonprofit organization that helps preserve landmarks in the city. She helped kickstart an effort, along with other groups, including the Chinese Historical Society of America, to launch a campaign to establish a permanent marker at the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so, they said, would help educate the public about a historical case that most people have never heard of outside of the legal community or people who study Asian American history. But this could soon change.[aside postID=news_12050233 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250812-YICK-WO-ARCHIVAL-06-KQED.jpg']The Supreme Court decision arrived while an intense anti-Chinese crackdown was taking place in San Francisco during the late 1800s. Chinese immigrants were routinely subjected to mob violence, their homes and businesses were often destroyed, and they faced legal discrimination by city officials, which made it difficult for them to earn their livelihoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Chinese immigrants were initially welcomed during the Gold Rush, they eventually became reviled as their population numbers grew, and their roles in the industrial workforce expanded. In addition to working as miners and railroad laborers, Chinese immigrants quickly met a demand that others were not eager to fill: laundry service. They eventually dominated the industry throughout the rest of the 19th century — much to the dismay of city residents and leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discriminatory city ordinances were often passed to make operating businesses, like laundries, difficult for Chinese immigrants. One notorious law in particular was passed in 1880, which required permits for wooden laundries. It was a move that targeted most Chinese-owned businesses; though they met other regulations, almost every Chinese laundry owner was denied a permit, while white owners were approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an extraordinary act of defiance, Yick, the laundry’s owner, continued operating his business anyway. He refused to pay the fine and was arrested. He and another fellow Chinese laundryman, Wo Lee, sued the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the financial support of an influential community coalition called the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, also known as the Chinese Six Companies, as well as other powerful groups in San Francisco Chinatown, they hired top white lawyers to fight their case. Eventually, it made its way to the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083330\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083330 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, Historian and Chinese Historical Society board member David Lei, District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, and City Attorney David Chiu attend a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a unanimous 1886 ruling in favor of the Chinese laundrymen, the court declared that even if a law appears to be race-neutral, “if it is applied and administered by public authority with an evil eye and an unequal hand,” then it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And critically, the ruling said its protections “extend to all \u003cem>persons\u003c/em> within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, without regard to differences of race, of color, or of nationality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal experts have said that \u003cem>Yick Wo\u003c/em> \u003cem>v. Hopkins \u003c/em>has been cited in “countless” ways, and provided the foundation for subsequent civil rights challenges that have shaped the modern-day legal system, including interracial marriage, school desegregation, voting rights and disability discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said he remembers reading the case as a law student and told the crowd that he’s parked at the lot each year to attend the Chinese New Year parade, without any idea that it was the site of Yick Wo\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">City Attorney David Chiu speaks during a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He reminded attendees that the case was just one of many brought forward by early Chinese immigrants — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078171/as-supreme-court-weighs-birthright-citizenship-sf-advocates-are-ready-to-stand-up\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, whose case established birthright citizenship in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration is currently looking to overturn it, and Chiu’s office is helping to fight that effort at the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said placing a permanent marker at the parking lot is not just about preserving important American history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083333 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Christman of San Francisco Heritage holds a print of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins during a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the case’s 140th anniversary in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is a moment in time where we will remember, and we will continue to fight for our constitutional rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lei, this galvanizing moment has been a long time in the making. He said he hopes to see a mural at the lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think people walk by plaques, but if you put in art with messaging, very impactful art … then it’ll bring a lot more attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083332 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Heritage Vice Chair Karen Kai speaks to a crowd of community members and media at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until that decision is made, SF Heritage and other partner advocates will start gathering community input to narrow down options to present to the city. It will be a process that requires fundraising, political will, and, certainly, red tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kai said she felt energized by the intergenerational gathering and the growing momentum to recognize how early Chinese immigrants shaped constitutional protections that now benefit everyone in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the commemoration honored their courage — and underscored the power of collective action: “We’re going to go for it. We’re just going to run with it now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For many, the lot on the corner of Third and Harrison streets in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is just a place to park before heading to a Giants game or an event downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, around 50 people gathered at the unremarkable concrete patch in the South of Market neighborhood for a different reason: to commemorate the 140th anniversary of \u003cem>Yick Wo v. Hopkins, \u003c/em>a late 19th-century \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd included longtime Asian American activists, Chinatown organizers, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisors Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Matt Dorsey, Rafael Mandelman and Danny Sauter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So often, we think about the times that San Francisco has done something … that has changed the country and the world,” said Dorsey, who represents the district where the lot is located. “We always think about 20th-century [contributions], but the reality is that it started in the 19th century with the Chinese American community in San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The site was once home to Yick Wo, a laundry business that was owned and operated by a Chinese immigrant named Lee Yick from 1864 to 1886. It was one of over 200 Chinese-owned laundries scattered across San Francisco, but this one holds particular significance: it was at the center of a consequential ruling that established that the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses apply to all — even noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083335\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083335 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Historian and Chinese Historical Society board member David Lei attends a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>David Lei, a local Chinese American community historian, said he has always believed the lot deserved substantial recognition. He tried to champion that effort over the past 15 years by speaking about Yick Wo’s history, but it was\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\"> last year’s spotlight on the case\u003c/a> from KQED, as the Trump administration ramped up its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077496/trumps-mass-deportations-could-cost-the-bay-area-67-billion-a-year-report-says\">massive deportation campaign\u003c/a> — often \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">without regard to immigrants’ rights\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082287/trump-closes-san-franciscos-immigration-court-for-good\">to\u003c/a> a fair hearing — that the history began to resonate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of [read] between the lines and it seemed like David was saying, ‘Oh, a little help here, please!’” said Karen Kai, a lawyer and board member of San Francisco Heritage, a nonprofit organization that helps preserve landmarks in the city. She helped kickstart an effort, along with other groups, including the Chinese Historical Society of America, to launch a campaign to establish a permanent marker at the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so, they said, would help educate the public about a historical case that most people have never heard of outside of the legal community or people who study Asian American history. But this could soon change.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Supreme Court decision arrived while an intense anti-Chinese crackdown was taking place in San Francisco during the late 1800s. Chinese immigrants were routinely subjected to mob violence, their homes and businesses were often destroyed, and they faced legal discrimination by city officials, which made it difficult for them to earn their livelihoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Chinese immigrants were initially welcomed during the Gold Rush, they eventually became reviled as their population numbers grew, and their roles in the industrial workforce expanded. In addition to working as miners and railroad laborers, Chinese immigrants quickly met a demand that others were not eager to fill: laundry service. They eventually dominated the industry throughout the rest of the 19th century — much to the dismay of city residents and leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discriminatory city ordinances were often passed to make operating businesses, like laundries, difficult for Chinese immigrants. One notorious law in particular was passed in 1880, which required permits for wooden laundries. It was a move that targeted most Chinese-owned businesses; though they met other regulations, almost every Chinese laundry owner was denied a permit, while white owners were approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an extraordinary act of defiance, Yick, the laundry’s owner, continued operating his business anyway. He refused to pay the fine and was arrested. He and another fellow Chinese laundryman, Wo Lee, sued the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the financial support of an influential community coalition called the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, also known as the Chinese Six Companies, as well as other powerful groups in San Francisco Chinatown, they hired top white lawyers to fight their case. Eventually, it made its way to the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083330\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083330 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, Historian and Chinese Historical Society board member David Lei, District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, and City Attorney David Chiu attend a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a unanimous 1886 ruling in favor of the Chinese laundrymen, the court declared that even if a law appears to be race-neutral, “if it is applied and administered by public authority with an evil eye and an unequal hand,” then it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And critically, the ruling said its protections “extend to all \u003cem>persons\u003c/em> within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, without regard to differences of race, of color, or of nationality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal experts have said that \u003cem>Yick Wo\u003c/em> \u003cem>v. Hopkins \u003c/em>has been cited in “countless” ways, and provided the foundation for subsequent civil rights challenges that have shaped the modern-day legal system, including interracial marriage, school desegregation, voting rights and disability discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said he remembers reading the case as a law student and told the crowd that he’s parked at the lot each year to attend the Chinese New Year parade, without any idea that it was the site of Yick Wo\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">City Attorney David Chiu speaks during a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He reminded attendees that the case was just one of many brought forward by early Chinese immigrants — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078171/as-supreme-court-weighs-birthright-citizenship-sf-advocates-are-ready-to-stand-up\">Wong Kim Ark\u003c/a>, whose case established birthright citizenship in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration is currently looking to overturn it, and Chiu’s office is helping to fight that effort at the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said placing a permanent marker at the parking lot is not just about preserving important American history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083333 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Christman of San Francisco Heritage holds a print of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins during a press conference at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the case’s 140th anniversary in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is a moment in time where we will remember, and we will continue to fight for our constitutional rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lei, this galvanizing moment has been a long time in the making. He said he hopes to see a mural at the lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think people walk by plaques, but if you put in art with messaging, very impactful art … then it’ll bring a lot more attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083332 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260511-YICKWOCOMMEMORATION-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Heritage Vice Chair Karen Kai speaks to a crowd of community members and media at the parking lot on Third and Harrison streets to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Yick Wo v. Hopkins in San Francisco on Monday, May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until that decision is made, SF Heritage and other partner advocates will start gathering community input to narrow down options to present to the city. It will be a process that requires fundraising, political will, and, certainly, red tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kai said she felt energized by the intergenerational gathering and the growing momentum to recognize how early Chinese immigrants shaped constitutional protections that now benefit everyone in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the commemoration honored their courage — and underscored the power of collective action: “We’re going to go for it. We’re just going to run with it now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dozens of nurses rallied outside \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser\">Kaiser\u003c/a> San Francisco on Monday to advocate for a San Francisco nurse who is set to lose her job — after the federal government did not process her temporary legal status in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The surgical nurse, who has lived in the U.S. for most of her life and will remain anonymous due to safety concerns, immigrated from the Philippines when she was two years old. As an employee of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center on Geary Boulevard, the nurse filed her DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, renewal application on Dec.1 — exactly 135 days before her status was set to expire on April 15. Despite applying well within the recommended window, she said she has not heard back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When her status lapsed, Kaiser placed her on 30 days of unpaid leave. That window closes on May 14. In response to her inquiries, Kaiser wrote that “It is your responsibility to keep your work authorization current,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2026/05/kaiser-nurse-daca-renewal-delay-san-francisco/\">\u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which first reported her case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said the organization was evaluating potential solutions. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have been working directly with our employee to support her through this as best we can. We have been working with the union as well, and appreciate their advocacy on behalf of our employee. We are currently evaluating what potential solutions are available,” a spokesperson said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of Kaiser on Monday, dozens of nurses chanted: “Defend DACA now,” calling on the hospital to extend the nurse’s unpaid leave. In a statement read aloud by fellow nurses at the rally, the soon-to-be-terminated nurse wrote: “I feel devastated and torn to pieces to be in a position where the fault lies with the innocent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, I ask Kaiser to extend my leave, because I want to thrive, too,” it said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hers is not an isolated case. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 500,000 immigrants currently hold DACA status, and many have been caught in a surge of federal processing delays — a trend that advocates told KQED accelerated this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083226\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diana Alfaro, a registered nurse, rallies against Kaiser’s plans to terminate a DACA recipient registered nurse outside of Kaiser Permanente on Geary Street in San Francisco on May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, which serves more than 1,000 active DACA clients, said that over half of renewal requests filed since November 2025 remain pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Hoffman, the organization’s co-executive director, said delays of 150 days or more are now common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just the latest attack,” Hoffman said. “It feels like DACA is being chipped away at piece by piece every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sydney Simpson, a registered nurse at Kaiser San Francisco, said the hospital’s decision is both morally and practically wrong.[aside postID=news_12082440 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240408-FCIDublin-018-BL_qut-1020x680.jpg']“To replace a nurse with her level of expertise is extremely painful for the organization — it’s expensive, it hurts our morale as nurses and it hurts patient quality of care,” Simpson said. “It seems like a really easy decision, but for whatever reason, they are holding their ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses pointed to a stark contrast with the University of California health system. Maureen Dugan, a UCSF registered nurse, said at Monday’s rally that the UC’s union contract explicitly protects DACA nurses from termination during renewal delays — and guarantees recall rights if they are temporarily let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“UC is committed to supporting DACA staff,” Dugan said. “We won that language in our last contract negotiations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a coalition of Bay Area immigrant rights groups — including Justice Action Center, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area and Cornell Law School’s Path2Papers — filed a Freedom of Information Act request, demanding the Trump administration release data on how it is processing DACA renewals and what, if any, policy changes are driving the delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say DACA recipients are now making major life decisions — about their jobs, their housing, their families — without knowing when or whether their renewals will come through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vanessa Rivas-Bernardy, a staff attorney at Justice Action Center, said the delays reflect a program under sustained administrative pressure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Connie Chan rallies against Kaiser’s plans to terminate a DACA recipient registered nurse outside of Kaiser Permanente on Geary Street in San Francisco on May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“DACA recipients have been living in two-year increments — all their decisions, their whole lives are in these two-year chunks,” Rivas-Bernardy said. “This is just an exacerbation of that uncertainty and risk, but it’s been completely ramping up in recent months in a way we really haven’t seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the government does not respond to the FOIA request within 20 calendar days, Rivas-Bernardy said the coalition is prepared to file a federal lawsuit to compel disclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan attended Monday’s rally and called on Kaiser to change course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our nurses — DACA or otherwise — should not be punished for the Trump administration’s incompetence,” Chan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her written statement, the nurse said she is still holding on to hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know I am worthy, good enough, an exceptional nurse and member of this society,” she wrote. “I am a DACA recipient — a dreamer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Dozens of nurses rallied outside \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/kaiser\">Kaiser\u003c/a> San Francisco on Monday to advocate for a San Francisco nurse who is set to lose her job — after the federal government did not process her temporary legal status in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The surgical nurse, who has lived in the U.S. for most of her life and will remain anonymous due to safety concerns, immigrated from the Philippines when she was two years old. As an employee of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center on Geary Boulevard, the nurse filed her DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, renewal application on Dec.1 — exactly 135 days before her status was set to expire on April 15. Despite applying well within the recommended window, she said she has not heard back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When her status lapsed, Kaiser placed her on 30 days of unpaid leave. That window closes on May 14. In response to her inquiries, Kaiser wrote that “It is your responsibility to keep your work authorization current,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2026/05/kaiser-nurse-daca-renewal-delay-san-francisco/\">\u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which first reported her case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said the organization was evaluating potential solutions. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have been working directly with our employee to support her through this as best we can. We have been working with the union as well, and appreciate their advocacy on behalf of our employee. We are currently evaluating what potential solutions are available,” a spokesperson said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of Kaiser on Monday, dozens of nurses chanted: “Defend DACA now,” calling on the hospital to extend the nurse’s unpaid leave. In a statement read aloud by fellow nurses at the rally, the soon-to-be-terminated nurse wrote: “I feel devastated and torn to pieces to be in a position where the fault lies with the innocent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, I ask Kaiser to extend my leave, because I want to thrive, too,” it said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hers is not an isolated case. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 500,000 immigrants currently hold DACA status, and many have been caught in a surge of federal processing delays — a trend that advocates told KQED accelerated this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083226\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00122_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diana Alfaro, a registered nurse, rallies against Kaiser’s plans to terminate a DACA recipient registered nurse outside of Kaiser Permanente on Geary Street in San Francisco on May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, which serves more than 1,000 active DACA clients, said that over half of renewal requests filed since November 2025 remain pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Hoffman, the organization’s co-executive director, said delays of 150 days or more are now common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just the latest attack,” Hoffman said. “It feels like DACA is being chipped away at piece by piece every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sydney Simpson, a registered nurse at Kaiser San Francisco, said the hospital’s decision is both morally and practically wrong.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“To replace a nurse with her level of expertise is extremely painful for the organization — it’s expensive, it hurts our morale as nurses and it hurts patient quality of care,” Simpson said. “It seems like a really easy decision, but for whatever reason, they are holding their ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses pointed to a stark contrast with the University of California health system. Maureen Dugan, a UCSF registered nurse, said at Monday’s rally that the UC’s union contract explicitly protects DACA nurses from termination during renewal delays — and guarantees recall rights if they are temporarily let go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“UC is committed to supporting DACA staff,” Dugan said. “We won that language in our last contract negotiations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, a coalition of Bay Area immigrant rights groups — including Justice Action Center, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area and Cornell Law School’s Path2Papers — filed a Freedom of Information Act request, demanding the Trump administration release data on how it is processing DACA renewals and what, if any, policy changes are driving the delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say DACA recipients are now making major life decisions — about their jobs, their housing, their families — without knowing when or whether their renewals will come through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vanessa Rivas-Bernardy, a staff attorney at Justice Action Center, said the delays reflect a program under sustained administrative pressure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00360_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Connie Chan rallies against Kaiser’s plans to terminate a DACA recipient registered nurse outside of Kaiser Permanente on Geary Street in San Francisco on May 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“DACA recipients have been living in two-year increments — all their decisions, their whole lives are in these two-year chunks,” Rivas-Bernardy said. “This is just an exacerbation of that uncertainty and risk, but it’s been completely ramping up in recent months in a way we really haven’t seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the government does not respond to the FOIA request within 20 calendar days, Rivas-Bernardy said the coalition is prepared to file a federal lawsuit to compel disclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan attended Monday’s rally and called on Kaiser to change course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our nurses — DACA or otherwise — should not be punished for the Trump administration’s incompetence,” Chan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her written statement, the nurse said she is still holding on to hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know I am worthy, good enough, an exceptional nurse and member of this society,” she wrote. “I am a DACA recipient — a dreamer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s trial courts will have to collect and report data on civil arrests at their facilities, including those by federal immigration agents, under \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080832/tracking-ice-arrests-inside-california-courts\">a rule approved Friday\u003c/a> by the state’s judicial policymaking body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new requirement by the Judicial Council of California comes in response to an unprecedented rise in detentions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071732/california-chief-justice-steps-up-monitoring-of-immigration-arrests-at-courthouses\">at superior courts across California’s judicial system\u003c/a>, the nation’s largest. Attorneys, judges and public safety advocates have criticized the practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our court users have expressed concern and hesitation about coming to court. That concern has been amplified by additional visits to the Oroville courthouse by federal officers,” Sharif Elmallah, the court executive officer of the Superior Court of Butte County, told the council of mostly judges and attorneys Friday. “We know that when individuals fear potential arrest and enforcement actions, many will choose not to appear, even when required to by court order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmallah said immigration enforcement officers apprehended several people who had cases before the court in Oroville on a single day in July. The agents have kept operating at the court, he added, including as recently as Wednesday of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Victims of crimes such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and wage theft, advocates say, are declining to seek relief in court out of fear of encountering immigration enforcement there, hurting people’s access to justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said in earlier \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/california-chief-justice-issues-statement-immigration-enforcement-california-courthouses\">statements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11737489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11737489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2.jpg\" alt=\"The Alameda County Superior Courthouse, pictured on April 2, 2019.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-1200x801.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, seen on April 2, 2019. \u003ccite>(Stephanie Lister/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB668\">already prohibits\u003c/a> arrests related to immigration offenses and other civil law violations at court buildings, except when the enforcement agency has a written order signed by a judge, known as a judicial warrant. But immigrant advocates, public defenders and others say the state law lacks teeth, arguing that ICE has flouted it without any repercussions so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a bill working its way through the state Legislature aims to strengthen the ban on courthouse civil arrests and expand protections for people going to and from courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the Judicial Council’s separate new rule, the state’s 58 trial courts starting in June will be required to track and report whether officers identified themselves, presented a warrant or took an individual into custody, as well as the date and location of each incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the move will help state officials understand the scope of the issue, it won’t protect people’s fundamental right to access the courts, said Tina Rosales-Torres, a policy advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty who estimates that ICE has conducted hundreds of arrests at California courts since January 2025, when President Donald Trump took office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a good first step. It is good to have data. I do not think it is sufficient to meet the crisis that we are in,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it is going to be helpful to kind of see at least a snippet of what is happening,” Rosales-Torres added. “But then what? The Judicial Council hasn’t proposed a solution, and data is only as effective as we use it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration arrests at California courthouses used to be rare, reserved for cases involving national security or other significant threats. As recently as 2021, during the first year of the Biden administration, top ICE officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ciEnforcementActionsCourthouses.pdf\">recognized\u003c/a> that routinely apprehending people in or near courts would spread fear and hurt the fair administration of justice.[aside postID=news_12080871 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20251028_Immigrant-Mass-_Hernandez-7_qed.jpg']Since last year, as authorities moved to fulfill Trump’s mass deportation promises, federal officers have approached and handcuffed at least dozens of people at court hallways, exits and parking lots in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento and other counties. In San Bernardino, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7.com/post/advocates-raise-alarm-federal-arrests-rancho-cucamonga-courthouse/18863326/\">TV cameras filmed\u003c/a> agents in black vests restraining several men at the Rancho Cucamonga court parking lot in a single day this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys now warn clients they could see immigration enforcement in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Witnesses are failing to show up, and others are opting out of fighting legitimate cases, said Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association. She and Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods wrote an \u003ca href=\"https://capitolweekly.net/ice-raids-in-our-courts-must-stop-now/\">opinion piece\u003c/a> condemning ICE’s presence in state courts after the agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057368/unprecedented-ice-arrest-inside-oakland-courthouse-draws-backlash\">arrested a man\u003c/a> leaving a court hearing in Oakland in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a foundational element of democracy to have a functioning court system,” Chatfield said. “And when people are afraid to go to court for whatever reason, you’ve really denied justice to an entire segment of our residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 873, the bill that would strengthen California’s ban on civil arrests at courthouses, would also authorize the attorney general and those who are arrested to sue over violations. People would be entitled to damages of $10,000. The bill, by state Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D–San Bernardino, is supported by the California Public Defenders Association, the Western Center on Law and Poverty and other groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is part of a larger pushback in California against a surge in immigration enforcement netting more people without criminal convictions in cities’ public areas, parking lots of stores like Home Depot and at routine immigration check-ins. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1103\">SB 1103\u003c/a>, for instance, would require big-box home improvement retailers to report ICE enforcement activity at their facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other states, such as New York, also prohibit the civil arrests of people at courthouses or those traveling to and from such facilities unless an officer has a judicial warrant. The Trump administration challenged New York’s law last year, but a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s trial courts will have to collect and report data on civil arrests at their facilities, including those by federal immigration agents, under \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080832/tracking-ice-arrests-inside-california-courts\">a rule approved Friday\u003c/a> by the state’s judicial policymaking body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new requirement by the Judicial Council of California comes in response to an unprecedented rise in detentions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071732/california-chief-justice-steps-up-monitoring-of-immigration-arrests-at-courthouses\">at superior courts across California’s judicial system\u003c/a>, the nation’s largest. Attorneys, judges and public safety advocates have criticized the practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our court users have expressed concern and hesitation about coming to court. That concern has been amplified by additional visits to the Oroville courthouse by federal officers,” Sharif Elmallah, the court executive officer of the Superior Court of Butte County, told the council of mostly judges and attorneys Friday. “We know that when individuals fear potential arrest and enforcement actions, many will choose not to appear, even when required to by court order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmallah said immigration enforcement officers apprehended several people who had cases before the court in Oroville on a single day in July. The agents have kept operating at the court, he added, including as recently as Wednesday of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Victims of crimes such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and wage theft, advocates say, are declining to seek relief in court out of fear of encountering immigration enforcement there, hurting people’s access to justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said in earlier \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/california-chief-justice-issues-statement-immigration-enforcement-california-courthouses\">statements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11737489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11737489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2.jpg\" alt=\"The Alameda County Superior Courthouse, pictured on April 2, 2019.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/ghost-ship-trial-2-1200x801.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, seen on April 2, 2019. \u003ccite>(Stephanie Lister/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB668\">already prohibits\u003c/a> arrests related to immigration offenses and other civil law violations at court buildings, except when the enforcement agency has a written order signed by a judge, known as a judicial warrant. But immigrant advocates, public defenders and others say the state law lacks teeth, arguing that ICE has flouted it without any repercussions so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a bill working its way through the state Legislature aims to strengthen the ban on courthouse civil arrests and expand protections for people going to and from courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the Judicial Council’s separate new rule, the state’s 58 trial courts starting in June will be required to track and report whether officers identified themselves, presented a warrant or took an individual into custody, as well as the date and location of each incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the move will help state officials understand the scope of the issue, it won’t protect people’s fundamental right to access the courts, said Tina Rosales-Torres, a policy advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty who estimates that ICE has conducted hundreds of arrests at California courts since January 2025, when President Donald Trump took office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a good first step. It is good to have data. I do not think it is sufficient to meet the crisis that we are in,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it is going to be helpful to kind of see at least a snippet of what is happening,” Rosales-Torres added. “But then what? The Judicial Council hasn’t proposed a solution, and data is only as effective as we use it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration arrests at California courthouses used to be rare, reserved for cases involving national security or other significant threats. As recently as 2021, during the first year of the Biden administration, top ICE officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ciEnforcementActionsCourthouses.pdf\">recognized\u003c/a> that routinely apprehending people in or near courts would spread fear and hurt the fair administration of justice.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since last year, as authorities moved to fulfill Trump’s mass deportation promises, federal officers have approached and handcuffed at least dozens of people at court hallways, exits and parking lots in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento and other counties. In San Bernardino, \u003ca href=\"https://abc7.com/post/advocates-raise-alarm-federal-arrests-rancho-cucamonga-courthouse/18863326/\">TV cameras filmed\u003c/a> agents in black vests restraining several men at the Rancho Cucamonga court parking lot in a single day this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys now warn clients they could see immigration enforcement in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Witnesses are failing to show up, and others are opting out of fighting legitimate cases, said Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association. She and Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods wrote an \u003ca href=\"https://capitolweekly.net/ice-raids-in-our-courts-must-stop-now/\">opinion piece\u003c/a> condemning ICE’s presence in state courts after the agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057368/unprecedented-ice-arrest-inside-oakland-courthouse-draws-backlash\">arrested a man\u003c/a> leaving a court hearing in Oakland in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a foundational element of democracy to have a functioning court system,” Chatfield said. “And when people are afraid to go to court for whatever reason, you’ve really denied justice to an entire segment of our residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 873, the bill that would strengthen California’s ban on civil arrests at courthouses, would also authorize the attorney general and those who are arrested to sue over violations. People would be entitled to damages of $10,000. The bill, by state Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D–San Bernardino, is supported by the California Public Defenders Association, the Western Center on Law and Poverty and other groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is part of a larger pushback in California against a surge in immigration enforcement netting more people without criminal convictions in cities’ public areas, parking lots of stores like Home Depot and at routine immigration check-ins. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1103\">SB 1103\u003c/a>, for instance, would require big-box home improvement retailers to report ICE enforcement activity at their facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other states, such as New York, also prohibit the civil arrests of people at courthouses or those traveling to and from such facilities unless an officer has a judicial warrant. The Trump administration challenged New York’s law last year, but a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Demands Trump Withdraw Proposal Targeting Housing for Mixed-Status Families",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s Civil Rights Department is warning that the Trump administration’s crackdown on federal housing assistance for families with mixed immigration status could leave up to 30,000 people in the state at risk of eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter this week, the state agency called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to walk back the proposal, which it said would force thousands to confront “inhumane choices” between facing eviction or separating from their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘We want them to withdraw this rule in its entirety,” CRD Director Kevin Kish said. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s going to harm people. It’s not going to help anyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, HUD proposed a change to federal housing policy requiring that every person in housing that receives the assistance submit proof of U.S. citizenship or of their eligibility as a noncitizen (as a refugee, asylum seeker or lawful resident). Those unable to do so could be evicted from HUD-supported programs, like public housing or Section 8 vouchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said at the time, adding that currently, only about a quarter of eligible Americans have access to HUD resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, a coalition of nearly 20 U.S. cities and counties, including San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County, also submitted a comment opposing the change, warning it would destabilize affordable housing operations. The National Housing Conference, which also submitted a letter, said the proposal “doesn’t fix a problem — it creates one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11738375\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11738375 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A young girl holds a sign during a demonstration outside of the San Francisco office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 19, 2018 in San Francisco over the Trump administration family separation policy.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-1200x798.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young girl holds a sign during a demonstration outside of the San Francisco office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 19, 2018, in San Francisco over the Trump administration’s family separation policy. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a step backward that undermines decades of policy precedent that already balanced statutory compliance, family stability, administrative feasibility, and prudent stewardship of scarce federal housing resources,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HUD policy already prorates housing subsidies for mixed-status households to ensure that the benefit only applies to family members who have confirmed their immigration status. Eliminating those prorated subsidies, Kish wrote in the CDR letter on Tuesday, would cause the number and quality of public housing units to decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“HUD says that the goal is to make more housing available to eligible people, but its own analysis shows that won’t happen,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, household members who aren’t eligible for HUD assistance still contribute to the cost of housing. Kish said that HUD has estimated the proposed rule would require spending an additional $2,100 per household, which it anticipates would be paid for by reducing the number of households served by federal housing programs or by reducing the average spending on housing assistance.[aside postID=news_12079829 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/ImmigrantTaxes-GilsTaxServices.jpg']California has the highest percentage of mixed-status households in the U.S., accounting for about 36% of those that could be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three-fourths of those families consist of children who are of eligible status, and parents who are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Separation is not a viable option for these families, and they will therefore be forced out of their homes,” the letter continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, of an estimated 645 tenants who could be affected, about 210 are children and 40 are seniors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The federal government should be helping to prevent homelessness, not making it worse,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said. “This rule would destabilize affordable housing nationwide, increase homelessness, and punish eligible people simply because of who lives in their household.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 70% of residents in mixed-status households have an eligible immigration status, the letter from the cities argues that the policy would be most harmful to people who are eligible for housing assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRD also alleges that the proposed rule could lead to eligible seniors and people with disabilities losing their access to housing assistance, since all family members will have to submit to new verification procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Significant numbers of senior citizens, citizens of color, citizens with disabilities, transgender citizens, and citizens with low incomes may be disproportionately affected,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11888806\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11888806 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1031228044-scaled-e1776901494677.jpg\" alt=\"A man and young boy hold hands as they walk in silhouette on an urban sidewalk in early morning sun.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Honduran father and his 6-year-old son walk to Sunday Mass on Sept. 9, 2018, in Oakland, California. They were one of almost 2,600 families separated due to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kish said that the department’s intent in filing the letter is to establish a record of opposition — and require HUD to respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what they have to say in response to our arguments,” he said. “And then if the rule goes forward, our letter helps us set up a challenge because we also believe that the rule is unlawful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kish wrote in his letter that the rule is unlawful under intentional discrimination and disparate impact analyses. He said what a legal challenge could look like is not yet known, and would be a conversation with the attorney general’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It represents a glaring example of HUD’s failure to abide by its duty under the [Fair Housing Act of 1968]to administer housing programs in ways that ‘mov[e] the nation toward a more integrated society,’” Kish wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">\u003cem>Alex Hall\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A state civil rights agency said the proposed change to the U.S. housing assistance policy would force families with mixed-immigration status to choose between facing eviction or separation from their loved ones.",
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"title": "California Demands Trump Withdraw Proposal Targeting Housing for Mixed-Status Families | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s Civil Rights Department is warning that the Trump administration’s crackdown on federal housing assistance for families with mixed immigration status could leave up to 30,000 people in the state at risk of eviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter this week, the state agency called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to walk back the proposal, which it said would force thousands to confront “inhumane choices” between facing eviction or separating from their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘We want them to withdraw this rule in its entirety,” CRD Director Kevin Kish said. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s going to harm people. It’s not going to help anyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, HUD proposed a change to federal housing policy requiring that every person in housing that receives the assistance submit proof of U.S. citizenship or of their eligibility as a noncitizen (as a refugee, asylum seeker or lawful resident). Those unable to do so could be evicted from HUD-supported programs, like public housing or Section 8 vouchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said at the time, adding that currently, only about a quarter of eligible Americans have access to HUD resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, a coalition of nearly 20 U.S. cities and counties, including San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County, also submitted a comment opposing the change, warning it would destabilize affordable housing operations. The National Housing Conference, which also submitted a letter, said the proposal “doesn’t fix a problem — it creates one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11738375\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11738375 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A young girl holds a sign during a demonstration outside of the San Francisco office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 19, 2018 in San Francisco over the Trump administration family separation policy.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36430_GettyImages-978854834-qut-1200x798.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young girl holds a sign during a demonstration outside of the San Francisco office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 19, 2018, in San Francisco over the Trump administration’s family separation policy. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a step backward that undermines decades of policy precedent that already balanced statutory compliance, family stability, administrative feasibility, and prudent stewardship of scarce federal housing resources,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HUD policy already prorates housing subsidies for mixed-status households to ensure that the benefit only applies to family members who have confirmed their immigration status. Eliminating those prorated subsidies, Kish wrote in the CDR letter on Tuesday, would cause the number and quality of public housing units to decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“HUD says that the goal is to make more housing available to eligible people, but its own analysis shows that won’t happen,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, household members who aren’t eligible for HUD assistance still contribute to the cost of housing. Kish said that HUD has estimated the proposed rule would require spending an additional $2,100 per household, which it anticipates would be paid for by reducing the number of households served by federal housing programs or by reducing the average spending on housing assistance.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California has the highest percentage of mixed-status households in the U.S., accounting for about 36% of those that could be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three-fourths of those families consist of children who are of eligible status, and parents who are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Separation is not a viable option for these families, and they will therefore be forced out of their homes,” the letter continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, of an estimated 645 tenants who could be affected, about 210 are children and 40 are seniors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The federal government should be helping to prevent homelessness, not making it worse,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said. “This rule would destabilize affordable housing nationwide, increase homelessness, and punish eligible people simply because of who lives in their household.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 70% of residents in mixed-status households have an eligible immigration status, the letter from the cities argues that the policy would be most harmful to people who are eligible for housing assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRD also alleges that the proposed rule could lead to eligible seniors and people with disabilities losing their access to housing assistance, since all family members will have to submit to new verification procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Significant numbers of senior citizens, citizens of color, citizens with disabilities, transgender citizens, and citizens with low incomes may be disproportionately affected,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11888806\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11888806 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1031228044-scaled-e1776901494677.jpg\" alt=\"A man and young boy hold hands as they walk in silhouette on an urban sidewalk in early morning sun.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Honduran father and his 6-year-old son walk to Sunday Mass on Sept. 9, 2018, in Oakland, California. They were one of almost 2,600 families separated due to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kish said that the department’s intent in filing the letter is to establish a record of opposition — and require HUD to respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what they have to say in response to our arguments,” he said. “And then if the rule goes forward, our letter helps us set up a challenge because we also believe that the rule is unlawful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kish wrote in his letter that the rule is unlawful under intentional discrimination and disparate impact analyses. He said what a legal challenge could look like is not yet known, and would be a conversation with the attorney general’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It represents a glaring example of HUD’s failure to abide by its duty under the [Fair Housing Act of 1968]to administer housing programs in ways that ‘mov[e] the nation toward a more integrated society,’” Kish wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ahall\">\u003cem>Alex Hall\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-supreme-court-weighs-birthright-citizenship-sf-advocates-are-ready-to-stand-up",
"title": "Supreme Court Justices Skeptical of Trump’s Challenge to Birthright Citizenship",
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"headTitle": "Supreme Court Justices Skeptical of Trump’s Challenge to Birthright Citizenship | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Justices appeared to lean toward rejecting the Trump administration’s challenge to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> during Wednesday’s oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court, where advocates from San Francisco showed up to defend the long-standing principle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite 128 years of Supreme Court precedent holding that babies born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status — dating back to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">case out of San Francisco\u003c/a> — the justices agreed to hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara. The Trump administration is seeking to defend a January 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/\">executive order\u003c/a> from the president stating that, unless a child has a parent who’s a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, they are not a U.S. citizen by birth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every lower court that has weighed in, including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump-judges-immigration-be729b836581858a118ca92a0d083336?user_email=2a0bd7f2418d4be9198f23bf99a161f3f7a98fb9bf6d3820763d49b5c5f8fc81&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Mon_March30_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire\">has ruled\u003c/a> Trump’s order unconstitutional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During oral arguments Wednesday morning in Washington, conservative justices, whose votes will be key, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship-immigrants-4dca3a4e06f58d4378412ed711fab3a8?user_email=2a0bd7f2418d4be9198f23bf99a161f3f7a98fb9bf6d3820763d49b5c5f8fc81&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Wed_Apr1_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire\">posed difficult questions\u003c/a> to Solicitor General John Sauer, the federal government’s representative in the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The administration argued the amendment was ratified specifically to grant citizenship to former slaves born in the U.S., rather than children of immigrants, regardless of their legal status, but Coney Barrett pointed out that that isn’t in the amendment text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. suggested that Sauer’s argument relied on outlier exceptions to the 14th Amendment to argue against broader birthright citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055174 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left to right: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy attend U.S. President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Win McNamee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m not quite sure how you can get to that big group from such tiny and sort of idiosyncratic examples,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The precedent behind birthright citizenship goes back to an 1898 ruling in the case brought by San Francisco-born Wong Kim Ark, who was barred from reentry under the Chinese Exclusion Act after a trip to visit family in China, even though he carried paperwork attesting to his U.S. birth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justices ruled in Wong’s favor, pointing to the 14th Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1868 after the abolition of slavery, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration’s current argument seeking to restrict birthright citizenship hinges on the clause “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” which Sauer has asserted promises citizenship only to people who are “completely subject” to the U.S. and owe “direct and immediate allegiance” to the government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In legal filings, Sauer said the Wong Kim Ark decision has been read too generously and does not apply to the children of undocumented immigrants and people in the U.S. temporarily because that “degrades the meaning and value of American citizenship.” He wrote that that interpretation has “incentivized” illegal immigration and “birth tourism” by people who want to gain a toehold to a life in the U.S.[aside postID=news_12078161 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BirthrightCitizenshipGetty1.jpg']Among those outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday was Norman Wong. An East Bay resident and retired carpenter, Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong was born in San Francisco but didn’t grow up knowing the story of his ancestor or the role he played in U.S. history. He says when he first learned about Wong Kim Ark’s case 25 years ago, he thought it was “a curiosity of history” because birthright citizenship was settled law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up knowing that I was American. All the kids that I ran around with, they knew they were American. Why? They were born here,” he told KQED ahead of the hearing. “It’s like assuming every time you breathe in and out, you get air. It was part of your whole being. We were proud to be American.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Supreme Court hearing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said birthright citizenship is foundational to American democracy and promises equality under law to all children, regardless of race, class or parental background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a guarantee that every child born here has a personal stake in the American dream,” Bonta said. “It tells you something that President Trump willfully chose to start his second term by trying to knock down this fundamental and long-standing right. Fortunately, I believe he will fail.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking outside the courtroom, Cecillia Wang, who argued on behalf of the ACLU, said the case was “nerve-wracking,” but appeared hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could not be more confident that despite the policy preferences of the current administration, that this attack on what it means to be American in the most fundamental way … will be turned down,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078174 size-full\" style=\"font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent; color: #767676;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People wait in line outside the Supreme Court Justice building to attend oral arguments on birthright citizenship, a day before the court is scheduled to address the case, on March 31, 2026, in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court is set to convene on April 1 to consider the legality of President Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overturning the principle of birthright citizenship would create a bureaucratic nightmare and threaten the very fabric of American society, according to Winnie Kao, senior counsel with San Francisco’s Asian Law Caucus, who is an attorney of record on the Barbara case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a radical departure from over 120 years of precedent and understanding,” said Kao, whose organization had attorneys in court Wednesday alongside the ACLU and others. “It would be really hard for the public to understand and, I think, to accept.”[aside postID=news_12015449 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/20241119_BirthrightCitizenshipExplainer_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg']Since Trump’s executive order, Kao said her office has been fielding “powerful and upsetting” questions from people who are either undocumented or in the U.S. on temporary work or student visas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you prove citizenship for your newborn when it’s not based on a birth certificate anymore?” she said. “Parents are calling us, wondering if their baby’s going to be subject to deportation … and what will statelessness mean for my baby?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some in California believe the executive order would impose a useful limit on birthright citizenship. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, said the increased number of migrants who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration was justification for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It … brought to a head the fundamental question of whether any person in the world can break into our country, have a baby at taxpayer expense, have that baby declared an American citizen and then use that as a pretext to remain,” McClintock wrote in a Washington Times op-ed. “President Trump has issued an executive order challenging that notion for all future births.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Trump’s executive order, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023126/california-leaders-to-sue-trump-over-birthright-citizenship-border-policies\">California immediately filed suit\u003c/a> along with 23 other states, the city of San Francisco and the District of Columbia. While that case was not before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-continues-fight-defend-birthright-citizenship-us-supreme\">filed a “friend of the court” brief\u003c/a> in the Barbara case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s said that California stands to lose federal funding for key health and education programs if nearly 25,000 babies born in the state each year lose the right to citizenship because of their parentage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032980\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032980\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Norman Wong, the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, stands in front of a mural featuring his great-grandfather in San Francisco’s Chinatown on March 24, 2025, where Wong Kim Ark was born. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The effort to repeal birthright citizenship is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to restrict immigration and the rights of immigrants, including increasing arrests and deportations, halting refugee admissions, stripping temporary legal status from people fleeing war and instability, and invoking a travel ban against 39 countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong, whose great-grandfather’s case established the bedrock principle, said he considers Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship a first step in a larger effort to chip away at civil rights and the rule of law in this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to stop it,” he said. “We need to be a principled people — with clear laws and clear ideas of who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong said he’s watched that erosion accelerate over the past 15 months, culminating in the shooting deaths this winter of two Minneapolis protesters by immigration agents. He sees parallels between the bravery of his ancestors facing down anti-Chinese bigotry in the 19th century and Renee Good and Alex Pretti standing up for immigrants today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They weren’t violent. They didn’t do anything that deserved their lives. … We all should stand up, because two people died for all of us,” Wong said. “Are we just going to let it happen? Or are we going to stand up? Wong Kim Ark, he stood up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Justices appeared to lean toward rejecting the Trump administration’s challenge to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078161/trump-executive-order-ending-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-who-is-affected-can-citizen-be-revoked\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> during Wednesday’s oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court, where advocates from San Francisco showed up to defend the long-standing principle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite 128 years of Supreme Court precedent holding that babies born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status — dating back to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">case out of San Francisco\u003c/a> — the justices agreed to hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara. The Trump administration is seeking to defend a January 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/\">executive order\u003c/a> from the president stating that, unless a child has a parent who’s a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, they are not a U.S. citizen by birth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every lower court that has weighed in, including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump-judges-immigration-be729b836581858a118ca92a0d083336?user_email=2a0bd7f2418d4be9198f23bf99a161f3f7a98fb9bf6d3820763d49b5c5f8fc81&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Mon_March30_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire\">has ruled\u003c/a> Trump’s order unconstitutional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During oral arguments Wednesday morning in Washington, conservative justices, whose votes will be key, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship-immigrants-4dca3a4e06f58d4378412ed711fab3a8?user_email=2a0bd7f2418d4be9198f23bf99a161f3f7a98fb9bf6d3820763d49b5c5f8fc81&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Wed_Apr1_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire\">posed difficult questions\u003c/a> to Solicitor General John Sauer, the federal government’s representative in the Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The administration argued the amendment was ratified specifically to grant citizenship to former slaves born in the U.S., rather than children of immigrants, regardless of their legal status, but Coney Barrett pointed out that that isn’t in the amendment text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. suggested that Sauer’s argument relied on outlier exceptions to the 14th Amendment to argue against broader birthright citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055174 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Brett-Kavanaugh-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left to right: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy attend U.S. President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Win McNamee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m not quite sure how you can get to that big group from such tiny and sort of idiosyncratic examples,” Roberts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The precedent behind birthright citizenship goes back to an 1898 ruling in the case brought by San Francisco-born Wong Kim Ark, who was barred from reentry under the Chinese Exclusion Act after a trip to visit family in China, even though he carried paperwork attesting to his U.S. birth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justices ruled in Wong’s favor, pointing to the 14th Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1868 after the abolition of slavery, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration’s current argument seeking to restrict birthright citizenship hinges on the clause “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” which Sauer has asserted promises citizenship only to people who are “completely subject” to the U.S. and owe “direct and immediate allegiance” to the government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In legal filings, Sauer said the Wong Kim Ark decision has been read too generously and does not apply to the children of undocumented immigrants and people in the U.S. temporarily because that “degrades the meaning and value of American citizenship.” He wrote that that interpretation has “incentivized” illegal immigration and “birth tourism” by people who want to gain a toehold to a life in the U.S.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Among those outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday was Norman Wong. An East Bay resident and retired carpenter, Wong, 76, is the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong was born in San Francisco but didn’t grow up knowing the story of his ancestor or the role he played in U.S. history. He says when he first learned about Wong Kim Ark’s case 25 years ago, he thought it was “a curiosity of history” because birthright citizenship was settled law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up knowing that I was American. All the kids that I ran around with, they knew they were American. Why? They were born here,” he told KQED ahead of the hearing. “It’s like assuming every time you breathe in and out, you get air. It was part of your whole being. We were proud to be American.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Supreme Court hearing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said birthright citizenship is foundational to American democracy and promises equality under law to all children, regardless of race, class or parental background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a guarantee that every child born here has a personal stake in the American dream,” Bonta said. “It tells you something that President Trump willfully chose to start his second term by trying to knock down this fundamental and long-standing right. Fortunately, I believe he will fail.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking outside the courtroom, Cecillia Wang, who argued on behalf of the ACLU, said the case was “nerve-wracking,” but appeared hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could not be more confident that despite the policy preferences of the current administration, that this attack on what it means to be American in the most fundamental way … will be turned down,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078174 size-full\" style=\"font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent; color: #767676;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/SCOTUSBirthrightCitizenshipGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People wait in line outside the Supreme Court Justice building to attend oral arguments on birthright citizenship, a day before the court is scheduled to address the case, on March 31, 2026, in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court is set to convene on April 1 to consider the legality of President Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overturning the principle of birthright citizenship would create a bureaucratic nightmare and threaten the very fabric of American society, according to Winnie Kao, senior counsel with San Francisco’s Asian Law Caucus, who is an attorney of record on the Barbara case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a radical departure from over 120 years of precedent and understanding,” said Kao, whose organization had attorneys in court Wednesday alongside the ACLU and others. “It would be really hard for the public to understand and, I think, to accept.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since Trump’s executive order, Kao said her office has been fielding “powerful and upsetting” questions from people who are either undocumented or in the U.S. on temporary work or student visas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you prove citizenship for your newborn when it’s not based on a birth certificate anymore?” she said. “Parents are calling us, wondering if their baby’s going to be subject to deportation … and what will statelessness mean for my baby?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some in California believe the executive order would impose a useful limit on birthright citizenship. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, said the increased number of migrants who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration was justification for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It … brought to a head the fundamental question of whether any person in the world can break into our country, have a baby at taxpayer expense, have that baby declared an American citizen and then use that as a pretext to remain,” McClintock wrote in a Washington Times op-ed. “President Trump has issued an executive order challenging that notion for all future births.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Trump’s executive order, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023126/california-leaders-to-sue-trump-over-birthright-citizenship-border-policies\">California immediately filed suit\u003c/a> along with 23 other states, the city of San Francisco and the District of Columbia. While that case was not before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-continues-fight-defend-birthright-citizenship-us-supreme\">filed a “friend of the court” brief\u003c/a> in the Barbara case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s said that California stands to lose federal funding for key health and education programs if nearly 25,000 babies born in the state each year lose the right to citizenship because of their parentage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032980\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032980\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250324-WongKimArk-02-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Norman Wong, the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, stands in front of a mural featuring his great-grandfather in San Francisco’s Chinatown on March 24, 2025, where Wong Kim Ark was born. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The effort to repeal birthright citizenship is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to restrict immigration and the rights of immigrants, including increasing arrests and deportations, halting refugee admissions, stripping temporary legal status from people fleeing war and instability, and invoking a travel ban against 39 countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong, whose great-grandfather’s case established the bedrock principle, said he considers Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship a first step in a larger effort to chip away at civil rights and the rule of law in this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to stop it,” he said. “We need to be a principled people — with clear laws and clear ideas of who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong said he’s watched that erosion accelerate over the past 15 months, culminating in the shooting deaths this winter of two Minneapolis protesters by immigration agents. He sees parallels between the bravery of his ancestors facing down anti-Chinese bigotry in the 19th century and Renee Good and Alex Pretti standing up for immigrants today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They weren’t violent. They didn’t do anything that deserved their lives. … We all should stand up, because two people died for all of us,” Wong said. “Are we just going to let it happen? Or are we going to stand up? Wong Kim Ark, he stood up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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