Last week, Judge William Orrick, a federal district judge for Northern California, permanently blocked President Trump’s executive order cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. In his ruling, the judge writes that the executive order violates the US Constitution’s principles of federalism and separation of powers. This decision is the result of a lawsuit brought by the city and county of San Francisco and Santa Clara County challenging the executive order issued in January this year that aimed to cut federal funding for cities which did not comply with a statute that prohibits state and local governments from refusing to relay information about the immigration status of those in their jurisdiction to federal immigration authorities. In his decision, Judge Orrick states: “The Counties have demonstrated that the Executive Order has caused and will cause them constitutional injuries by violating the separation of powers doctrine and depriving them of their Tenth and Fifth Amendment rights.”
Read moreWe Are All Human Beings
Happy Thanksgiving from DLG!
Every Thanksgiving more than 3.5 million spectators cheer on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade along the two-and-a-half-mile route while 50 million viewers watch on television and over the Internet. The first parade took place in 1924 as a way to kick-off the Christmas holiday shopping period. Macy’s promised parade-goers “a marathon of mirth” in its advertisements, and the parade featured floats such as the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, Little Miss Muffet, and Little Red Riding Hood; animals from the Central Park Zoo, including bears, elephants, camels, and monkeys; musical bands; and, of course, Santa Claus in his sleigh pulled by reindeer. The parade was so successful it was repeated yearly, except the zoo animals were thankfully replaced by the now iconic character balloons. The night before the parade, I watched workers inflate these incredible balloons. I was going to offer to help since I have pretty good lung capacity but they seemed to have everything under control. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Vox: “Hundreds of immigrants will get to resubmit DACA renewals originally rejected as ‘late’”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that they will allow DACA recipients who missed the October 5 deadline either because of delays with the US Postal Service or the failure of a courier to pick up the applications from a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) mailbox, to reapply for their extensions. This is crucial for these applicants since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will be ending on March 5, 2018, and the deadline to apply for one last two-year extension of DACA protections was October 5, 2017. The government says that approximately 4,000 individuals failed to meet the October 5 deadline to renew their DACA protections, and initially chose to reject many of these applications that were late due to no fault of the sender. USCIS reversed their decision not to accept the late DACA applications after they “identified USPS mail service delays that affected a number of DACA renewal requests” as well as “discovered certain cases in which the DACA requests were received at the designated filing location (e.g., at the applicable P.O. Box) by the filing deadline, but were rejected.”
Read moreOur Home
Flamingos at the Roof Gardens
The Roof Gardens in Kensington are one of London’s most amazing and incredible landmarks. Set 100ft above London, the Roof Gardens include three gardens totaling one and a half acres along with a private members club and restaurant. The Gardens were the creation of businessman Trevor Bowen who employed landscape architect Ralph Hancock. After two years and £25,000, the Gardens opened to the public in May 1938 for the entry price of a shilling. The Gardens have featured over 500 species of plants and shrubs and even imported rock from Pennsylvania and are now open to the public free of charge. Despite the chilly temperatures, these brave flamingos were out and about and let me snap their photo. Thank you, flamingos, we pay tribute to your bravery.
Georgina Leanse Escobar: The DLG-Proust-Actors Studio Questionnaire
Born in Ciudad Juárez, Georgina was supposed to be a veterinarian at the family’s cattle ranch, “Los Peñascos,” in Mexico. At least that’s what her grandfather wanted. She even went to the University of Texas at El Paso to study science and biology. It was acting in a production of The Hobbit as Galadriel, the wood elf queen, that “derailed” her plan. She realized: “This is a lot more fun than physics, chemistry, and biology; and a lot easier.”
Read moreDHS Ends TPS for Nicaraguans and Hatians
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that they would be automatically extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 86,000 Hondurans for an additional six months (less than the normal extension period) while at the same time announcing an end to TPS for thousands of Nicaraguans, providing them with a one-year wind down period that will end in January of 2019. While both countries were granted TPS in 1999 after a devastating hurricane killed thousands of Central Americans, the department concluded that the conditions in Nicaragua are now better than they were before the hurricane hit.
Read moreAlways an American
#TeamImmigrant
#TEAMIMMIGRANT just before hanging in reception.
We are super excited to welcome new artwork to our reception area. This limited edition print, appropriately titled #TEAMIMMIGRANT, is by the talented artist Donald Robertson and features models holding flags from most, if not all, of the countries around the world. We thought it was entirely appropriate for our office and adds some lovely color. Known as the "fashion world's favorite artist," Robertson hit gold when he started posting his drawings on Instagram under the handle of @drawbertson. His illustrations of such figures as Anna Wintour and Kanye West have won him more than 190,000 followers along with the approval of Beyoncé, who is a fan. The secret to his success? “The whole sleeping thing—I’ve decided to write it off,” he tells Vanity Fair. “There are so many things I want to do. Picasso said he spent his whole life trying to paint like a child. To have these big-kid ideas and not think too much—that’s the best.”
Donec id justo non metus auctor commodo ut quis enim. Mauris fringilla dolor vel condimentum imperdiet.