Trump administration suspends refugee resettlement

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz, it’s Thursday, January 23rd.

The Trump administration suspends refugee resettlement.

More on that next. But first, let’s do the headlines.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday moved to dismiss cases against three local men who participated in the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The prosecutors’ decision comes a day after President Trump pardoned his supporters for storming the government building three years ago.

While most of the San Diego defendants had already been sentenced after pleading guilty or being convicted at trial, three defendants still had active cases in federal court.

Those active cases were the ones that prosecutors moved to dismiss Tuesday.

The four young men responsible for the Hillcrest pellet gun attacks last fall pleaded guilty to the crime on Tuesday.

The police have described the shootings as a hate crime related assault on the LGBTQ-plus community.

The defendants are Hernan Garduno Hernandez, Anthony Lopez-Quinonez, Arturo Herrera-Sustaita and Angelo Nathaniel Aron.

Their plea agreements require them to participate in a gun violence prevention program, cognitive behavioral therapy and LGBTQ-plus education.

The red flag warning has been extended to Friday for the area's mountains and valleys.

As fire fighting crews continue to fend off blazes throughout the county, dry and windy conditions are expected to peak today (Thursday).

Alex Tardy from the National Weather Service shared more.

“We still are talking about single digit humidity, not in the deserts, but we're talking about mountains and inland valleys, foothills, 4, 5, 6, 7%, very low humidity.”

The red warning will last through 10 p.m. on Friday.

And Tardy says there is a chance of much needed rain this weekend, but it will not end the fire season.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

On his first day in office President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would suspend refugee resettlement effective January 27th. The administration has canceled all refugee flights – including those for people already vetted and approved to come to the U.S. Military reporter Andrew Dyer says that includes Afghans who worked with the U.S. during its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan.

“Refugees means partner forces that stood alongside our U.S. forces.” Shawn Van Diver is the president of AfghanEvac which helps Afghans navigate the complicated U.S. immigration system. He says canceling flights and suspending the asylum system hurts Afghans and might make others think twice about working with U.S. forces. “These people are different. These people care about our country. And I think it is a national security threat to us to feel these allies.” According to Reuters more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to resettle in the U.S. have had their flights canceled through April. The state department didn’t respond to questions about how it intends to handle further Afghan resettlement. Andrew Dyer, KPBS news.

The Trump administration is already taking dramatic action to reduce U-S immigration and humanitarian relief for migrants.

Border reporter Gustavo Solis joined me to break it all down.

Gustavo, you've been in Tijuana this week talking to asylum seekers who are waiting on appointments to cross the border. What's happening to them now? Honestly, it's been pretty brutal to go down there and talk to these folks. You know, these are folks who spend up to nine months waiting for a legal appointment to enter the country. They finally get that appointment, and then they find out it's been canceled abruptly. No explanation. No one you can talk to, no one you can, you know, ask for for some kind of discretion is just canceled. Some of them can't return home. Some of them, they're thinking of how they're going to start a new life in Tijuana or somewhere else in Mexico. Trump is also attempting to end what is known as birthright citizenship, which guarantees U.S. citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, even if their parents don't have legal status. The idea being to disincentivize people from visiting the U.S. to have a baby. But is that really a problem in San Diego? Yeah. Well, first I wouldn't really call it a problem at all. It's just kind of a fact of life in the border. Right. And this would impact people who live in Tijuana and cross to have kids in Mexico and, just full disclosure, like my family, not my immediate family, but in-laws got citizenship this way. So, like, seeing that makes me think what would happen if, you know, these people who I know just wouldn't be citizens, right? It'd be such a drain. Not just on our family, but these are folks who have really nice paying jobs. They're pillars of their community. They've never gotten in trouble with the law. And this, you know, this proposed law that will be challenged in court threatens to end that from happening for future folks. And, you know, San Diego being a cross border region, there's a lot of folks in Tijuana and in San Diego that got their citizenship this way. Schools, health care facilities and places of worship are no longer protected from immigration enforcement. Does that mean those places will see immigration rates? They could. Right. I mean, we don't know. But the lifting of those those protections means that it can happen. And I think that's something that's important for the audience to know. Is that a lot of these, going back to the first Trump administration, which I covered, a lot of these rules and policies are meant to instill fear in immigrant communities. So even if there is no raid at a hospital or at a, health care facility or school, people are going to be scared that there could be. So that means people are not going to want to go to the hospital. People are not going to want to go to school. People aren't going to feel that their church. I feel safe at their church, rather. So I think the fear and anxiety that it's creating is almost just as important as the actual policy. The Trump administration is also warning state and local officials that they could be prosecuted if they resist the immigration enforcement. What does that mean for San Diego? I mean, that's a little tough to say, right? I mean, it's a question for the lawyers to to work out. I don't know if they can or, you know, what crime they're going to try to charge the local folks with. But it's definitely a threat. It's definitely a threat that people are paying attention to. I don't know if it's just, all bark and no bite. I think it's too early to tell. And part of the calculus of this decision is to make people in positions of power in sanctuary cities double think their commitment to protecting immigrant communities. Gustavo, we learned that U.S. troops may be sent to the border to help with the crackdown on immigrants, is there any precedent for that? Yeah, and it's actually more common than people would think. Right? I mean, sending troops, people have the idea that they're sending, you know, commandos or Navy Seals, to the border. Really? I mean, President Joe Biden sent the National Guard to help our Border Patrol in some instances, Trump during the first administration sent troops to help build the wall, right, to put barbed wire, throughout certain parts of the border here in San Diego and along Texas. So a lot of what they'll be doing, at least initially, is helping Border Patrol do those types of activities. They won't be detaining or arresting people, or though that's the function of law enforcement, and there's established law in this country that limits the military to military objectives. And the military, generally speaking, doesn't do law enforcement activities. Thank you. Gustavo. Yeah. Thank you.

SANDAG plans to replace the more than 100-year-old San Dieguito rail bridge next year, but the Del Mar City Council wants to wait a little longer.

Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland says SANDAG still needs to finalize a plan to move the railroad tracks off Del Mar’s eroding bluffs.

“Our city council recognized that replacing this bridge before we know where the railroad tracks are going to be relocated in the railroad realignment is premature.”

The Del Mar Fairgrounds is opposed to any delay, saying it's a risk to funding for the bridge project.

The SANDAG board would have to approve any delay.

The state of the city speech focused on what the city could do under massive budget cuts. Voice of San Diego editor and CEO Scott Lewis says something else also stood out.

Last week, in his annual state of the city speech, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria made something very clear. He wants people to stop thinking of him when they see someone struggling on the street. "My fellow San Diegans it is my hope that anytime you see a person on the street suffering from extreme mental illness or addiction .. that you think of the county of san diego and ask when will they step up to provide the services they need to end this crisis once and for all." He says if homeless residents are struggling with mental illness or drugs, that should be on the county, not the city. It’s worth explaining the difference between the two briefly. The county of San Diego includes all the local cities, San Diego, La Mesa, Carlsbad, and so on.  It manages social welfare health care services. County staff are the ones in charge of public health like when pandemics hit. So Gloria is OK with taking the responsibility for homelessness. But he wants you to blame the county for the mental health and addiction problems you see. We are in the midst of a massive behavioral health and public health crisis that feels like it’s getting worse. One of the problems with Gloria’s attack, though, is we don’t know who exactly whom he blames. The county has no political leadership right now. We didn’t even know who exactly to call for a response. I’m Scott Lewis for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.

The Los Angeles fires have been burning for 17 days. (Jan. 7) It's taking a toll on first responders. Health reporter Heidi de Marco says some local therapists are offering free therapy to help them cope.

“I would be a liar if I said I never cried after a call. Right? I'm a human being first.” Josh Rubinstein is a battalion chief from Northern California.  He’s been assisting with the Eaton Fire in Altadena since January 10. “We lose more men and women to suicide than we do line-of-duty deaths.” About a dozen San Diego County mental health providers are stepping in to help. They are offering free mental health and substance abuse therapy to first responders. Nancy Phung-Smith, a trauma therapist, is one of them. “Feeling the devastation, the weight of it. Then wanting to reach out for coping to, either that be part of that compartmentalizing or substance use, right? It's hard.” Cultural competency is key to helping effectively. That’s according to Steve Blackburn. He coordinates peer support for LA County Fire. “If they open up to a therapist and it's the wrong therapist, they will never go back again.” Rubenstein says support services give them a break. “A firefighter can take their mind off of all the death and destruction that we are seeing.” Visit kpbs-dot-org for therapist contact information. Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org.

For your next listen, check out the Midday Edition podcast.

They’ll be talking about rebuilding efforts after last year’s flooding in the Black Arts and Culture District. Plus, a weekend arts preview.

I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Thursday.