By Elena Shore

SAN DIEGO – Two weeks before Election Day, immigrant rights advocates have an urgent message for undocumented immigrants: Now is the time to secure your future.

“You start to become a part of the community, being able to get out of the house without fear of being pulled over and asked for your papers,” said Ruben Alan Casas Espino about his experience with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). 

The federal program, launched in 2012, allows those who came to the country before the age of 16 to get temporary, renewable protection from deportation, and access to a work permit and social security number.

Casas Espino didn’t finish high school, but he was able to apply for DACA because he has his GED (high school equivalency) certificate, which is enough to meet the program’s educational requirements. 

Since his DACA application was approved in 2013, Casas Espino says his life has been “completely transformed.” 

He spoke Friday at a media roundtable organized by New America Media in collaboration with Alliance San Diego and the statewide collaborative Ready California.

“In a political climate marked by xenophobia, there’s an urgency to make sure immigrants can seek programs to protect themselves,” said NAM’s Odette Keeley, who moderated the discussion. 

Read the full story here.

By Doug Porter

Measures K and L are changes to the City Charter submitted through the efforts of the Alliance San Diego Mobilization Fund and the Independent Voter Project. Both groups have local experience in encouraging voter turnout.

These measures were championed by City Council President Sherri Lightner and placed on the November 2016 ballot by a vote of the City Council.

What they do in a nutshell is to shift the final decision making in elections to November. Measure K says the top two candidates as determined by primary voters for Mayor, City Council seats, and City Attorney advance to the general election. Measure L says citizen-sponsored initiatives and referendums belong on the November ballot.

Having worked in voter turnout efforts, I can say from personal experience that persuading people who are not normally engaged in politics to vote in primaries is a daunting task.

Read the full story here. 

^{Sandra and her newborn baby Nova Vitoria (New Victory) hope to be reunited with Volcy, who was separated from them at the US-Mexico border after a sudden end to the U.S. humanitarian policy towards displaced Haitians that left Sandra and Nova Vitoria on one side of the border and Volcy on the other.}

^{Volcy awaits his turn at the Mexicali port of entry, where he faces indefinite detention and possible deportation to Haiti, as well as a lifetime separation from his fiancé and newborn child.}

Read their story and sign the petition here