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Immigrants selling food, flowers, and other merchandise along the sidewalks of California will have new privacy protections intended to keep their identities secret from federal immigration agents. The measure, signed into law this past week by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, comes on the heels of other recently enacted state laws meant to shield students in schools and patients at health care facilities from the reach of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions. Democratic-led states are adding laws resisting Trump even as he intensifies his deportation campaign by seeking to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities to reinforce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who are arresting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. By contrast, some Republican-led states are requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE agents. The actions of the states really reflect the polarization of the country on this issue, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. We have seen some states move to cooperate to the greatest extent that they possibly can with Trumps administration and others doing what they can to try to thwart immigration enforcement in their state. Across the U.S, state lawmakers this year have passed more than 100 bills relating to immigration, according to an Associated Press analysis aided by the bill tracking software Plural. The measures are divided almost evenly between those providing and denying protections to immigrants. California is shielding immigrant information Immigrants comprise a significant portion of California’s urban sidewalk vendors. Some have been swept up in immigration enforcement actions, in part, because their outdoor work in public places makes them easier targets than people behind closed doors. California’s street vendors typically need permits from cities or counties. The new law prohibits local governments from inquiring about vendors’ immigration status, requiring fingerprinting or disclosing personal information name, address, birth date, social media identifiers and telephone, driver’s license and Social Security numbers, among other things without a judicial subpoena. The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, was prompted by concerns that vendor databases kept by local governments could be accessed by federal immigration agents to target people for detention and deportation. Were talking about really security - security for businesses, security for human beings, security for people who have gone through so much,” said Sergio Jimenez, a street vending organizer with the nonprofit Community Power Collective in Los Angeles. Additional laws recently signed by Newsom add immigration status to a list of protected medical information and prohibit schools from granting access to immigration enforcement officials without a court warrant. Another new California law directs schools and higher education institutions to immediately notify staff and students or parents when immigration officials are on campus. Democratic states create safe places for immigrants Upon taking office, Trump reversed a policy restricting federal immigration agents from arresting people at sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals. Like California, other Democratic-led states responded with laws attempting to create safe places for immigrants. A Maryland law enacted earlier this year requires public schools, libraries and health care facilities to restrict access for immigration enforcement officials unless presented with a court warrant. Nevada’s Republican governor vetoed a similar measure for schools that had been passed by the Democratic-led Legislature. Meanwhile, a new Colorado law allows civil penalties of up to $50,000 for public child care centers, schools, colleges, health care facilities and libraries that collect information about peoples immigration status, with some exceptions. New laws in Rhode Island prohibit health care providers and landlords from inquiring about people’s immigration status. Oregon also enacted a similar law for landlords. States split on aiding federal immigration agents By contrast, Republican-led states have passed numerous laws intended to bolster Trumps immigration policies. New laws in Texas, Florida, and Arkansas require sheriffs who run jails to enter into federal agreements for their officers to be trained to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. State and local participation in the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program named after the section of law that created it has exploded from 135 agreements in 21 states before Trump took office in January to more than 1,000 agreements presently in place in 40 states. But some Democratic-led states have refused to take part. A new Delaware law prohibits participation in the program, similar to statutes already in place in California and Illinois. Democratic-led Vermont also tightened its restrictions on participating in federal immigration enforcement programs, repealing an exemption that had allow it during emergencies. A Connecticut law that took effect in October allows people to sue local governments that cooperate with federal immigration authorities in violation of the states Trust Act. Public benefits are a point of contention In Washington, new state laws allow workers to take paid leave to attend immigration proceedings for themselves or family members and prohibit employers from using immigration status to coerce their employees. But some Republican-led states have enacted laws limiting benefits for people in the country illegally. A new Idaho law prohibits immigrants without legal status from receiving some publicly funded health benefits, including vaccinations, crisis counseling and prenatal and postnatal care for women. A new Louisiana law requires applicants for public benefits to be screened for legal immigration status and, if lacking it, reported to federal immigration authorities Several Republican-led states including Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Wyoming have adopted laws invalidating certain drivers licenses issued to immigrants in the U.S. illegally. College tuition discounts are diminishing Entering into this year, nearly half the states provided in-state tuition to public colleges and universities for residents living in the U.S. illegally. But that number has dwindled since Trump took office and the U.S. Department of Justice began suing states. The federal lawsuits assert states are violating the Constitution by providing in-state tuition for people without legal status while not offering the same benefit to out-of-state U.S. citizens. Florida repealed its decade-old law allowing in-state tuition for students lacking legal status, effective July 1. Republican-led Texas and Oklahoma both ended similar tuition policies after getting sued by the Justice Department. Kentucky, which has a Democratic governor, also has taken steps to halt its policy after getting sued. California lawmakers attempted to enhance tuition benefits for immigrants with a first-of-its kind measure allowing community college students who get deported or voluntarily leave the U.S. to continue receiving in-state tuition while taking online courses from afar. But Newsom vetoed the measure earlier this month, citing significant constitutional concerns that the tuition break was offered only to students who left the country and not also to residents of other U.S. states. A bill passed by New Mexico’s Democratic-led Legislature this year would have expanded in-state tuition breaks to immigrants who earned income in New Mexico during the previous two years or who attended at least two semesters of adult education courses. But Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham let the bill die without her signature. David A. Lieb, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Barack Obama helped Marc Maron lock the gates on his podcast Monday, returning to the show for the final episode after 16 years and more than 1,600 episodes.The former president gave new status to “WTF With Marc Maron” and to podcasts in general when he visited Maron’s Los Angeles garage studio while still in office a decade ago. Obama brought the 62-year-old host, stand-up comic and actor to his Washington office for the last interview.Obama asked the initial questions.“How are you feeling about this whole thing?,” he said, “transition, moving on from this thing that has been one of the defining parts of your career and your life?”“I feel OK,” Maron answered. “I feel like I’m sort of ready for the break, but there is sort of a fear there, of what do I do now? I’m busy. But, not unlike your job I’ve got a lot of people who over the last 16 years have grown to rely on me.”Maron laughed as he acknowledged he was comparing his podcasting gig to the presidency.“I think it’s pretty similar,” Obama said.The identity of the guest was not revealed until the episode dropped, and fans had been speculating. Obama was a popular guess, both because of his relationship with “WTF” and because Maron in an interview with Variety in July said Obama would be his ideal final conversation.The host explained the decision in an unusually brief and straightforward introduction to the episode.“It became clear that the guest we needed to have was singular,” Maron said, “in that he could address the importance of this being our final episode, but also address how we move through the world we’re living in, as frightening as it is.”Maron asked Obama for advice on moving on from your life’s biggest job.“You’ve still got a couple of chapters left,” Obama said. “Don’t rush into what the next thing is. Take a beat. Take some satisfaction looking backwards.”After a much talk on the state of the world, Obama brought it back around to Maron’s farewell.“I think we’re going to be OK,” Obama said. “I think part of the reason you had such a big fan base during this 16-year run is there was a core decency to you and the conversations that you had.”Maron avoided sentimental farewell talk during the episode he got that out of the way on Thursday in his penultimate episode, where talked directly and emotionally to his listeners.“I’m grateful to have been part of your lives,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot of stuff together. A lot of breakups. Death. Cats. The world.”The new Obama episode was No. 1,686 of the pioneering and influential long-form interview podcast that had humble beginnings in 2009 as a place where he worked out his issues with other stand-up comedians in the garage of his home that he dubbed “The Cat Ranch.”Maron’s cats were always an essential part of the show. His final words on Monday’s episode were tributes to the ones who had died.“Cat angels everywhere,” he said.For most of its years the show has opened with a fan-composed rock ‘n’ roll theme song that opens with an audio sample of Maron in his small role in the film “Almost Famous” shouting, “Lock the gates!” The song is named for one of Maron’s common phrases, “Are We Doing This?” Another such phrase, “Are we good?” was often his last question to guests and is the title of a new documentary on him.Eventually, with help from guests like Obama, Robin Williams and Paul McCartney, “WTF” became a media institution where authors, artists, musicians, Hollywood stars and political leaders would give him their backstory.Maron announced in June that he and longtime producing partner Brendan McDonald had decided to end the show. He said there was no particular reason, other than that he was tired and utterly satisfied with the work they had done.On Monday, Maron seemed moved as he read from a pseudolegal document that he had drawn up for Obama to sign, releasing McDonald “from the professional responsibility to listening to me talk.” Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writer
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E-Commerce
Apple was hit with a lawsuit in California federal court by a pair of neuroscientists who say that the tech company misused thousands of copyrighted books to train its Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence model. Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, professors at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, told the court in a proposed class action on Thursday that Apple used illegal “shadow libraries” of pirated books to train Apple Intelligence. A separate group of authors sued Apple last month for allegedly misusing their work in AI training. TECH COMPANIES FACING LAWSUITS The lawsuit is one of many high-stakes cases brought by copyright owners such as authors, news outlets, and music labels against tech companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms, over the unauthorized use of their work in AI training. Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from another group of authors over the training of its AI-powered chatbot Claude in August. Spokespeople for Apple and Martinez-Conde, Macknik, and their attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new complaint on Friday. Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI-powered features integrated into iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPad. “The day after Apple officially introduced Apple Intelligence, the company gained more than $200 billion in value: ‘the single most lucrative day in the history of the company,'” the lawsuit said. According to the complaint, Apple utilized datasets comprising thousands of pirated books as well as other copyright-infringing materials scraped from the internet to train its AI system. The lawsuit said that the pirated books included Martinez-Conde and Macknik’s “Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles” and “Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions.” The professors requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order for Apple to stop misusing their copyrighted work. Blake Brittain, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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