CONCORD, Calif. – A coalition of health, labor and environmental groups is asking the Trump administration to release specific locations for immigrant detention centers to be built on military bases – sites that may be polluted.

President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance policy at the border has resulted in the detention of tens of thousands of men, women and children.

Attorney Lisa Evans with Earthjustice, the law firm representing the groups, has filed an expedited Freedom of Information Act request to find out exactly where the migrants will be housed, because, she says, these military bases have a long history of toxic pollution.

"To round those people up and put them at risk of perhaps permanent harm by housing them in areas that are either on top of or close to hazardous waste sites is an unconscionable act and it's unnecessary," she stresses.

The administration is rushing to build two migrant detention centers in Texas – one at Fort Bliss in El Paso, home to several Superfund sites, and another on a former firing range at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo.

There also have been rumors of plans to use land at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the Bay Area.

Exposure to toxic chemicals from sites such as these can cause cancer, neurological damage and developmental harm, but the government says the sites are safe.

Evans says the planned migrant housing is flimsy and insufficient to protect people from environmental hazards.

"These are not dormitories,” she stresses. “These are not bunkers that have been converted to housing, that might be more protective. These are soft-sided temporary shelters set on the ground that can be constructed very quickly to house these children and families."

The groups making the Freedom of Information Act request include the Hispanic Federation, the National Hispanic Medical Association, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Southwest Environmental Center, GreenLatinos and Alianza Nacional de Campesinas.


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During last week's Republican National Convention, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Americans are not safe due to immigrants committing violent crimes.

That's just one claim being challenged by leading immigration experts.

Nancy Foner, Ph.D., professor of Sociology at City University of New York's Hunter College, said labeling immigrants as criminals is an old, but persistent, myth.

She pointed to data showing that the vast majority of immigrants are not violent criminals.

"The foreign born, in fact, are much less likely than the native-born to commit violent crimes," said Foner. "And in fact, cities and neighborhoods with greater concentrations of immigrants have much lower crime and violence than comparable non-immigrant neighborhoods."

Immigrants were also blamed for smuggling fentanyl across the 2,000-mile southern border.

But according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 90% of the drugs linked to overdose deaths are smuggled by U.S. citizens through legal ports of entry.

Cruz also said immigrants were being allowed into the U.S. to vote in the upcoming elections - a conspiracy theory about something that never, or almost never, happens.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, pointed out that non-citizens are not legally allowed to vote in federal elections, and don't in part because they could be immediately deported if caught.

"To cast one ballot in an election in which 160 million ballots are going to be cast, it happens exceedingly rarely," said Becker, "largely because the states and federal government already have really good policies in place."

Others claimed immigrants were "receiving welfare."

Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said immigrants are not eligible for the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps), Social Security or other benefits - although they do pay payroll and other taxes that fund those programs.

She said immigrants actually strengthen America's economy, but local governments can feel squeezed if immigrants earn low wages.

"That negative impact, it mostly comes from education," said Orrenius. "K-12 education is expensive. The spending on education is an investment. Those investments are going to pay back many times what's invested."



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Leaders at the 5th annual Immigration Summit, which wrapped up in Los Angeles Friday, have vowed to stand strong no matter what happens with the November election.

The Republican candidate for president has called for mass deportations.

Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, said it alarms many people in a county where more than one-third of the residents of all ethnicities are foreign-born, and about 60% of children have at least one immigrant parent.

"We've been engaged in scenario planning," Santana explained. "We've prepared our immigrant community so that they know their rights, that we have the proper defense, but also, we're advancing comprehensive immigration reform. That is really what's needed."

The summit was co-sponsored by the California Community Foundation, the Council of Immigrant Inclusion and the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California.

Manuel Pastor, director of the institute, said deportations would leave a huge hole in the economy and tear families apart.

"In L.A. County, about a fifth of all Angelenos are either undocumented themselves or living with a family member who is undocumented," Pastor pointed out. "Fear of deportation, problems with accessing services because of status, affect a wide number of families."

Researchers also released the 5th annual State of Immigrants in Los Angeles report, which found naturalizations and wages for immigrants are up over the past few years. It also recommended continued support for county programs providing legal aid and help people access services in their preferred language.


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The Missouri House of Representatives has formed a special committee to look into what the House Speaker refers to as crimes committed by immigrants living illegally in Missouri.

The formation of this committee has sparked a debate between those who see it as a necessary step for public safety and those who view it as a misuse of resources driven by political motives.

House Speaker Dean Plocher - R-St. Louis County - said he's convinced this committee's findings will increase the safety of Missourians.

"The message needs to be," said Plocher, "'If you're not here in the state of Missouri legally, you're going to be detained - and you're going to be deported if you're committing crimes.'"

Data provided by Customs and U.S. Border Protection show last year, there were more than 1,200 violent crimes by committed non-citizens in the U.S. nationwide, and more than 2,000 related to drug trafficking and possession.

The first committee hearing will be in Jefferson City on July 11.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith - D-Columbia - said this isn't an issue in Missouri, and believes the committee is a waste of time and resources. He said it's all being done for political talking points.

"If we are really serious about these issues," said Smith, "we would form a special committee on gun violence to crack down on the shootings that are happening all over our state, that need to be clamped down on."

Studies have repeatedly shown that immigrants - legal and illegal - are more law abiding than people born here.

Research from The Marshall Project has found no correlation between undocumented immigrants and a rise in violent crimes.

However, some committee members believe people living in the U.S. illegally are to blame for an increase in Fentanyl and sex trafficking.




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