Federal agents served search warrants at 20 locations in Southern California suspected of running “maternity hotels” as well as apartment complexes. Also, the Fourth Amendment comes under fire as arguments begin in the Supreme Court over whether police can inspect hotel and motel registries without a warrant. Then, Hillary Clinton came under fire yesterday after jt was revealed that she exclusively used her personal email account while at the State Department.
Immigration experts discuss 'birth tourism' after feds raid suspected 'maternity hotels' in Southern California
In the latest move to investigate “birth tourism,” federal agents served search warrants at 20 locations in Southern California early Tuesday.
The feds raided the homes of people suspected of running the “maternity hotels” as well as apartment complexes in Irvine, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Rancho Cucamonga. According to affidavits, the operators of these homes would charge Chinese women tens of thousands of dollars to help them travel to the U.S. on a fraudulent tourist visa, teach them how to get into the country, and then house them for the months until they give birth.
What else can the federal government do to help quell “birth tourism?” Is it becoming a more prevalent phenomenon across the country? What economic and social concerns does it pose?
Guests:
Frank Shyong, reporter with the Los Angeles Times
Leslie Berestein-Rojas, KPCC reporter
Curt Hagman, State Representative for District 4 on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. He is also a former Assembly member who introduced legislation aimed at reducing the amount of illegal birth tourism in California.
Skid Row shooting update: Inside today’s police commission meeting
Protesters rallied at the LAPD police commission meeting this morning in reaction to last weekend’s fatal shooting of a homeless man by police on Skid Row.
Guests:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC crime reporter
Steve Soboroff, President of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners
Attorney suing over physical education at California schools nears settlement deal
A Bay area parent and attorney suing 37 schools districts, including LA Unified, for failing to meet physical education standards says a settlement can be reached if schools show proof they are teaching PE.
Donald Driscoll has been challenging elementary schools for failing to provide 200 minutes of PE for every 10 school days. Research from UC Berkeley and San Diego State University shows the majority of California's public schools get failing grades when it comes to providing fitness time for kids. Experts say schools sacrifice PE to satisfy academic pressures, plus teachers don't have relevant training or equipment.
Is 20 minutes of fitness each day realistic for school kids? How much PE did you receive? What about your kids?
Guests:
Donald Driscoll, Attorney suing school districts over physical education standards
Hannah Thompson, MPH, Research Scientist, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
Debating the decision to strike down Jessica’s Law
The California Supreme Court struck down one of the central provisions of Jessica’s Law on Monday, and while the ruling currently only applies to San Diego County, some are saying it’s a sign that residential limits for registered sex offenders in other counties in California could be changing soon too.
In the ruling, Justice Marvin Baxter wrote that the law has severely limited the rights and freedoms of registered sex offenders, limited though they are, and has created circumstances that make it harder for offenders to be monitored and rehabbed.
Do you support the Court’s decision? Will this be a harbinger of change for residential limits for sex offenders in other counties?
Guests:
Ernest Galvan, partner at Rosen, Bien, Galvan, & Grunfield, LLP. He represented the four registered sex-offenders who originally sued the state over Jessica’s Law.
George Runner, former State Senator and co-author of Jessica’ Law. He’s currently the vice chair of the Board of Equalization, representing District 1.
SCOTUS preview: Impact of redistricting and hotel privacy cases on California
The Affordable Care Act heads to the Supreme Court again this week. But before SCOTUS tackles the most high profile case of the year, we take a look at what else is keeping them busy.
Yesterday, the court heard arguments on the authority of an independent redistricting commission in Arizona. And today, the Fourth Amendment comes under fire as arguments begin in The City of Los Angeles vs. Patel over whether police can inspect hotel and motel registries without a warrant.
Also, SCOTUS turned down a case brought by sponsors of California’s now-repealed ban on same sex marriage to keep their names off the public campaign contribution records.
Guests:
Rory Little, Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings. He previewed the City of Los Angeles versus Patel for Scotus Blog
Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News. Author, “A Black and White Case: How Affirmative Action Survived Its Greatest Legal Challenge” (Wiley, 2006)
Controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email account at The State Department
Hillary Clinton came under fire yesterday after the New York Times revealed that she exclusively used her personal email account while at the State Department.
Although her staff recently turned over thousands of pages of emails to comply with federal records keeping practices, critics say her use of a personal account was a serious breach in government accountability. But is it a violation of the law? How common is it for other government officials to use a personal server? And what does this mean for Clinton’s presidential bid?
Guests:
Chris Lehane, a democratic political consultant and partner in the strategic communications firm Fabiani & Lehane.
John Wonderlich, a policy director at the Sunlight Foundation, an advocacy group for government accountability