Elisa is a longtime caregiver for older adults and people with disabilities. Like many caregivers, she was born abroad, and her story is one of many examples of how the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant attacks are on a collision course with a nationwide staffing crisis in the care economy. Programs that support older adults and those with disabilities face cuts, and those populations increasingly rely on people like Elisa — who, as a disabled immigrant worker, is more and more vulnerable to exploitation by employers.
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Labor, Social Justice
May Day Rallies in SF Draw Thousands to Protest Trump Administration Policies
Thousands of people turned out for a protest rally at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza and other locations on May 1 — also known as May Day and International Workers’ Day — to express outrage against Trump administration policies targeting immigrants, federal workers, labor unions, the social safety net, environmental policy, education and free speech.
The rallies on Thursday in San Francisco were among more than 1,000 demonstrations staged nationwide that coordinated with the grassroots 50501 movement, which billed the protests as a fight against a “billionaire takeover.”
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Immigration, Law & Justice
Legal Battle for National Ruling Continues in Student Visa Case Despite Sudden Reinstatements
Just a day before a key hearing in which a United States District judge in Oakland could have decided the fates of hundreds of students nationwide whose visas had been terminated, students, attorneys and universities across the country began reporting unexpected reinstatements of their status — even for individuals who had not filed a lawsuit. […]
Posted inArtificial Intelligence, Government & Politics, Health, Technology
Opposite of Efficiency
A team of 20 people from the U.S. Digital Service had been providing project oversight and design expertise to modernize the CDC’s National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System to ensure it would flexibly meet the diverse needs of public health departments nationwide.
When DOGE laid off 19 of those federal employees. it stripped away the expertise and accountability needed to ensure the project would be successfully completed by federal software contractors — in effect promoting government waste and inefficiency instead of reducing or eliminating it.
Posted inClimate Change, Environment, Government & Politics
Scientist Who Helped Prove Humans Changed the Climate Watches Evidence Being Erased
The data sources that trace humanity’s effect on the climate are under threat.
Under the Trump administration, publication of scientific reports is being frozen and some records risk being removed from public access. The National Centers for Environmental Information, which houses critical archives, has significantly reduced its staff. The White House has also moved to terminate a key contract with the firm responsible for producing the National Climate Assessment, casting doubt on the completion of the next scheduled report. Computer models and observational records climate scientist Ben Santer helped build are in the crosshairs.
Posted inEducation, Government & Politics, Immigration
Organizers Mobilize Nationally as SF Student, Grads Lose Visas in Spate of Revocations
The visas of a student and four recent graduates of San Francisco State University have been terminated, according to a university statement. The revocations are the latest in a spate of visa cancellations by the Trump administration, which has targeted permanent residents and visa holders in retaliation against their involvement in political organizing and demonstrations. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Homelessness, Housing, Immigration, Law & Justice
‘They’ll All Be Homeless’
San Francisco should brace for a surge in homelessness.
That was the assessment of local housing advocates following a Department of Housing and Urban Development announcement that it would “take steps” to ensure no funding would be used to “support sanctuary policies of states or local governments that actively prevent federal authorities from deporting” undocumented residents.
On Friday, HUD Secretary Scott Turner issued a letter informing the department’s grantees and stakeholders of his plans to comply with an executive order titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” signed by President Trump Feb. 19.
San Francisco adopted its sanctuary city policy in 1989. It prohibits city staff and police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless required to do so by federal or state law.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Health, Politics
Protesters Denounce DOGE, Health Care Cuts, Call Out Local Representatives
Facing looming threats to healthcare programs, the implementation of anti-immigrant policies, and the outsized role of billionaires in Trump’s administration, protesters gathered at Airbnb’s headquarters in San Francisco with message for state and local elected officials: “Get a f—ing backbone,” said demonstrator Fred Sherburn-Zimmer, organizing and policy director at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.
Around 200 people gathered outside of Airbnb’s headquarters in the South of Market neighborhood on March 28 to denounce the dismantling of government programs and call on members of Congress to push back on cuts.
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Neighborhoods
Complaint Alleges Ethics Violations by Campaign to Recall Engardio
A complaint filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission accuses the group campaigning to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio of failing to properly report its spending and disclose funding sources of campaign materials. The commission has not yet indicated whether it is taking any action on the complaint, according to the attorney representing the filer.
Under local ordinance, the Ethics Commission may not publicly disclose whether it has received a complaint or is conducting an investigation, though filers are notified if their complaint is dropped or sustained. Campaign finance experts said that without further investigation, it’s unclear whether the alleged reporting failures constitute violations.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Homelessness
New Records Show Spotty Compliance With Encampment Clearing Policy
Recently, San Francisco staff sometimes complied with a years-old policy designed to help people living on the streets retain essential property, new records show. Despite logging 126 encampment clearings over three months, the city recorded just 11 signed acknowledgements from unhoused people.