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Depiction of illegal immigration. Courtesy Dept. of Art History
DHS expands citizenship and integration grant program
WASHINGTON (MNS)—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the open application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, which provides funding for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. The program will provide up to $20 million in grants, an increase from $10 million in funding last year.
Competitive grant opportunities are open to organizations that prepare immigrants for naturalization and promote civic integration through increased knowledge of English, US history, and civics.
In addition to the traditional programs that fund citizenship and English acquisition classes, the 2022 grants have been expanded to include opportunities for creative and innovative approaches to pre- paring immigrants for naturalization.
USCIS seeks to expand availability of high-quality citizenship and integration services throughout the country under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program:
"Through our Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, we are helping to provide integration servi- ces to noncitizens on their journeys to becoming American citizens,”"said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. "By adding additional funding opportunities, organizations will be able to reach more communities and ensure noncitizens have access to the tools and resources needed for citizenship education."
According to USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou, in 2022 the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program is more robust than ever.
"These organizations are helping immigrants become citizens and integrate into the United States, and I am pleased that this year’s program will support innovative initiatives and deepen regional and local collaboration to reach more geographic areas around the country," Jaddou said.
Since 2009, the USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has awarded $112 million through 513 grants to immigrant-serving organizations. These grant recipients have provided citizenship pre- paration services to more than 300,000 immigrants in 39 states and the District of Columbia. USCIS received support from Congress through appropriations to make these funding opportunities availa- ble to communities and expects to announce award recipients in September 2022.
To apply for these funding opportunities, visit www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov before the application deadline to obtain registration information needed to complete the application process.
For additional information on the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2022, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or email citizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov.
For more information on USCIS and its programs visit uscis.gov
10k reward for info on suspect
in shooting murder of boy, 14
COMPTON (MNS)—Authorities announced a $10,000 reward, jUNE 9, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man suspected of fatally shooting a 14-year-old boy in Compton.
Eduardo Sanchez, 29, is wanted for the murder of Ivan Villareal, who was found on Aug. 10, 2021, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest inside a camper in the 4200 block of East San Luis Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The department did not explain why Sanchez was suspected of the murder.
Sanchez is 6 feet tall, weighing 175 pounds, with brown hair and eyes.
Ivan's family told deputies he had been missing since Aug. 8 and they had
Eduardo Sanchez. Courtesy LASD
reported him missing to the sheriff's department the following day. While searching for his son on Aug. 10, Villareal's father found him dead inside the camper, Koerner said. It was not disclosed who owned the camper.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts or about the case was urged to contact the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Guns: Southland Dems condemn ruling striking down NY Concealed Carry Law
LOS ANGELES (CNS)—As anticipated, Southland and California Democrats reacted angrily to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling strik- ses, calling it an attack on public safety—while gun-rights groups hailed it as a "watershed" decision in support of gun rights.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the 6-3 ruling "a dark day in America."
"This is a dangerous decision from a court hell-bent on pushing a
radical ideological agenda and infringing on the rights of states to protect our citizens from being gunned down in our streets, schools and churches, Shameful." he wrote on Twitter.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said the ruling will endanger public safety. "As mass shoot- ings and daily incidents of gun violence devastate families across our nation, today's reckless Supreme Court ruling will make all Americans less safe -- and that includes Angelenos," Feuer said in a statement.
"Allowing more guns in public places is a recipe for tragedy and a nightmare for law enforcement striving to protect our families. In the wake of this dangerous decision, we will do everything in our power to safeguard vital California and Los Angeles laws that have prevented countless acts of gun violence."
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, also said the ruling would make communities less safe.
"At the same time as the Senate advances bipartisan legislation to take on America's crisis of gun violence, the extreme right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has chosen to exacerbate it." Padilla, a former Los Angeles City Council member and state senator, said in a statement.
"This dangerous decision misinterprets the Constitution and jeopardizes gun safety laws in a num- ber of states, including California, which has some of the most effective gun safety measures in the nation."
The ruling focused on the New York law's requirement for people to show a "special need" to carry
a concealed weapon, beyond a simple desire for self-defense. California has a similar restriction that will likely be undone by the ruling.
The group Gun Owners of California called the ruling "incredible," saying, "text, history and tradition at the founding is the new standard."
National Rifle Association CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre hailed the ruling.
"Today's ruling is a watershed win for good men and women all across America and is the result of a decades-long fight the NRA has led," he said in a statement. "The right to self-defense and to defend your family and loved ones should not end at your home."
He added: "This ruling brings life-saving justice to law-abiding Americans who have lived under unconstitutional regimes all across our country."
Jason Ouimet, executive director for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, called it a "monu-mental win."
"New York's egregious law, which left its residents' self-defense rights to the whim of a government bureaucrat, has been declared unconstitutional and must be changed," Ouimet said in a statement.
"New Yorkers will soon be able to defend themselves outside of their homes without first having to prove that they have a sufficient 'need' to exercise their fundamental rights."
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