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(1 of ) In this photo taken Feb. 7, 2017, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arrest is made during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is wholesale rewriting the U.S. immigration enforcement priorities, broadly expanding the number of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who are priorities for deportation, according to a pair of enforcement memos released Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP) (2 of ) Grassroots Immigrations Programs Director Cristina Parker talks about the challenges facing immigrants living illegally in the United States, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Around the country, President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. have spread fear and anxiety and led many people to brace for arrest and to change up their daily routines in hopes of not getting caught. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (3 of ) Grassroots Immigrations Programs Director Cristina Parker talks about the challenges facing immigrants living illegally in the United States, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Around the country, President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. have spread fear and anxiety and led many people to brace for arrest and to change up their daily routines in hopes of not getting caught. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (4 of ) Wilfredo Mendoza, of Boston, left, and Christina Villafranca, of Malden, Mass., right, displays a placards during a rally called "We Will Persist," Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017, in Boston. According to organizers the rally was held to send a message to Republicans in Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump that they will continue to press for immigration rights and continued affordable healthcare coverage. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (5 of ) Gabriela Baraja, right, and her sons Melvin Garcia, left, and Antonio Garcia pose for a photo at their home in Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. As President Donald Trump moves ahead with a nationwide immigration crackdown, school principals in Chicago have been given a simple order: Do not let federal immigration agents in without a criminal warrant. Barajas was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child but is allowed to stay as part of a federal program launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Don Babwin)

MARTIN ESPINOZA

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 24, 2017, 2:25PM

| Updated 5 hours ago.

Undocumented immigrants across Sonoma County are asking a commonly held question these days: What rights do I have if federal immigration officers knock on my door or arrive at my workplace?

Legal experts say the answer is not much different than if the question were asked by a U.S. citizen. In such situations, the same rights are granted by the Constitution and afforded anyone who sets foot in this country.

If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, come to your home, the San Francisco-based Immigration Legal Resource Center, or ILRC, recommends staying calm. Do not run away and do not provide false information.

The ILRC advises documented and undocumented immigrants they have the following rights and can take these actions:

* You have the right to remain silent. You can refuse to speak to an ICE agent. Immigrant advocates recommend not answering any questions, especially about your birth place, immigration status or how you entered the United States. If your encounter is with a local law enforcement agent, ILRC recommends that you only give your name.

* You have a right to speak to a lawyer and the right to make a phone call. Make sure you carry the phone number for an immigration lawyer with you at all times, advocates say.

* You have the right to demand a warrant before letting anyone into your home. Do not open the door to authorities without a warrant. You do not need to open the door unless an ICE agent shows you a warrant signed by a judge with your specific and correct name and address on it. If they say they have one, do not open the door for them to show it to you. Ask them to slip it under the door or through a window.

* You have the right to refuse to sign anything before you talk to a lawyer. Do not sign paperwork you dont understand. Doing so could eliminate your right to speak with a lawyer or have a hearing in front of an immigration judge. This may result in you being deported immediately without a hearing.

The American Civil Liberties Union said that only a warrant issued by a court and signed by a judge allows officers the right to enter your home. A warrant issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or ICE and signed by a DHS or ICE employee is not sufficient for entry into your home.

The ACLU further advises:

* If agents force their way into your home or property, do not attempt to resist.

* If you wish to exercise your rights, state, I do not consent to your entry or to your search of these premises. I am exercising my right to remain silent. I wish to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.

* Everyone in the residence may also exercise the right to remain silent.

Read the original here:
What are your rights as an undocumented immigrant? - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Miami Herald

Tallahassee's Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, is 'seriously ... Miami Herald It's been no big secret that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has had his eye on the Florida governor's mansion, but now the Democrat is acknowledging it out ... and more »

The rest is here:
Tallahassee's Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, is 'seriously ... - Miami Herald

"Six states -- only six states have Democratic governors in (Democratic majority) state legislatures. In the last eight years -- more than 900 seats in state legislatures went from Democrat to Republican. And it's mostly the legislatures that draw the congressional districts," she said to Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota liberal who is a frontrunner in the race.

That takeover of state-level politics by Republicans didn't happen overnight. It's been part of a methodical push that has allowed the GOP to outpunch its weight in Congress. Control of state houses helps lead to safer congressional districts in most states.

One remedy, alluded to at points by each of the candidates, is the need to re-focus away from national politics.

"Donald Trump has gotten to be like a computer virus in the American political system," said South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. "He ties up our minds and our processing power with these equations that don't even have any solutions until the system overheats and breaks down."

He added later that, "Our opponents on the Republican side have patiently and cleverly built majorities at the state house level, Congress... It's not just about the White House. And when we fail to recognize that, we get into a whole lot of trouble, even when we have the White House, having our policies obstructed and trapped. And as you wind up in a situation like we are right now, where we don't have it, that's where we're really left out."

Jaime Harrison, the South Carolina Democratic Party chairman, blamed the organizing arm of former President Barack Obama's campaigns with draining resources and focus from local parties.

"State parties in this country are broken," said Harrison. "There are state parties in this country, right now, in two years, have - either they're defending one of the 25 US Senate seats or they have a governorship or they're trying to win back their state house and they barely have $35,000 cash-on-hand."

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who was a member of Obama's administration and has the backing of many established Washington Democrats, didn't disagree.

"We're too short term all too frequently," said Perez, whose voice was hoarse from "going all over the country."

"We have got to win up and down the ballots, from the dog catcher all the way up, and that is how we're going to be ready," he said.

Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown said the national party needs to give states and state governments more leeway.

"You know, as DNC chair, yes, it's a federal position. But they have been entirely too focused on the president's position," she said.

For Republicans, it was a years-long effort built on local parties and outside groups that focused almost exclusively on state legislatures.

It also relied on grassroots activism that brought new Republicans into the political process, particularly in 2009 as Democrats, who then controlled all of Washington, were passing Obamacare and other controversial priorities.

It was a painful process for the GOP. On the way to the Congressional majority, grassroots activists targeted moderate Republicans in primaries.

Democrats, more immediately, will need to also harness the excitement and engagement they've seen at townhalls in recent weeks.

Engagement was a key message of Obama as he was on his way out of office. And now the DNC candidates are seizing on it. Buttigieg said Wednesday that people frustrated by Trump and his policies should get involved.

"Don't get mad. Get on your school board," said Buttigieg after a question about Trump's Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

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Powerless Democrats realize politics is local - CNN

Leftists are besieging Republicans town meetings across the country, mostly trying to get headlines from sympathetic newspapers. Often, their conduct has been deplorable. Yesterday afternoon, Senator Tom Cotton did a town hall in Springdale, Missouri, and the left was out in force, stacking the 2,200-seat venue. Their antics have been hailed breathlessly by such outlets as the Washington Post, Politico and CNN. In fact, the leftists efforts were rather pathetic, as one Democrat after another got up and read long statements off note cards. Senator Cotton responded masterfully to the Democrats. You can watch the whole thing, but I dont recommend it. It is, however, worth watching a few minutes to get a feel for how crazy the Democrats are:

Notwithstanding the fact that better than 1,000 of them showed up to agitate at the Springdale town hall, the Democratic Party is almost extinct in Arkansas. Yesterdays dismal showing is one more nail in the Arkansas Democrats coffin, as an overwhelming majority of Arkansans no doubt reacted with disgust.

Continue reading here:
Democrats Make Fools of Themselves at Cotton Town Hall - Power Line (blog)

Getty Images | JW LTD

The FCC's Republican majority approved the change to help small providers avoid "onerous reporting obligations" included in the 2015 net neutrality order, they said.But by setting the threshold at250,000 subscribers and exempting small ISPs owned by larger companies,the FCC is effectively "exempt[ing] billion-dollar public companies" from rules that can be complied with in mere hourseach year, said Mignon Clyburn, the FCC's only Democrat.

The commission's 2015 order temporarily exempted ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers from the so-called enhanced transparency requirements, but that exemption expired in December 2016. Clyburn said she would support reinstating the exemption for ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers, but shedissented from today's order.

The250,000-subscriber exemption won't apply to the top broadband providers such as Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Verizon, and others. But it will exempt many ISPs owned by conglomerates, Clyburn said.

"Many of the nations largest broadband providers are actually holding companies, comprisedof many smaller operating companies," Clyburn said. "So what todays Order does is exempt these companies affiliates that have under 250,000 connections by declining to aggregate the connection count atthe holding company level."

The originalexemption for ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers was applied to the aggregated total of subscribers "across all affiliates," so that small ISPs owned by big holding companies wouldn't be exempt. That changed today, according to Clyburn.

The White House's Office of Management and Budget found that complying with the transparency rule enhancements "would take each broadband provider 6.8 hoursannually," Clyburn said. The exemption will withhold important information about prices, including promotional rates, fees, and surcharges from about 9.7 million subscribers, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said today.

The enhanced transparency rules expand upon rules first implemented in 2010.To comply with the enhanced rules, home Internet providers and cellular carriers must make public disclosures that include the following:

The new rules also require ISPs to disclose more information about network performance, including packet loss statistics.

Pai said he offered a compromise to Clyburn, but he declined to say what his proposed compromise included. A spokesperson for Clyburn told Ars that the compromise would haverequired all ISPs of any size to report "commercial terms" such as prices, fees, and data caps publicly. But it also would have made ISPs with as many as 500,000 subscribers exempt from other requirements. That means many more ISPs would have been able to avoid reporting network performance statistics that can help customers assesswhether a network will be reliable.

"Commissioner Clyburn could simply not support a proposal that would have potentially left millions of additional consumers without transparency protections," the spokesperson said.

Before the vote, Clyburn made a plea to ISPs: "If you and your companies have the resources,then do the right thing, be transparent with consumers about what prices you charge, what feesyou assess, what data caps you impose, and your network performance practices. Yourcustomers, I am confident, will thank you."

Pai argued that requiring ISPs to "devote scarce resources" to filling out paperwork instead of deploying broadband is "not in the interest of the consumer."

"Ourdecision today will help the country's smaller providers... better serve their communities," Pai said. "I firmly believe that these ISPsshould spend their limited capital building out better broadband to rural America, not hiring lawyers and accountants to fill out unnecessary paperwork demanded by Washington, DC. With this action, the small businesses that are critical to injecting competition into the broadband marketplace will be better able to do just that."

Pai also supports overturningthe FCC's net neutrality order, which could wipe out the transparency requirements for providers of all sizes.

The FCC did take action to boost broadband deployment today in two bipartisan votes. One vote will provide $453 million in annual support to carriers over ten years to expand and improve 4G LTE mobile coverage in rural and tribal areas. This is a continuation of the FCC's Mobility Fund, which was created in 2011. The money will be distributed in an auction-style format to boost coverage "where the market cant sustain or extend service absent government support."

The FCC today also voted on rules for an upcoming reverse auction that will provide a total of nearly $2 billion over 10 years to expand home Internet service in rural areas.

Listing image by Getty Images | JW LTD

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FCC lets billion-dollar ISPs hide fees and data caps, Democrat says - Ars Technica