Immigration Lowkey a Mess RN: Families Facing the Boot 😭

The Deets

Okay, so boom. There's this family in Prince George – Charisma, Gandy, and their six kids – who might be getting the boot 'cause of some new immigration rules. Apparently, these rules dropped on January 21st, and now they're stressing 'cause it messes with their work permits. What's even worse is their five-year-old daughter, Princess, has cerebral palsy and has been thriving with the medical help she's getting in Canada. They're worried she won't get the same level of care if they have to bounce.

The fam is tryna appeal on humanitarian grounds, hoping they can stay and become permanent residents for Princess's sake. They're super grateful for all the support they've been getting, but the future's looking kinda sus rn.

Over in Arizona, a congressman tried to pull up to the Eloy Detention Center to visit Kelly Yu, a business owner who's also facing deportation. But security was gatekeeping hard, saying he needed to give them a heads-up first. The congressman was not feeling that, claiming it's not in the rulebook. He thinks they were just tryna make sure the place looked presentable before he showed up. He's calling for some serious immigration reform, saying it doesn't make sense to deport someone like Kelly Yu, who's been running a successful business after escaping China's one-child policy way back when.

The congressman also mentioned that Senator Ruben Gallego had a point about letting undocumented immigrants without a record pay a fine and pass a background check. But he's worried about creating a system where people pay taxes but can't vote. He's all for a path to citizenship for people like Yu, and is still holding out hope that Yu will be able to stay in the U.S., despite the situation looking grim.

Meanwhile, in Tustin, Narciso Barranco, a landscaper, just made his first public appearance after getting arrested in a deportation sweep. His attorney is raising some serious questions about whether these sweeps are even legit. The OC Rapid Response Network is blowing up with calls about immigration and deportation, and they're letting everyone know they've got a legal defense team ready to go.

Barranco's arrest has sparked vigils and demands for local officials to step up. One Orange County Supervisor even pointed out that Barranco's story throws shade on the narrative that undocumented immigrants are all criminals. Some cities, like Anaheim and Santa Ana, are launching immigrant resource webpages and setting up aid funds. It's a whole movement, fam!