Immigrant Detainees Continue Strike Over 'Slavery' Wages of $1 a Day, Report Retaliation
Immigrants held in ICE detention centers often hold jobs in those facilities: scrubbing toilets, cleaning showers, sweeping dorms, folding laundry, even working as barbers. Those positions often only pay a dollar a day. For the last several months, some of the immigrant detainees in two facilities in and around Bakersfield have gone on strike, demanding better pay and working conditions. Host Sasha Khokha talks with KQED’s labor correspondent Farida Jhabvala Romero, who has been talking with immigrants from inside detention. They say they’ve been retaliated against for going on strike. Farida explains how their complaints eventually led members of Congress to call for an investigation.
California Becomes First Sanctuary State for Transgender Youth Seeking Medical Care
A new law declares California a safe state for families who want to come here to get hormones or puberty blockers for transgender kids. The law protects parents who have nonbinary or trans kids and want gender-affirming care for them. This year, 21 states have tried to restrict or ban medical care for trans kids. Some efforts penalize parents for affirming their children’s gender identity, while other efforts criminalize doctors who treat gender dysphoria. KQED’s health correspondent Lesley McClurg brings us the story of one family from Texas who just upended their life and moved to California to protect their child.