A Mother’s Complicated Route to Reimbursement for Funeral Expenses – The United States has the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the world, and many families struggle to pay for funeral expenses. To help families devastated by the tragedy, the federal emergency agency, FEMA, established a reimbursement program for burial or cremation expenses. In southern California, one of the epicenters of the virus, a woman had to ask the funeral home that buried her son for help to meet the complicated requirements. Heidi de Marco has the details from Bell, California.
Influential Immigration Jail Company on Trial for $1-a-Day Wages – After pausing for the pandemic, the state of Washington has reopened a lawsuit against the immigration jailer GEO Group for violation of state labor laws. This controversial company, the second largest detainee contractor in the country, pays detainees one dollar a day to clean and maintain its prison in the city of Tacoma. For several years, activists reported to the state attorney general that this practice was a violation until a lawsuit was finally presented. From Washington, José Luis Buen Abad has this report.
Latino Immigrant Becomes a National Leader of the LGBTQ + Community – The National LGBTQ Task Force, the oldest advocacy group of its kind in the United States, has appointed Mayra Hidalgo Salazar to a national leadership position. As a teenager, the Costa Rican-born activist organized young immigrants in Florida. In her new position, Hidalgo says she will seek full recognition and acceptance for her community, which she considers highly discriminated against and attacked. She also asserts that “trans, queer, black, colored and indigenous people are at the forefront of social change.” You can listen to the full interview on the Monday, June 14 edition of Línea Abierta.
