Inflation and worker shortage fuel push on immigration bills
WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Newhouse had a message for the grassroots organizers who gathered outside the Capitol to discuss what chances remain for bipartisan immigration legislation, such as his bill to address the labor shortages harming farmers in both red and blue states.
Call your senators.
“The ball is in their court,” the Washington Republican said at the late April event. He asked for help “to urge our senators to take action, to build urgency around this issue, to pass much, much needed immigration reform.”
As concerns about rising levels of migration to the southwest border dominate discussions on Capitol Hill, lawmakers and advocates are pointing to high inflation rates and critical labor shortages in a push for the Senate to take action soon on more narrow immigration bills that could boost the U.S. economy.
—CQ-Roll Call
With Roe v. Wade reversal expected, Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledges $500,000 for abortion access in Chicago
CHICAGO — The city of Chicago will spend $500,000 to support abortion access for residents and people from neighboring states in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
The money will go toward transportation, lodging, care “and, if necessary, safe and legal access to an abortion procedure,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot’s pledge comes after a leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling previewed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case. Reiterating a concern she first expressed after the opinion leaked, Lightfoot said the case’s repeal could lead to gay and interracial marriages being outlawed.
“The architects of this destruction will not stop at a woman’s right to choose,” she said in a statement released last week, the day the draft decision was first reported by Politico. “The Court’s draft opinion will establish a precedent for gutting the legal underpinnings used to protect against gender-based discrimination overall including women’s rights, trans rights, immigrant rights, and of course, the right to same-sex and interracial marriage. This decision truly epitomizes the dangers that exist at the intersection of racism and sexism.”
—Chicago Tribune
25% of NYC children don’t know where their next meal will come from: City Harvest
NEW YORK — Child hunger rates in New York City remain much higher than before the COVID pandemic even though the economy is starting to bounce back, according to a new report from the anti-hunger City Harvest group.
Compared to pre-pandemic levels, about 55% more New York kids are going hungry today and one in four children “don’t know where their next meal will come from,” in a report to be released on Monday.
The problem will worsen during the upcoming summer break when many poor children miss out on the free school meals they depend on.
“Families across New York City are struggling amid surging prices for food, rent, and other necessities all at a time when free school lunch will be harder to access,” said Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest.
As recently as February, about 525,000 children received food from City Harvest’s mobile pantries and soup kitchens in the five boroughs.
—New York Daily News
Sri Lanka leader’s brother quits as PM in escalating crisis
The brother of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned as premier on Monday as weekslong protests over Asia’s fastest inflation turned violent, prompting the government to impose a curfew and call in the army.
Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his resignation to the president, his spokesman Rohan Weliwita said by phone. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has accepted the resignation, Sudeva Hettiarachchi, a spokesman for his office said.
The resignation paves the way for the president to put opposition members in key government roles, one solution he’s proposed to end the crisis. But it’s unclear if the prime minister’s resignation will placate angry citizens, who have called for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down as well.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation is unlikely to have any impact on the ground in Sri Lanka since his brother remains in charge in a sign that the family doesn’t want to give in, said Smruti S. Pattanaik, a senior research fellow and Sri Lanka expert at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
—Bloomberg News
