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CALIFORNIA
Governor Uses Veto To Cut More Costs
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made additional cuts to child welfare programs, medical care for the poor and AIDS-prevention efforts Tuesday as he signed an $85 billion compromise spending plan that he called "the good, the bad and the ugly."
Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto authority to save an additional $656 million that will let the state balance its budget through June 30 and restore a reserve fund he says is needed.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D), who negotiated the original budget compromise with Schwarzenegger, immediately questioned the legality of many of the governor's line-item vetoes.
"We will fight to restore every dollar of additional cuts to health and human services," Steinberg said in a statement. "This is not the last word."
-- Associated Press
IMMIGRATION
Report Criticizes Detainment Practices
Immigrant advocates say the federal government has failed to meet its own standards for detaining immigrants, making it unduly difficult for immigrants to defend themselves in court and to fight to remain in the country.
A report released Tuesday says that detainees face limited access to phones, mail and law libraries, in violation of federal standards.
The authors -- the National Immigration Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and the Holland and Knight law firm -- based their findings on inspection reports on dozens of facilities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the American Bar Association and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees between 2001 and 2005.
The report comes after criticism of medical care in facilities and long-standing complaints by immigration lawyers that their clients are transferred too often, making it hard to represent them.
Dora Schriro, special adviser to the homeland security secretary on detention and removal, said the study was thorough but outdated, because the government has revamped its detention standards and inspection procedures.
Karen Tumlin, a staff lawyer at the National Immigration Law Center, said detainees continue to report the same problems today as those outlined in the inspection reports.
-- Associated Press
