Garcetti Launches Online Support for Temporary Deportation Relief: RL NEWS Briefs for July 7, 2015

Garcetti Launches Online Support for Temporary Deportation Relief

LOS ANGELES — On July 6, Mayor Eric Garcetti launched an online effort to build public support for President Barack Obama’s immigration executive actions to provide temporary relief from deportation to immigrants with longstanding ties to the United States.

These actions are stalled by the Texas v. United States case. The letter calls for support of the president’s reform plans, which will be delivered to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans June 9.

Despite hundreds of legal experts confirming the constitutionality of these executive actions, the lawsuit continues to bar implementation of the programs. Expanding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and implementing Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents will positively impact our cities, states, and country.

The executive actions would add an estimated $41 billion in new tax revenue to our nation’s economy over the next 10 years. If every eligible person applied for and was granted DACA and DAPA, over the next decade the United States GDP would increase by $90 to $210 billion, adding 150,000 jobs.

Garcetti has long been committed to municipal action on immigration. He re-established the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and launched the “Step Forward L.A.” campaign, which helps navigate the path to citizenship and aims to assist 100,000 Angelenos across the city with DACA and DAPA processes.

The effort supports actions taken by the Cities United for Immigration Action coalition, a movement co-led by Mayor Garcetti. In April, Mayor Garcetti helped recruit over 70 cities and counties to file an amicus brief in the Texas v. U.S. case, arguing the critical need to fix our country’s broken immigration system.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will start hearing oral arguments on July 10. Leading up to that date, members of various organizations will present printed copies of Garcetti’s petition to the Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

“Recent Supreme Court triumphs show us that public opinion matters. By raising our voices, we are fulfilling our responsibility as Americans to pursue a more equal and inclusive society. We are asking the Fifth Circuit Court to implement these executive actions, which will build a more robust economy and strengthen core American values,” said Mayor Garcetti.

To find out more and sign the petition, visit www.lamayor.org/daca_works

Garcetti Announces New Public Works Commissioner

LOS ANGELES — On July 2, Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated Joel Jacinto to the Board of Public Works.

Jacinto serves on the Affordable Housing Commission and is executive director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, a community-based organization that empowers youth, families, and businesses through health and human services, community economic development, and through a community center that serves as a place for collaboration and community engagement.

Throughout his career, Jacinto has been active in networks and coalitions that advocate for diverse communities, especially underserved and low to moderate income populations. He was instrumental in the creation of Historic Filipinotown and worked closely with the City to enhance the public spaces in that neighborhood to reflect its character, such as creating decorative crosswalks, installing streetlight banners, and building a gateway sign at Silverlake Boulevard and Temple Street.

Jacinto recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greenlining Institute, a public policy, research, and advocacy non-profit organization based in Berkeley, Calif.

Complementing his work in social services, Jacinto is a long-time arts and cultural practitioner, having co-founded in 1990 a Filipino folk and traditional arts organization, Kayamanan ng Lahi. He was also a founding board member of the Alliance for California Traditional Artists (ACTA), which provides advocacy, grants, and other resources for folk and traditional artists in California to preserve the health and longevity of California’s cultural landscape.

Hailing from San Francisco, Jacinto attended UCLA and received his degree in Kinesiology. He also completed post-graduate coursework in Public Health at the University of Hawaii Manoa and Applied Anthropology at California State University Long Beach. Jacinto has resided in Los Angeles for 26 years, along with his spouse Ave and two sons, Kai and Keianu.

The City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works (BPW) is the five-member executive team responsible for the administration of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, overseeing and managing more than 5,000 employees within the Department’s five bureaus: Bureau of Contract Administration, Bureau of Engineering, Bureau of Sanitation, Bureau of Street Lighting, and the Bureau of Street Services. Public Works is responsible for design, construction, renovation, and operation of public projects ranging from bridges to wastewater treatment plants and libraries; curbside collection and graffiti removal; and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights, and street trees.
If confirmed by the City Council, Jacinto will directly oversee the Bureau of Engineering.