Los Angeles Times - 13.08.2019

$2.75DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2019 WSCE TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019 latimes.com

WASHINGTON — The

Trump administration took

one of its most aggressive

steps yet on Monday to tar-

get legal immigration, pub-

lishing new rules that could

deny green cards to immi-

grants who use Medicaid,

food stamps, housing vouch-

ers or other forms of public

assistance, and potentially

making it more difficult for

some to get legal status in

the U.S.

Federal law already re-

quires those seeking green

cards and legal status to

prove they will not become a

“public charge,” or a burden

on the U.S. But the new

rules, made public Monday,

outline a broader range of

programs that could dis-

qualify them. Officers at U.S.

Citizenship and Immigra-

tion Services will now weigh

public assistance along with

other factors such as educa-

tion, household income and

health to determine whether

to grant legal status.

Ken Cuccinelli, the con-

troversial acting head of

Citizenship and Immigra-

tion Services, said at the

White House on Monday

that the new rules helped en-

sure that those seeking to

enter or remain in the U.S.

were “self-sufficient” and

not relying on public re-

sources. He rejected criti-

cism that the Trump admin-

istration is targeting low-in-

come immigrants.

“We certainly expect any-

one of any income to stand

on their own two feet,” Cuc-

cinelli said. “A poor person

can be prepared to be self-

sufficient. Many have been

throughout the history of

this country, so let’s not look

at that as the be-all and end-

all.”

President Trump has

kept his effort to crack down

on illegal immigration in the

spotlight and central to his

reelection campaign in 2020.

But the new rules represent

a significant escalation of a

quieter but farther-reaching

effort to reduce legal immi-

gration, with Cuccinelli and

others led by immigration

hard-liner Stephen Miller.

The rules, which will take

effect in mid-October, are

likely to have a wide impact

in states with large immi-

grant communities, like Cal-

ifornia, where many families

are made up of citizens and

noncitizens alike.

White House

broadens attack

on immigration

New rules could

deny green cards

to legal immigrants

who have received

public assistance.

By Molly O’Toole

and Giulia McDonnell

Nieto del Rio

[SeeTrump, A6]

Nipsey Hussle’s star
power radiated from a single
point — the South Los Ange-
les strip mall where he sold
CDs from his car as a fledg-
ling rapper and where he
centered his business ven-
tures as his celebrity grew.
In the months since the
rapper and activist was
gunned down there on
March 31, the rectangle of as-
phalt at Slauson Avenue and
Crenshaw Boulevard has be-
come more hallowed still.
Fans have descended
from all over to snap selfies
in front of Hussle’s store, the
Marathon Clothing, and
next to the larger-than-life
muralsthat have sprouted
up to honor a man who was a

beacon of hope for African

Americans.

But trouble that has long

brewed at the strip mall has

taken on larger dimensions

since Hussle’s death.

Hussle’s fellow Rollin’ 60s

Crips,grieving a homie who

made it big yet kept it real,

continued to hang out there.

Tourists have been robbed.

A man was fatally stabbed.

And then earlier this

month, a fence went up.

Hussle’s business part-

ner, David Gross, said he

had erected the fence in

preparation for the proper-

ty’s next phase — a mixed-

use development called

Nipsey Hussle Tower that

will include a museum.

But there is more to the

story, documents examined

by The Times show, includ-

TOURISTS AND visitors snap photographs and video of a larger-than-life mural of rapper and activist
Nipsey Hussle, who was killed March 31 outside his store, the Marathon Clothing, in a South L.A. strip mall.

Allen J. SchabenLos Angeles Times

Trouble in Hussle’s house

Rapper died in his Marathon lot. Will his legacy die there too?

By Cindy Chang
and Angel Jennings

VANESSA WALTERS takes photos through a fence

built this month on the lot of the Marathon store.

Liz MoughonLos Angeles Times

[SeeHussle,A10]

Angela Warren always as-

sumed her father, a native of

El Salvador, entered the

United States via airliner. It

took an assignment in her

high school ethnic studies

class to learn that he had

crossed the border alone at

14, terrified of being caught.

When he reached the Ameri-

can side, he fell to his knees

and gave thanks.

That single course com-

bined an eye-opening view of

her family’s past and in-

spired her mission to change

the present.

Warren, now an 18-year-

old college student, says

that at a time when watch-

ing the news can make her

feel anxious and helpless, it’s

the lessons of her ethnic

studies class that generate

intellectual awakening and

empowerment.

“It made me feel comfort-

able with myself knowing my

family history and knowing

the history of our people,”

said Warren, who attends

Marymount California Uni-

versity.

In actions that would af-

fect more than 6.5 million

California students, state

lawmakers are poised to

make ethnic studies a grad-

uation requirement in high

school and at Cal State uni-

versities, raising the stakes

for a team of educators

drafting the model curricu-

lum, those who are arguing

for changes to it, and also for

critics — who see an aca-

demic field dominated by

one-sided, insular political

correctness and separatism.

Warren’s former teacher

Ron Espiritu believes ethnic

studies classes have become

an educational imperative.

He sees his students grapple

with weighty issues — in-

equality, hate speech, police

brutality, polarized political

discourse, immigration

raidsand mass shootings.

“How do we not talk

about those issues on Day

One with our students?” the

Camino Nuevo Charter

Academy teacher asked.

[SeeEthnic studies,A7]

State to

vote on

ethnic

studies

mandate

High schools and Cal

State universities may

require the courses,

which have garnered

criticism and support.

By Howard Blume

and Nina Agrawal

WASHINGTON — Atty.
Gen. William Barr on Mon-
day slammed what he called
“serious irregularities” at
the federal jail in New York
where alleged sex trafficker
Jeffrey Epstein died in cus-
tody, vowing to “hold people
accountable” for an episode
that has rocked a Justice De-
partment already accused of
mishandling the high-pro-
file case.
Barr described himself as
“appalled” and “frankly an-
gry” over the apparent sui-
cide Saturday of the politi-
cally and socially connected
financier in a cell at the Met-
ropolitan Correctional Cen-

ter in lower Manhattan, a

lockup run by the Bureau of

Prisons, which is part of the

Justice Department.

An autopsy was com-

pleted, but Dr. Barbara

Sampson, the chief medical

examiner, said she was seek-

ing more information before

determining the cause of

death for the 66-year-old Ep-

stein, who once hobnobbed

with Bill Clinton and Donald

Trump, Wall Street moguls,

world-famous scientists and

a member of the British roy-

al family.

The uncertainty kept

alive a storm of macabre

conspiracy theories on so-

cial media, including a false-

hood shared by President

Barr is ‘appalled’ by Epstein’s

jail death, vows to get answers

By Chris Megerian

ATTY. GEN.William

Barr cited “serious irreg-

ularities” at the jail hold-

ing Jeffrey Epstein.

David GrunfeldAssociated Press

[SeeEpstein, A6]

CHP officer killed in freeway shootout

A California Highway Patrol officer was killed and two other officers wounded

in a wild shootout Monday evening off the 215 Freeway in Riverside County that

also left the gunman dead and motorists dodging bullets. CALIFORNIA, B

Weather:Temperatures climbing over the next few days. L.A. Basin: 87/64. B

HONG KONG — A day

after protesters shut down

the international airport

here, the Hong Kong govern-

ment’s top official said that

the Chinese territory was

falling into chaos and that

her “utmost responsibility”

was to return “law and or-

der.”

“It would take a very long

time to restore Hong Kong,”

Chief Executive Carrie Lam

said Tuesday in a televised

news conference, at one

point appearing to choke up.

“Look at the city, our home

—do we really want to push

it into the abyss?”

There was little sign that

calm would return any time

soon. Monday brought new

levels of disarray, with thou-

sands of demonstrators oc-

cupying the terminals in a

peaceful sit-in.

“Reclaim Hong Kong!

Revolution of our times!” the

protesters chanted as trav-

elers carrying backpacks or

pushing suitcases tried to

figure out where to go.

It was the fourth straight

day that they had filled the

Hong Kong International

Airport — and the first that

they succeeded in bringing

operations to a halt to draw

attention to their 10-week-

old movement.

The government can-

celed all 180 flights that were

scheduled to depart after 4

p.m., a move that was an-

nounced just as a spokes-

man for the Beijing govern-

ment said protesters

showed “signs of terrorism.”

“These violent, illegal ac-

tions must be met with a de-

termined legal crackdown,

PROTESTERSoccupying Hong Kong’s airport suc-

ceeded in bringing operations to a halt on Monday.

Jerome FavreEPA/Shutterstock

Leader pleads to

save Hong Kong

from ‘the abyss’

By Alice Su

and Laurel Chor

[SeeHong Kong,A4]

HIGHWAY PATROLofficers gather outside a hospital in Riverside following

the shootout. The conditions of two injured officers were unknown.

Gina FerazziLos Angeles Times