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The U.S. Senate Border Bill Split

NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS — New York City has seen about 180,000 migrants and asylum seekers sent to the city over the last two years, according to city numbers. The situation has become so dire that dozens of migrants were found living on top of each other in an illegal basement apartment in the Bronx just last week. This comes after Mayor Eric Adams started sending out 30- and 60-day eviction notices to migrants in the city’s shelter system.
The post The U.S. Senate Border Bill Split first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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March 12, 2024

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By Ariama C. Long, Report for America Corps Member | New York Amsterdam News

U.S. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, along with U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton from Arizona, recently took a two-day trip to the southern border to learn about the current asylum seeker backlog from the frontlines. Meeks favors the bipartisan Senate compromise bill on border security.

The federal government is fragmented when it comes to immigration reform. Republicans in Congress have been screaming to the heavens about the migrant crisis for a long time, which made it all the stranger when they came out against the recent $118 billion Senate proposal on border security that included Ukraine and Israel aid, according to PBS NewsHour. The bill passed in the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support.

Meeks said he wants long-term immigration reform and doesn’t feel like the answer lies in emergency executive orders from President Joe Biden. He condemned House Republicans for pulling a “political stunt” and not following through on actual reforms.

“MAGA Republicans and Speaker Johnson don’t really want to do anything to stop it as we saw when the Senate came up with a bipartisan bill,” said Meeks upon his return at a virtual press conference. “We should do our job, and that’s why you saw Democrats putting people over politics and trying to work together with Republicans moving in the direction that Senator McConnell and other Republicans have said in a way that they’ve never seen before.”

He added that compassion and coordination is needed on state and city levels for migrants that are already here as well.

The Senate border bill is technically called Senate Amendment 1386 to H.R. 815, under the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024. Besides controversial wartime funding to other countries, the bill aimed to move most new asylum cases to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Citizenship and Immigration Services instead of through immigration judges under the Department of Justice (DOJ). The idea was to increase intake and speed up case reviews.

Other reforms in the bill include clear proof of persecution from asylum seekers at the initial interview, possible rejection if an asylum seeker has a criminal history or was living safely beforehand, a shortened 90-day hearing and appeals process, new detention beds, the removal of detainment measure if someone arrives through an established port of entry, and a new “trigger”
border emergency authority based on the average number of migrant crossings. Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans are still under the humanitarian parole program and unaccompanied minors will be permitted into the country.

“We need to stop the surge. There are too many people crossing the border but we should be able to do that. That’s our job as members of Congress,” said Meeks.

New York City has seen about 180,000 migrants and asylum seekers sent to the city over the last two years, according to city numbers. The situation has become so dire that dozens of migrants were found living on top of each other in an illegal basement apartment in the Bronx just last week. This comes after Mayor Eric Adams started sending out 30- and 60-day eviction notices to migrants in the city’s shelter system.

Local organizations and the city are split on their views on the Senate border bill. Most nonprofits on the frontlines of the migrant crisis are dead set against the bill, while Adams is all for it.

African Communities Together National Policy Director Diana Konaté said that the organization is flat-out opposed to HR 815. She said they will oppose any attempts to restrict asylum at the borders. “While we were pleased that the border language ultimately failed to move out of the Senate, we were very disappointed to see many of our allies in the Senate support those cruel border provisions,” Konaté said in a statement. “We are now alarmed at reports that the Biden administration is considering executive actions as a way to accomplish what it couldn’t do with Congress.”

New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) Director of Immigrant Rights Policy C. Marlene Galaz explained that the Senate border bill continues a troubling pattern of “elected officials scapegoating immigrant communities” and failing to provide humane solutions. She said the bill would virtually eliminate due process for asylum seekers by completely removing the asylum system from the judicial system. Additionally, she said it would dramatically raise the standards of asylum, making it virtually impossible for people seeking protection to qualify. Galaz suggested that immigration reform should create pathways to legalization and permanence for newly arrived asylum seekers and established immigrant communities. She championed more humane treatment for those at the southern border.

“What is needed now more than ever from the Biden administration is to ensure that any border security executive actions protect due process for asylum seekers and provide resources for a fair, efficient, and humane asylum system,” said NYIC Executive Director Murad Awawdeh. “The cruel measures being proposed collectively create a government-mandated asylum ban, which even border officials contend will only create more chaos at the southern border while failing to address the real issue at hand.”

Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said at a press conference on March 5 that “far-right Republicans” refuse to do anything on immigration reform because it’s a presidential election year, echoing Meeks’ sentiments.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visitinghttps://bit.ly/amnews1.

The post The U.S. Senate border bill split appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

The post The U.S. Senate Border Bill Split first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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May 3, 2026

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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