In the News
New rail tech is reviving an old idea: extending light rail to Ontario Airport
As the Gold Line makes its way to Montclair, San Bernardino County transportation officials continue to worry about what will happen if light rail winds up going all the way to Ontario International Airport.While there is no plan (or funding) to extend the Gold Line service so far east, the idea has been a point of contention for San Bernardino County Transportation Authority officials. They say an extended Gold Line would mean a loss or ridership for Metrolink, as passengers opt for the … Continue Reading
September 13, 2018
Dems demand Sessions restore asylum for victims of violence
More than 100 House Democrats signed a letter this week urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reverse his decision to stop granting asylum to victims of gang violence and domestic abuse.Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Norma Torres (D-Calif.) led the call for Sessions to overturn his decision, writing that they are "deeply alarmed and outraged.""We are deeply alarmed and outraged over a series of actions taken by you, the Department of Justice … Continue Reading
September 07, 2018
Norma Torres rechaza uso de carros militares para "intimidar" embajada
La congresista estadounidense de origen guatemalteco, Norma Torres, lamentó y calificó de "alarmante" que las autoridades del país utilizaran vehículos militares para rondar las instalaciones de la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) e "intimidar" a personal de la Embajada de Estados Unidos. Torres fue cuestionada en A primera hora de Emisoras Unidas sobre los hechos del pasado viernes, cuando el presidente Jimmy Morales anunció la no renovación del mandato de la … Continue Reading
September 06, 2018
Torres exige a Pompeo dar una respuesta fuerte a Morales
La congresista Norma Torres envió hoy una carta al Secretario de Estado de los EE. UU., Mike Pompeo, en la que demanda una respuesta fuerte del gobierno estadounidense a las recientes acciones del Presidente Jimmy Morales contra la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG). "Estoy alarmada por su fracaso al condenar los ataques de Morales contra la CICIG; Lo insto a hablar en público y a acompañar sus palabras con una fuerte respuesta política. Específicamente, le pido … Continue Reading
September 04, 2018
UN anti-graft investigator barred from re-entering Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The head of a U.N.-backed commission probing corruption in Guatemala was barred from re-entering the country Tuesday, further defanging the investigative body days after President Jimmy Morales announced he would not renew its mandate.In a statement, the government said Morales had communicated the decision to the U.N. secretary-general and asked him to name a replacement for Ivan Velasquez, who along with Guatemalan prosecutors has pressed a number of high-profile graft … Continue Reading
August 14, 2018
Trump avala creación de lista de corruptos de Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras
"Orgullosa de anunciar que la provisión bicameral que presenté con @SenatorCardin para responsabilizar a los funcionarios corruptos en Centroamérica ha sido firmada en ley por el Presidente. ¡Es hora de ponernos a trabajar contra la corrupción!, tuiteó la congresista en horas de la mañana de este martes.La enmienda fue impulsada por Torres y con la misma el Congreso tendrá acceso a un informe sobre narcóticos, corrupción y financiamiento de campañas ilícitas en los países del Triángulo Norte … Continue Reading
July 27, 2018
US State Dept to Create Central America Corruption ‘Blacklist’
On July 26, the US House and Senate approved a bill that will require the Secretary of State to share the identities of government officials in Central America's Northern Triangle countries who are involved in corruption and drug trafficking with Congress.The bill specifies that the secretary must submit a report that includes "the names of senior government officials in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador who are known to have committed or facilitated acts of grand corruption or narcotics … Continue Reading
July 19, 2018
“Ese es el principio. Habrá muchas más”, dice Norma Torres respecto del retiro de visas por parte de EE.UU.
La guatemalteca Norma Torres, congresista en Estados Unidos, expresó en el Patrullaje Informativo de Emisoras Unidas que habrá muchas más visas que serán retiradas por el Gobierno norteamericano.A la interrogante de que recientemente EE.UU. quitó la visa a 24 funcionarios y personas particulares en Guatemala. La congresista fue enfática al decir: "Ese es el principio. Es el mínimo. Habrá muchas más".Aparte, Torres también conversó acerca de la situación actual en que están los migrantes … Continue Reading
July 18, 2018
Norma Torres se reúne con víctimas del volcán de Fuego en Texas
La congresistas de origen guatemalteco, Norma J. Torres, visitó a seis niños que sufrieron quemaduras después de la erupción del volcán de Fuego en Guatemala. Los menores se encuentran recibiendo tratamiento en el Hospital Shriners para Niños en Galveston, Texas.Torres presentó una resolución bipartidista en apoyo a las víctimas del volcán y pidió que asistencia continuara para los esfuerzos de ayuda y reconstrucción.La visita de la congresistas a niños cuyas edades oscilan entre 1 16 años, … Continue Reading
July 05, 2018
Why Cal Poly Pomona students will never get stuck behind the train again
A few months ago, Cal Poly Pomona student Jenny Greenberg had paid to attend a workshop on campus.She waited more than hour before the instructors finally arrived. It was then she realized they had been stuck behind the at-grade train crossing at Temple Avenue and Valley Boulevard. The gates were down and vehicles had to be rerouted.Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here."It's one of the many instances this … Continue Reading
July 03, 2018
How federal defense funds can help Ontario International Airport grow
California's Air National Guard abandoned operations at Ontario International Airport more than 20 years ago, but its former station and buildings remain, taking up valuable space.Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, recently launched federal efforts to assist the airport in the costly hazardous material abatement and removal of the former Air National Guard buildings."The cost of removing that is really, really expensive for the airport should they take that project on their own, and I don't think … Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Why are so many children coming to the U.S. from Central America in the first place?
While the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy was causing a crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border, three members of Congress were introducing a bill to try to stop the flood of migrants coming in the first place. On June 22, Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Norma Torres (D-Calif.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) introduced the Central America Family Protection and Reunification Act, which aims to strengthen the State Department's role in monitoring and addressing the root causes of … Continue Reading
June 21, 2018
Torres visits San Diego-Mexico border to see effects of Trump's zero tolerance policy
Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-35th District) toured the San Diego-Mexico border on June 18 to witness the effects of President Donald Trump's zero tolerance policy that has separated thousands of children from their parents.In a statement, Torres, who was born in Guatemala, said her heart was broken when she witnessed toddlers "huddled together" under aluminum blankets in a "freezing jail cell" as they waited to be processed."As a mother and grandmother, my heart breaks at witnessing the … Continue Reading
May 24, 2018
There is only one gun store in all of Mexico. So why is gun violence soaring?
The only gun shop in all of Mexico is behind a fortress-like wall on a heavily guarded military base.To enter the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales, customers must undergo months of background checks — six documents are required — and then be frisked by uniformed soldiers.The army-run store on the outskirts of Mexico City embodies the country's cautious approach to firearms, and a visit here illustrates the dramatically different ways two neighboring countries view guns, legally and … Continue Reading
May 23, 2018
A Bid to Increase Gun Exports, Stalled After Sandy Hook, Moves Ahead
The Trump administration wants to streamline the process for exporting American firearms, a change sought for years by domestic gun companies as a way to increase sales.A proposed rule expected to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday would transfer jurisdiction of consumer gun exports from the State Department, where the licensing process is expensive and extensive, to the Commerce Department, which has a simpler application process.Publication of the rule kicks off a 45-day … Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
Bipartisan group of lawmakers calls on Russia to stay out of Latin American elections
A bipartisan group of House members on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling on Russia and other unnamed actors not to interfere in a flurry of Latin American elections happening this year. The resolution, introduced by Reps. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), Ted Poe (R-Texas), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) says Moscow "has repeatedly attempted to interfere in democratic elections," including the 2016 vote in the U.S. Nearly half a billion people live in Latin American … Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
Norma Torres pretende ley para reforzar lucha anticorrupción
La congresista de origen guatemalteco, Norma Torres, presentó un proyecto de ley para reforzar los esfuerzos anticorrupción de Estados Unidos en el Triángulo Norte. La propuesta ordenaría al secretario de Estado a desarrollar una estrategia para mejorar los esfuerzos de ese país para desmantelar la corrupción en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras. Estados Unidos debe permanecer comprometido a la lucha contra la corrupción en el Triángulo Norte. Tenemos que estar con nuestros socios como la … Continue Reading
April 07, 2018
The Rise of the Net Center
AT 6:02 A.M. on August 27, 2017, the president of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, uploaded a video statement to Twitterdeclaring the former Colombian judge Iván Velásquez a persona non grata and ordering his expulsion from the country. Velásquez is investigating corruption on behalf of a United Nations-backed commission in Guatemala, and had recently moved to strip Morales of immunity from prosecution and open an investigation into his campaign financing. Velásquez's commission had already helped … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Líderes demócratas promueven ley para evitar separación de familias inmigrantes
WASHINGTON— Casi seis millones de niños latinos nacidos en EEUU viven con un padre o familiar indocumentado, y muchos sufren el impacto de la campaña de deportaciones de la Administración Trump, pero dos legisladoras demócratas de California promueven desde este martes una iniciativa para evitar la separación de familias inmigrantes.Las legisladoras demócratas por California, Lucille Roybal-Allard y Norma Torres, promueven el "Acta para Ayudar a Familias Separadas" de 2018, una medida que, de … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Congress Banned Assault Weapons Once Before. We Can Do It Again.
In the days and weeks since the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, we have been forced to confront some very difficult questions. Why did this happen? What could we have done to prevent it? And will anything ever change?Students, parents and teachers will be demanding answers to these very questions when they march on Washington, D.C., and all across the U.S. this coming weekend.Our country has endured so many mass shootings that it is easy to become cynical. It is easy … Continue Reading