Immigrant kids placed with adults who are in US illegally

Immigrant kids placed with adults who are in US illegally

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The vast majority of immigrant children who arrive alone at the U.S. border are placed by the government with adults who are in the country illegally, federal data reviewed by The Associated Press show.

The government has long said that it places the children with family and friends regardless of immigration status. But since more children began arriving on the border in 2014, officials have not revealed how often those sponsors lack legal papers.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Health and Human Services provided data showing that 80 percent of the 71,000 mostly Central American children placed between February 2014 and September 2015 were sent to sponsors who were not here legally.

Six percent were placed with adults who had temporary protected status, which has let some Central American citizens stay and work in the country legally for more than a decade. Four percent were sponsored by American citizens and 1 percent by immigrants facing deportation proceedings.

Many of the others were placed with sponsors who had other forms of legal status or who have filed immigration applications.

Tens of thousands of children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras began arriving on the border in Texas in 2014, overwhelming border officials, overflowing government shelters and further backlogging the country's immigration courts.

Once apprehended by border agents, the children were placed in the care of Health and Human Services until caseworkers could screen and select suitable sponsors for them.

Republican lawmakers have blamed the influx on Obama administration policies they say encourage kids to leave their countries and come to the border. They say releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors who lack legal papers encourages illegal immigration and reduces the chances the children will show up for deportation hearings in immigration court.

Immigrant advocates insist the minors are fleeing violence and should be granted asylum. The top priority for children, they say, is to be placed with parents or close relatives so they can get on stable footing in the U.S. Any effort to deport sponsors might spook them from coming forward and put the children at risk.

Immigration status is not a factor in determining whether someone can sponsor a child. But sponsors are asked their status, and those in the country illegally must provide a backup plan to care for the children if they are deported.

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said he was not surprised by the data. He blamed current policies for the surge on the border, but did not say whether placing children with sponsors who are here illegally created any additional problems.

"Since the president refuses to enforce our immigration laws, unlawful immigrants in the United States consistently pay criminal organizations along the border thousands of dollars to smuggle their family members into the United States," he said in a statement.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California and a Judiciary Committee member, said the government's responsibility is to find a safe home and guardian for children. Immigration status shouldn't matter, she said.

"If you were here as a legal resident or a U.S. citizen, you would petition for your child," she said. "Their only route is political asylum. It is not the visa system."

During the 20-month period covered by the data, more than half of unaccompanied children were released to a parent. Many others were placed with siblings, aunts and uncles.

Potential sponsors must provide proof of identity and their relationship to the child and undergo screening and background checks. In some cases, the department's Office of Refugee Resettlement conducts a home study to determine if the placement is safe.

The office has collected information about sponsors' immigration status since at least 2005, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. Sponsors who are not the children's parents also are fingerprinted.

"The safety and well-being of every child in our care is of paramount importance at every stage," the statement said.

The statistics were culled from a database created in January 2014, according to the department.

Geyso Lemus from El Salvador said she didn't know what would happen to her 10-year-old son when he landed at a shelter in Illinois in 2014 because she didn't have legal papers, but a government social worker quickly put her at ease.

Two weeks later, she said, her son was sent to live with her in Southern California. He has since been granted asylum.

True adulthood doesn't begin until age 25

                 True adulthood doesn't begin until age 25

True adulthood does not begin in the western world until 25 because young people are putting off settling down for longer, a psychiatrist has claimed.
Although the transition from child to adult is traditionally marked at 18, in fact, crucial neurological changes are now still happening into the mid-20s.
Beatriz Luna, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh believes that putting off responsibilities such as marriage, a career or parenthood, encourages the brain to stay in a state of adolescence.
Consequently teenagers are no longer grown-ups at 18.
“It’s probably closer to 25,” said Prof Luna.

“I guess the implication is that when the environmental demands are those that require you become a responsible adult, meaning you have a lot of responsibilities to take over, that might be signaling the brain to stop a certain type of plasticity because now you really need stability and reliability.”
The trend has been dubbed ‘kidulthood’ by commentators who in recent years have noticed a shift towards irresponsibility in the behavior of young adults.
Parents should also be warned that adolescents are hard-wired to ignore them until their brains are fully developed.
Professor Luna said although the brains of youngsters were capable of acting like sensible adults, they were often overridden by signals which encouraged them to seek out risk.
“Parents often believe that their teenage children are doing things to annoy them on purpose, but that’s not how their brains work” she said.
“It’s not that your child is trying to make your life miserable, there are biological reasons that they are acting that way. It happens will all species. At that age their brain is telling them to start leaving the nest and taking chances. They are discovering new freedoms.
“I would never tell an adolescent not to do something, there is no point, because their brain is telling them, to do something different.
“Teenagers are going to do whatever they want to do. Their brain is telling them to go out there and do things regardless of what their parents say. If they are going to smoke pot, don’t tell them to stop because they won’t listen, but do tell them about the damage that it can do.”
Prof Luna said her research has shown that the pre-frontal cortex – the part of the brain controlling adult-like reason and planning – is active in adolescents, but it is trumped by the hormone dopamine which triggers feelings of happiness when taking risks.
"I really want to dispel this idea that adolescents are unable to use their pre-frontal cortex for planning and reasoning. They really have the capability,” she said.
“Sometimes adolescents act just like an adult so you get confused when they do stupid things. But they need that variability of experience and to be able to do things.
“It’s not that they are not listening but what they do is determined by the increase in motivational processes in the brain that is meant to encourage them to venture outside of the nest.”
Professor Luna was talking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Jose, California.

Telegraph

Finding ways to help young adults make their first home purchases

Finding ways to help young adults make their first home purchases

Tough new underwriting standards stand in the way of many potential buyers in their 20s and 30s, but growing numbers of friends and relatives are stepping in to help.

WASHINGTON — Parents, grandparents and young adults know the problem only too well: Heavy student-debt loads, persistent employment troubles stemming from the recession, plus newly toughened mortgage underwriting standards are all standing in the way of vast numbers of potential first-time home buyers in their 20s and 30s.

But are there effective techniques that family members, friends, even employers can use to bridge the generational gap by offering a helping hand — without hurting their own finances in the process? You bet.

First, some sobering numbers:

•Citing Census Bureau data on homeownership by age, demographer Chris Porter of John Burns Real Estate Consulting calculates that Americans who were 30 to 34 in 2012 — those born between 1978 and 1982 — had the lowest homeownership rate of any similarly aged group in recent decades, 47.9%. By contrast, Americans born between 1948 and 1957 had a 57.1% ownership rate by the time they hit the 30 to 34 bracket. This is despite record low mortgage rates and bumper crops of bargain-priced foreclosures and short sales.

•Debt-payment-to-income ratios increasingly are mortgage application killers for would-be first-timers. Adoption nationwide last month of a new federal 43% maximum debt-to-income ratio for "qualified mortgages" is particularly poorly timed for young buyers. Because of large student debts, which average $21,402 but sometimes balloon into six figures, they may not be able to meet the 43% standard for years.

Typically they're already paying out large amounts on credit cards, auto loans or leases and their student debt — about 30% of current monthly income for those ages 21 to 30 as of 2012, according to a new research report from research economist Gay Cororaton of the National Assn. of Realtors. Factoring in the monthly cost of a typical mortgage for an entry-level purchase, the debt-to-income ratio as of 2012 for these individuals exceeded 60%, Cororaton estimates. Even with a 5% increase in income per year, they will not be able to qualify under the 43% debt-to-income test until 2019.

That's a long time to postpone a purchase. Yet consumer research consistently finds that the overwhelming majority of Americans in their 20s and 30s would like to own a home, once they're able to put together the financial pieces to make it feasible.

So what are some of the solutions available to help bridge the gap? The most popular is also the oldest: Growing numbers of relatives are stepping in with gift money to help defray the down payment and closing costs — 27% of first-time buyers last year, according to one industry estimate.

Down payment gifts do not address the crucial debt-to-income ratio problem, but for young buyers who can get close to the 43% mark for conventional loans (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) or slightly higher at the more flexible FHA or VA, they can be extremely important.

Rules on gifts vary among funding sources, but there are some shared basics: The money cannot be disguised as a gift if it is actually a loan; there needs to be a formal gift letter that spells out the purpose of the gift and the specific transaction for which it is to be used; and the source of the funds and the capacity of the gift giver to provide the money need to be documented. For down-payment help outside the family tree, check out http://www.downpaymentresource.com.

But an increasingly important and fast-growing resource is turning the gift concept on its head: Rather than simply handing over their cash with no repayment arrangements, family members are becoming mini-lenders themselves.

With a little professional assistance, they are providing either second mortgages or first mortgages that are custom-designed to deal with whatever financial hurdles — including paying off student loans to reduce debt-to-income ratios — their young relatives are confronting. Properly structured, these loans provide annual returns to family members well in excess of money-market funds or bank deposits, and open the door to homeownership for their kin.

The largest player in the field, National Family Mortgage (www.nationalfamilymortgage.com), has structured and serviced more than $155 million of intra-family transactions in the last two years and is on track, according to founder and Chief Executive Tim Burke, to do $150 million in volume during 2014.

"There is a lot going on" in this field that can help entry-level buyers strapped with student-loan debt, Burke says.

http://articles.latimes.com/

What’s in an age?

                                    What’s in an age?

Navigating adulthood is challenging whether you’re finding your first apartment, starting a new job, moving away from your childhood home, exploring a committed relationship or raising children. Navigating adulthood without spiritual grounding and community is even harder. Unitarian Universalism has tools for you to bring on your journey, whether you are learning about it for the first time or want to plug into UU young adult community.

Secrets of Couples Who Have Lots of Sex

    

                Secrets of Couples Who Have Lots of Sex

Take your get-frisky frequency from every-so-often to off-the-charts with these way simple tricks...you won't believe life could be this lusty.

There are couples who have sex pretty often — say, a good three times a week. Then there are those twosomes who burn up the bedsheets so regularly, you have to wonder: How do they do it? They have full-time jobs, maybe a couple of kids and only 24 hours in the day, just like the rest of us. And yet somehow, their desire to get down and dirty manages to transcend these major time and energy (not to mention libido) drains. What's their secret?
Well, we talked with some of these extra-passionate pairs and found that the "tricks" that allow them to squeeze so much sex into their schedules are so insanely simple, we just had to pass the info on. Try their advice, and pretty soon you'll find that your day is full of opportunities to tear your clothes off. What's more, you'll get the passion humming between you and your guy 24/7 — and what couple wouldn't want that?

Secret #1: Assign a sex quota

When you're both juggling a billion things — work, kid's piano recital, calling the plumber — finding the time for a little lovin' can be the last thing on your mind. So to ensure it not only gets penciled in but takes top billing, steal Eliza's trick and give yourselves a weekly sex goal. "Seven years and two kids into our marriage, we became consumed by the chaos of daily responsibilities and let sex slide," says the 34-year-old. "We knew it was crucial to find time to be intimate, but a stock Friday-night-sex-date idea felt too contrived, so we created a variation: Every Monday we pick a random number and have to have sex that many times before the week ends. If three days go by with zero action, we know we've got to make up the time fast. For instance, the other day, while the kids were in the backyard with their grandmother, my husband called me into the garage to help him 'organize a shelf.' But when I got there, he grabbed me and pulled me into the backseat of the car. He said he had no choice since we needed to get busy to make the quota."

Secret #2: Crank up your doing-it drive

Carnal connoisseurs never sit around waiting for the mood to strike — they make the mood strike. Sasha, 36, got sick of holding out for her libido to spring into action: "I thought that desire was supposed to wash over me," she says. "But waiting for that to happen in the midst of dealing with the rest of our lives meant sex was becoming a very rare event." Now, whenever she and her husband have a window of opportunity, Sasha jump-starts her libido with some X-rated thoughts. "I reminisce about the last time my husband and I had great sex — his touch, his breath on my skin, his sweet murmurings in my ear," she says. "By focusing on my sexiest memories, I'll bring myself to a fired-up state that often leads us into bed."

Secret #3: Take turns giving and receiving

"My husband and I have different schedules, so we're not always boiling over with energy at the same times," says Heather, 39. "So we decided that when he's raring to go and I'm utterly beat, he can become the sexual ringmaster for the night. I'll lie back and let him turn me on: There are times when I literally don't raise a finger and just enjoy the ride. It's guilt-free because he knows he'll get the favor returned another night."
If, like Heather, you make a deal with your man that you'll trade off take-charge roles, you'll double the number of your sexcapades and keep your partnership brimming with erotic energy no matter how tired you are. "Think of all those times you bagged the idea because one of you was too pooped," points out Heather. "We're so much happier now because we're making an effort to keep the thrills coming."

Secret #4: Rejigger your carnal clock

If you keep sex relegated to the dud time slot between the 10 o'clock news and passing out on the pillow, it's gonna suffer. Ditch the restricting notion that sex is a bedtime ritual, and suddenly you'll discover lots of little daily openings to do it in. "Our best sex is the five-thirty fling, when my husband and I both get home from work," says Jenny, 34. "Stripping off each other's work clothes is so hot that we both spend the afternoon looking forward to it." Happy hour isn't the only prime time to pounce. Weekend afternoons or midmornings, first thing pre-work...the totally satisfied set never discriminates. "Seven in the morning is the only time we have to ourselves, so that's when we get it on," says Anne, 37. "I swear, we've gone from once-a-weekers to sexaholics."

Secret #5: Have a titillating soundtrack

Music has a way of altering people's moods in an instant, so it comes as no surprise that the right CD could steer you straight to the bedroom. Rachel, 33, knows exactly what to play to pump up the passion. "During our honeymoon, my husband and I had awesome sex to Prince," she says. "Now when we hear it, we both get that sly twinkle in our eyes. To make sure we do it often, one of us will play it as a clear sign that we're about to, um, make music together. It's kept our marriage just as passionate as it was when we first tied the knot."

Secret #6: Consider sex a cure-all

Excuses, excuses — it's so easy to find reasons to put off slipping into the sack. You're exhausted. You're stressed. You're annoyed and bickering over something silly. Stop right there and consider what sexy sirens know all too well: that doing the deed can actually alleviate exhaustion, stress and tension — the very things that are supposedly keeping you from getting down in the first place! Once Alix, 33, realized that having sex would energize her rather than drain her, she found plenty of opportunities to use a little lovin' for an energy boost. "I used to always succumb to exhaustion when I was home," she says. "But now, when I'm tired, instead of shrugging off my husband's seduction attempts, I'll tell myself, 'Just do it — you'll be glad you did afterward.'" And she always is. "It's taken our lovemaking frequency from so-so to nearly every day," she says. "It's so great to think of sex as a way to connect and feel calmer rather than just another thing on my to-do list."

Secret #7: Be passionate...all day

Doing-it dynamos don't reserve their libidinous fervor just for the bedroom. These people live sexually, adding spice to everyday activities. As a result, they develop a heightened sense of desire, which makes them crave sex 24/7. "I consciously add some zing to all different little areas in my life," says Amanda, 35. "I do things like wear silky undies, buy myself an ice cream cone and eat it really suggestively or take the most luxurious shower before work with all sorts of scrubs and creams. They keep that erotic energy in me at a constant hum. Plus, they're all subtle activities that don't require hiding from my daughters."Of course, you want him to be buzzing with sexual electricity too. "I do things in the morning that get him lusting after me," says Diana, 34. "A stretch while I'm getting dressed, where I raise my arms, arch my back and stick my chest out in front of him, does wonders. Calling out to him from the shower to bring me a towel gives him dirty ideas too. I give him an eyeful that he reruns in his mind all day. Sex is inevitable that evening."

Secret #8: Don't saddle sex with tons of work

Passionately prolific couples have a philosophy: Frequent sex, no matter what kind, is an absolute must. So if sex sometimes has to be a quickie — a.k.a. a fast-and-furious romp without romantic trimmings — so what? It's still good sex. "You have to go with the moment," advises Elizabeth, 38. "If the kids are coming home from school in 20 minutes, don't try to light a bunch of candles and dig out your Al Green album. This is when you nab the window of opportunity and jump on each other. It's done wonders for our sex life."

View http://www.redbookmag.com/