Category: ESTA News

With the start of the 119th Congress on January 3rd, the Republican Party, which holds the majority in the House of Representatives, has outlined its legislative agenda focused on implementing major pledges made by President-elect Donald Trump. The House Republican leadership unveiled a set of bills they plan to prioritize, reflecting Trump’s campaign promises and their policy priorities.

Among the 12 bills highlighted by House Republican leaders is a measure requiring voters to prove U.S. citizenship when voting in federal elections. Another significant proposal is a bill aimed at deporting undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes, including sex offenses or assaults on police officers. Additionally, Republicans are pushing for legislation that would ease restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a method used to extract shale gas.

Other notable bills include one that would mandate medical workers to provide care for babies who survive abortions, as well as legislation to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it investigates or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of its allies. Another priority for Republicans is amending Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination in educational programs, to prevent transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Republicans aim to define athletes’ gender based solely on reproductive organs and genetics, rather than gender identity.

These bills align with various campaign promises made by President-elect Trump, and House Republican leaders have emphasized their commitment to advancing his reform and policy agenda. In an op-ed for Fox News, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders stated, “Americans cannot afford to wait around for relief when their lives and livelihoods are at stake.” They further asserted that their aggressive legislative plan would remove obstacles to fulfilling Trump’s promises.

In addition to legislative priorities, House Republicans have proposed a new rule aimed at making it more difficult to remove the House speaker. Under the current system, any member of the House, regardless of party affiliation, can request a vote of no confidence in the speaker. The new rule would require nine Republican members to initiate such a vote. This change is intended to prevent a small group of hardliners, as seen in the 118th Congress, from using the no-confidence vote as leverage to advance their agenda.

House Republicans have already agreed to re-elect Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House during their general meeting in November. A vote on his re-election is set to take place on January 3rd during the House plenary session. While President-elect Trump has expressed his support for Speaker Johnson, it remains uncertain how hardline Republican members will vote, with some media outlets noting the potential for disagreement among the party’s more extreme factions.

The Christmas service and festival, hosted by the Northern California Southern Baptist Pastors’ Association, took place on December 17 at Saenuri Mission Church (Senior Pastor Taehoon Kim).

The event began with the first service, led by Pastor Seunghwan Choi of New Nation Church, followed by a prayer from Pastor Moonsoo Kang of Kingsway Korean Church. Pastor Dongjin Lee of New Hope Baptist Church delivered the sermon, using Luke 2:10-14 as the text. In his message, Pastor Lee encouraged the congregation to become “a church that enjoys and shares the great joy given by the Lord, which cannot be compared to any joy the world gives at Christmas.”

The second part of the event included a dinner and a time of fun games and fellowship, led by Pastor Sanghwan Ko of World Mission Baptist Church. Pastor Taehoon Kim, president of the Northern California Southern Baptist Association, reported that about 60 people attended the gathering, marking the largest attendance in the association’s history.

The driving force behind Virginia’s population growth is not births or out-of-state migration, but rather the influx of immigrants, a recent survey found. On December 23, Cardinal News published an article analysing newly released census data, which revealed that Virginia’s population has stopped declining and is now seeing an increase.

According to the report, Virginia’s population grew by 56,155 people as of July 1st of this year, with the primary factor being the inflow of immigrants. In particular, the number of immigrants arriving in Virginia has rapidly increased in recent years. In 2020, there were only 766 more immigrants to Virginia than those leaving for other countries. However, the number surged to 14,319 in 2021, 41,147 in 2022, and 46,416 in 2023.

This significant rise in immigration has led to a net population gain for Virginia, as more people are moving into the state than leaving or emigrating. This marks the first time since 2013 that the state has experienced this trend. The immigrant-led population growth in Virginia is part of a larger national trend, with 84% of the 3.3 million people added to the U.S. population between 2023 and 2024 attributed to immigration. Meanwhile, 18 states in the U.S. are experiencing population declines due to a lack of immigrant influx.

Traffic congestion is severe on the 495-Beltway Legion Bridge, which connects Virginia and Maryland. Drivers who need to cross the Potomac River and travel between the two states have no choice but to use this bridge despite the heavy traffic. The alternative routes, such as the Wilson Bridge on the other side or traveling through Washington, D.C., also lead to significant delays.

Due to the nature of the Washington area, there is a large floating population between Virginia and Maryland, making the 495-Beltway notorious for rush hour congestion. While Virginia is working to alleviate this issue by expanding toll lanes, Maryland has no current plans for improvement, making the efforts in Virginia effectively less impactful.

In response to the situation, Fairfax County Chairman Jeff McKay publicly expressed his frustration on the 18th, stating, “Montgomery County, Maryland, is wilfully ignoring this problem.” He argued that Maryland is hoping that if commuters are unable to cross the bridge, they will stay in Maryland and take jobs there instead of traveling to Virginia, which he called “the most ridiculous economic vision in history.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich countered, explaining that unlike Virginia, Maryland has not yet started any projects and that the Legion Bridge’s improvements heavily depend on federal funding, which has been delayed due to funding issues. Elrich expressed understanding of McKay’s frustration but emphasized that Maryland has no intention of intentionally delaying or obstructing the project. He also added, “If there’s a problem, they can call and discuss it, not in the press.”

Despite these discussions, Maryland still has no concrete plan to address the ongoing congestion at the Legion or Wilson Bridges.

Starting January 1, Virginia’s minimum wage will increase from $12 an hour to $12.41. This change is a result of a bill signed by then-Gov. Ralph Northam in 2020, which adjusted the minimum wage for inflation.

Derek Max, executive director of the conservative Thomas Jefferson Institute, expressed that the wage increase would have little impact on areas like Northern Virginia, which he believes does not require such adjustments. However, he stated that it would have a more significant impact on poor, low-skilled workers in Southwest Virginia.

In response, Professor Jennifer Victor of George Mason University argued that the belief that raising the minimum wage leads to higher unemployment is overly simplistic. She explained that some employers, particularly larger ones, are more able to absorb wage increases than others. Additionally, she pointed out that many employers in areas with tighter labour markets assess their ability to hire workers differently.

Meanwhile, current Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill earlier this year that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

In contrast, Maryland, which borders Virginia, will increase its minimum wage from $13.25 to $15 an hour starting January 1 of next year. This increase is part of a bill passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Wes Moore.

With over 220,000 refugees flowing into New York State over the past two years, there has been a recent surge in immigration-related fraud, including impersonation of immigration attorneys. A Catholic charity operating in New York City announced on the 13th that the number of immigration service-related fraud reports received by the state’s Office for New Immigrants (ONA) since the beginning of the year has reached 58. This is a 2.4-fold increase compared to 21 cases in the same period last year.

According to statistics from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, as of January this year, there were 39 complaints against immigration service providers, the highest since 2015.

The reasons for complaints against immigration service providers were diverse, including

▲misleading ads

▲false descriptions of immigration services

▲non-completion of services

▲non-refunds

▲lost or missing documents.

Impersonation of immigration lawyers and even impersonation of immigration judges were reported to be frequent. For example, a Spanish-speaking woman paid $1,400 for an online court hearing to obtain a work permit, but both the online court and the judge were fake.

There have also been reports of fraudulent acts impersonating immigration lawyers, such as demanding $10,000 for bail to remove a family member from a deportation facility and defrauding $1,500 by offering to help write an asylum application.

According to immigration lawyers, the most common fraud method is the ’10-year green card fraud’, in which even illegal immigrants at risk of deportation are approached with the promise that they can obtain permanent residency if they have resided in the United States for 10 years.

This is an obvious fraud in that to obtain permanent residency, they must already be in the process of being deported from the court and must prove that a certain family member will face extremely unusual and exceptional hardship if they do not receive a green card.

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigration and Naturalization advises, “We strongly recommend that you receive immigration services through a qualified attorney,” and “Be suspicious of unqualified brokers and immigration service providers.”

According to a 2016 report by the American Immigration Council, non-citizens who hired a qualified attorney were more than twice as likely to be released from detention and win their deportation case than those who did not. If they were not detained, the possibility of winning their deportation case was a whopping five times higher.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will change its in-person services to an appointment-only system starting in the new year.

According to the SSA, starting January 6, 2025, you will need to make an appointment in advance to receive in-person services at a Social Security office. In other words, to receive all types of in-person services, including applying for a Social Security Card, you will need to make an appointment in advance before visiting a Social Security office.

However, vulnerable groups such as the extremely poor, military personnel, terminally ill patients, and visitors in emergency situations who have difficulty making reservations in advance can still receive same-day walk-in services without making reservations in advance.

The Social Security Administration said, “This is a measure to reduce unnecessary waiting time and simplify procedures,” and “If the reservation system is changed, visitors to Social Security offices will be able to receive necessary services quickly without wasting time. “Reservations for Social Security office visits can be made on the Internet homepage (https://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices/) or by phone (1-800-772-1213).

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly spent at least $260 million (about 370 billion won) to help US President-elect Donald Trump win the presidential election. This is a figure that far exceeds Musk’s initially known official presidential campaign donation of $132 million (about 188 billion won).

Musk’s influence, considered the most powerful figure in Trump’s second term, appears to be growing. It has also been revealed that Israeli President Itzhak Herzog asked Musk to “persuade Trump to resume hostage release negotiations (with Hamas).”On the 6th, local media outlets such as CNN and NBC reported, citing data from the US Federal Election Commission, that Musk donated $238 million (about 339 billion won) to America PAC, a super PAC (political fundraising organization) established in July to support Trump’s election.

In particular, the amount of money Musk poured in during the last week of the presidential campaign alone reached 120 million dollars (about 170 billion won). In addition, it was belatedly reported that he separately donated 20.5 million dollars (about 29.2 billion won) to an organization called ‘RGB Pack’. This organization has been promoting that Trump will not sign a nationwide abortion ban.

In relation to this, ABC News and others reported that “Musk has become the individual donor who has donated the most money in the history of the US presidential campaign.” However, the money Musk earned from Trump’s election is much more than the amount donated.

According to Bloomberg News, on the 6th of last month, the day after the presidential election, Musk’s asset value increased by about 26.5 billion dollars (about 37.736 trillion won) thanks to the surge in Tesla’s stock price. His assets currently stand at 361.7 billion dollars (about 515.608 trillion won). He was appointed co-head of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) in the Trump second administration and was given the authority to restructure the government and deregulate regulations.

Some see Musk, who has become one of Trump’s closest associates, as a “key man” who moves Trump. According to CNN on that day, Israeli President Herzog asked Musk in a recent phone call to “persuade Trump to resume negotiations with Hamas to release the hostages.” The media reported that the call was made at the request of the hostage families to “talk to Musk, who is close to Trump.”

Previously, the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October of last year and kidnapped 251 people, and it is estimated that about 100 of them are currently being held. On the 2nd, Trump pressured Hamas on Truth Social, saying, “If the hostages are not released by January 20, 2025, there will be a high price. “Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expected to decide whether the next-generation fighter jet of the US Air Force will be replaced with an ‘unmanned fighter jet’.

Musk has been emphasizing the need to replace it with an unmanned fighter jet, saying, “In the drone era, manned fighter jets are useless.” According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US Air Force postponed the recruitment period for the next-generation fighter jet business to replace the existing F-22 stealth fighter jet from the end of this year to the next administration.

There is speculation that Musk will gain business benefits if the next-generation fighter jet of the US Air Force is replaced with an unmanned aircraft.

Tesla, which he owns, has autonomous driving technology, and SpaceX is developing military satellites and unmanned spacecraft necessary for drone communication.

Musk also has close ties to startups that make military drones. However, the media outlet pointed out that the U.S. Air Force has opposed attempts to completely convert manned fighter jets into drones, saying that it is “not yet possible.”

A general sense of cautious optimism is felt among real estate market experts for the coming year, encouraged by the recent successive interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Political uncertainties

Anthony Della Pelle, chairman of the board of Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), a global organization of real estate advisors, points out that the new Trump administration will likely announce new regulations on trade, corporate taxation, immigration and environmental conservation. These new regulations will have an impact on the American economy and therefore on the real estate market.

On the other hand, in more than 70 countries, including Canada, important elections will take place in 2025, and this could change a fragile geopolitical balance with the United States. The exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the American dollar could thus undergo some shocks.

The high costs of real estate financing.

Even if rates decline, they remain elevated, and buyers will likely remain cautious in 2025. Property values will remain complex to estimate, and many market participants are predicting an increase in distressed asset sales in 2025. Indeed, more than $1.8 trillion in commercial real estate debt is set to mature before 2026. This could impact tenants and competition among landlords for all types of real estate.

Insurance

In 2023 alone, natural disasters caused over $380 billion in damage and losses, and only 31% of victims were insured. Insurance costs continue to rise due to climate events, inflation and rising property valuations. This trend will continue in 2025.

Please note: many owners try to estimate as precisely as possible the risks to which they are exposed and reduce their insurance coverage to reduce their bill.

A generally expensive market

Affordable real estate prices are becoming increasingly scarce, and there is a shortage of more than four million properties for sale on the American market. In 2025, the shortage of properties will persist. Furthermore, rents have increased by +45% in 15 years and represent more than 30% of income for more than half of tenants. To provide affordable housing solutions for all, we must hope to protect existing low rent housing, and an increase in new construction projects. New housing will have to integrate sustainable development elements to combat climate disasters – and reduce the insurance bill in the process.

In conclusion

Experts like Anthony Della Pelle are confident about 2025, as lower interest rates allow them to anticipate a soft landing for the U.S. economy and, overall, a positive impact on the real estate market and the bank loan market. Challenges such as housing shortages and insurance costs are well known.

Lower interest rates provide opportunities for first-time buyers to access home ownership, for more affordable new housing construction, and for increased investment in sustainable development and weather-resistant homes. For all your needs, consult the real estate professionals advertised in the pages of this newspaper.

President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise pick for DEA director is Chad Chronister, a current sheriff with no federal law enforcement experience.

The Washington Post reported on the 30th that Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Florida, has been nominated to head the DEA, saying, “He’s someone who’s barely gotten national attention.”

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has been with the county sheriff’s office for 32 years. In 2017, when the Hillsborough County Sheriff suddenly retired, Chronister was appointed as the successor at his recommendation. He was subsequently re-elected in 2018, 2020, and this year’s sheriff elections.

County sheriffs, who are autonomous police officers in the United States, are elected by residents or appointed by the governor, and are mainly responsible for crime prevention, prison management, and court security within the county.

Chronister’s nominee will move from the sheriff in charge of Hillsborough County’s security to the head of a large federal investigative agency with over 10,000 employees.

The DEA, an agency under the Department of Justice, was established in 1973 when the government declared an all-out war on drugs during the presidency of Richard Nixon. It is responsible for cracking down on and preventing the manufacture, distribution, and smuggling of various drugs, as well as money laundering related to drugs, terrorism, and organized crime, and has a budget of over $3 billion. However, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is not small in scale.

According to the New York Times (NYT), the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s budget this year is $600 million, and the number of employees is about 3,500. The population of Hillsborough County, which is under its jurisdiction, exceeds 1.4 million (estimated in 2019).

After taking office, nominee Chronister is expected to focus on blocking the distribution of fentanyl, a drug mainly produced in Mexico using Chinese chemicals and cracking down on related organizations.

In announcing his nomination for DEA director on social media, President-border and said that nominee Chronister “will work with the great Attorney General (nominee) Pam Bondi to protect our borders, stop the distribution of fentanyl and other illegal drugs through our southern border, and save lives.”