Category: ESTA News

Millions of people participated in the “anti-Trump protests” held across the United States on the 14th, and in some areas, there were several incidents and accidents, including shootings and vehicle attacks on protesters, the American media reported on the 15th.The organizers of the “No Kings” rally, a progressive group, announced that millions of people participated in marches in 2,000 places across all 50 states of the United States the day before in resistance protests against the Trump administration.

In major cities such as Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago, tens of thousands of people gathered for the downtown marches, and local police reported that most of the protests were peaceful. However, in some areas, riots broke out, injuring several people, and the police had difficulty suppressing them.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, at around 7:56 p.m. the previous day, a shooting occurred at a downtown rally with about 10,000 people, and one person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound.

Police announced on the same day that the victim was identified as a 39-year-old Utah resident named Arthur Polasa A Ru, and that he died while receiving treatment at the hospital. Police arrested and investigated two members of the organizers’ security team who were involved in the shooting, including 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, who was found lying on the ground with a gunshot wound and an AR-15 rifle, and confirmed that Gamboa was the cause of the incident.

The security team members told the investigative authorities that Gamboa, wearing a black mask and black clothes, had shown suspicious behavior just before the incident and that they saw him take an AR-15 rifle out of his backpack and start operating it.

The agents pulled out their guns and ordered Gamboa to drop his weapon, but witnesses said Gamboa raised his rifle and began running toward the crowd of people on the street, holding the gun in a firing position.

One of the security officers then fired three shots at Gamboa, striking him once and killing another protester, Arthur Polasa a Ru, police said. Police added that they were continuing to investigate the incident, including what prompted Gamboa to charge into the crowd with a rifle.

Video from the scene shared online showed the crowd at the protest scattering and fleeing in panic as gunfire was heard.

After the shooting, police asked the protesters to leave the area “in a safe and orderly manner.”

In Culpeper, Virginia, a person was injured when an SUV plowed into a crowd as protesters were leaving the rally the afternoon of the previous day. Police arrested the 21-year-old male driver.

In San Francisco, a car plowed into a crowd of thousands of protesters downtown just after noon the previous day, injuring at least four people, NBC reported. The suspect, who drove away from the scene, was detained by police and is being questioned.

In Portland, Oregon, some protesters gathered in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in the evening, and federal agents fired tear gas, flash bangs, and rubber bullets to disperse them. Protesters also resisted by throwing water bottles and other objects, and police declared the scene a “riot” and arrested at least two people.

In Las Vegas, 15 people were arrested by police at two protests, one of whom was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon.

In Los Angeles (LA), some protesters resisted by throwing rocks, bricks, and water bottles as police attempted to disperse protesters using chemical irritants in the downtown area in the evening. Most protesters left the downtown area in time for the nightly curfew.LA Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that the downtown protest, attended by about 30,000 people, and the rallies held in 15 other areas of the city were “mostly peaceful.”

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced that from the previous day to this morning, 35 people were arrested for violating the curfew and three others for resisting and disobeying orders to disperse. Three officers were injured in the process.

The total number of arrests made by the LAPD in relation to the downtown LA protests since the 7th has increased to 561. In Austin, Texas, police temporarily closed the state capitol building, where the rally was taking place, after receiving reports of a material threat to some Democratic state legislators who were scheduled to attend the rally the morning before.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a “No Kings” rally was canceled after two state legislators were shot in quick succession the day before. A flyer that read “No Kings” was found inside the suspect’s car.

One in two taxis in New York City is now wheelchair accessible. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) celebrated on the 5th, saying, “We have finally achieved the ‘50% wheelchair accessibility rate for taxis’ goal that began in 2013 with an agreement with disability rights groups,” and “After 10 years of effort, it has become incomparably easier for wheelchair passengers to use taxis than ever before.”

According to the TLC, out of 13,587 medallion taxis registered with the TLC at the end of 2013, only 213, or 1.6% of the total, were wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) .New York City has been making all-out efforts to expand WAVs, including operating a pilot program that provides a total of $5 million in support to medallion taxi drivers who want to convert to WAVs.

Regarding this, a wheelchair passenger welcomed the improvement, saying, “I am glad that 50% has finally been achieved. However, it should have been achieved a long time ago,” and “It will make transportation much more convenient as other means of transportation have been improved in addition to trains, subways, and buses.”

In New Jersey, starting in June, as part of measures to combat the surge in electric bills, 3.9 million bill payers will receive between $100 and $250, depending on their income.

On the 5th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy held a press conference and announced, “The state plans to invest $430 million to lower the burden on residents’ bills,” and “Most households paying electric bills in New Jersey will receive $100, and low-income households that are economically vulnerable will receive up to $250.”

According to Governor Murphy, the subsidy will be paid in the form of electric bill credits, not cash payments. The state-issued bill credits will be applied to electric bills in one or two installments starting in July. Murphy said details on how the subsidy will be paid will be “clear and specific in the coming weeks.” The electric bill relief measure is pending approval from the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

Electricity rates in New Jersey are set to increase by up to 20% starting this month, raising concerns that electric bills will skyrocket during the summer. The main cause of the rate hike is the increase in wholesale prices for electricity supplied to the eastern United States.

While Governor Murphy, a Democrat, and the state Democratic leadership have maintained that this is an emergency measure to protect residents from the sharp increase in electric bills, some critics say it is a vote-buying strategy in anticipation of this year’s election. This year, New Jersey will hold a primary election on June 10 and a general election on November 4 to elect a new governor and 120 members of the state assembly, and some are pointing out that this measure was suddenly announced to prevent public opinion from worsening due to the surge in electricity rates.

The Republican Party, which is aiming to reclaim the New Jersey governorship for the first time in eight years, criticized, saying, “The root cause of the surge in electricity rates is the state government’s policies of investing too much in renewable energy plans and shutting down existing thermal power plants,” and “This measure is not a relief, but a cover-up. It is simply delaying the pain to avoid political repercussions during an election year.”

Opposition is also emerging from the progressive camp. They are taking issue with the fact that the funds needed to address the surge in electricity rates come from the state government’s clean energy fund and greenhouse gas countermeasure funds. The progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspectives said, “It is positive that the governor and the legislature are taking seriously the burden of high energy costs on households, but it is important to determine how to fund the subsidies,” and “using funds earmarked for clean energy projects to strengthen the future power grid for other purposes will have negative effects in the future.”

Excluding cash-based living expenses, Maryland households pay the fifth-largest bills in the nation for various items such as mortgages, insurance, and electric bills, while Virginia ranked 12th.Online bill management service provider Doxo recently released the 2025 Cost of Bills Index (COBI) report based on various bills such as mortgages, rent, auto loans, electric and heating utilities, insurance, cable TV, phone, and internet.

According to the report, Maryland ranked fifth in the nation with an average monthly bill of $2,505. This is three spots higher than last year’s eighth place. The COBI index recorded 122, which is 22% more than the national average.

Virginia households paid an average of $2,223 per month, ranking 12th in the nation. The state with the largest monthly bill in the country was California, at $2,854, followed by Hawaii ($2,712), New Jersey ($2,621), and Massachusetts ($2,614). The state with the smallest average monthly bill was West Virginia, at $1,149, 44 percent below the national average.

Next came Mississippi ($1,502), Oklahoma ($1,543), and Arkansas ($1,539). Meanwhile, the cities with the largest monthly household bills across the nation were San Jose ($3,523), New York ($3,365), San Francisco ($3,272), San Diego ($3,185), and Boston ($3,162). The Washington area ranked 7th nationwide with $2,856, and Baltimore ranked 21st nationwide with $2,242.

The federal government has begun verifying the online activities of foreign nationals applying for Harvard University student visas, political media outlet Politico reported on the 30th. According to the report, the State Department sent a diplomatic cable to U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, instructing them to “completely review the online activities of all individuals applying for nonimmigrant visas to come to Harvard for any purpose.”

The measure, which went into effect immediately, primarily targets foreign students, but also includes Harvard faculty, researchers, staff, and invited speakers.

Politico explained that this measure is a pilot program that could be expanded to other universities across the United States. The verification will examine the social media (SNS) of the visa applicant for anti-Semitism.

Earlier, on the 27th, the State Department sent a telegram to diplomatic missions around the world to announce that it would temporarily suspend new student and exchange visitor visa interviews and prepare to expand and strengthen social media screening, and this measure is putting this into practice.

In particular, the State Department instructed consular officers to consider that if (the applicant) has no online activity at all and if the social media account is set to private or has limited publicity, this may reflect an attempt to evade (verification) and raise doubts about the applicant’s credibility.

The Washington Family Counseling Center (Director Joy Kim) will hold a seminar on ‘Youth Suicide Status and Prevention Measures’. The seminar, which is a kickoff for the ‘Walk-in-clinic’ clinic, will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, June 17 in the conference room on the third floor of the counseling center in Vienna.

At the seminar, Christine Choi, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, will be the lecturer and diagnose the phenomenon of youth suicide increase and present causes and prevention measures. Dr. Choi completed her fellowship at Rush University and her residency at Yale University.

Dr. Cheon Shin Taylor, director of the counseling center, said, “From 2007 to 2021, the suicide rate among youth and young adults increased by 62%. The COVID-19 pandemic has further deepened this crisis, and experts have defined youth suicide as a ‘second pandemic.’” He continued, “Youth suicide is becoming a serious social problem, like a silently spreading epidemic. This will be a time to learn about prevention while learning and thinking together to protect the lives of youth.”

Pre-registration is recommended for seminar attendance, and on-site registration is also possible. Meanwhile, the walk-in clinic, which is an emergency treatment concept clinic that the counseling center introduced for the first time this year, will open in June. It is expected to help solve mental health issues in the Korean community and contribute to the development of the local community by providing opportunities to meet with counseling and psychiatrists without prior reservation.

It operates every Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and its treatment items include psychological evaluation, drug evaluation, drug management, and crisis counseling.

For inquiries, call (703) 761-2225, counseling@fccgw.org

A federal court has blocked the Donald Trump administration from arbitrarily deleting information related to the immigration status of international students and revoking their visas.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 22nd, the Northern District of California federal court issued an injunction that day prohibiting the Trump administration from depriving international students of their status until the main lawsuit is concluded.

The court pointed out that the deletion of records of about 20 plaintiffs registered in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “was likely an arbitrary action that exceeded its authority.”

SEVIS is a student information management system managed by the Department of Homeland Security that assigns individual codes to international students in the United States. It was introduced to strengthen background checks on international students after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Current law states that international students can be deprived of their status if they provide false information to the Department of Homeland Security or are convicted of a violent crime punishable by more than one year in prison.

Normally, the university was responsible for deleting student information from SEVIS, but since the Trump administration took office, ICE has arbitrarily deleted the information of thousands of international students, which has become a problem. Accordingly, lawsuits have been filed across the United States recently to cancel SEVIS record deletions, and at least 200 international students have reportedly obtained injunctions in court.

On this day, the Northern District of California issued a nationwide injunction, stating that ICE’s act of deleting SEVIS records itself was problematic, and as a result, the federal government cannot arrest or detain international students or revoke their visas while the trial is ongoing.

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), it is estimated that at least 4,700 cases of international student records being deleted since President Trump took office.

On May 19, the first group of undocumented immigrants who opted for voluntary deportation under a new program launched by the Trump administration departed the United States, bound for their home countries of Honduras and Colombia. As part of the initiative, each participant received $1,000 in financial assistance to support their return.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that 64 individuals boarded a chartered flight in Houston, Texas. Of those, 38 were Honduran nationals and 26 were Colombian. The Associated Press also reported that four U.S.-born children were included in the group, accompanying their undocumented parents to Colombia, as confirmed by Colombian Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia.

The voluntary return program is part of a new DHS initiative known as “Project Homecoming,” which offers financial aid and logistical support to undocumented immigrants who choose to leave the country on their own. According to DHS, participants in the program may be eligible to apply for legal entry into the U.S. in the future, a possibility not typically afforded to individuals who are forcibly deported.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem framed the program as both a humanitarian option and a strong enforcement message. “If you are here illegally, take the initiative to leave the country and get financial assistance to help you return,” she said. “If you do not, you will be subject to fines, imprisonment, deportation, and you will never be allowed to return.”

The Trump administration has presented the initiative to ease the burden on immigration detention facilities and streamline deportation processes. Critics, however, argue that the program pressures vulnerable migrants into leaving under the threat of harsher penalties and without full understanding of their legal rights or options.

As the administration continues to expand Project Homecoming, its effectiveness and fairness in addressing immigration challenges will likely remain a point of contention across political and humanitarian lines.

A Korean man was arrested after a disturbing incident involving a shooting spree from a moving vehicle on a busy road in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The suspect, identified as Kim, is accused of firing a gun from his car while driving along Street Road in Upper Southampton Township, a suburb near Philadelphia.

The incident occurred at approximately 2:46 p.m. on May 7, according to Upper Southampton Township Police. Authorities responded to multiple reports of gunshots in the 1300 block of Street Road. Witnesses described a man driving a white Subaru Outback and randomly firing a handgun from inside the vehicle.

Following a coordinated response and investigation by both Upper and Lower Southampton Township police departments, officers were able to locate and stop the suspect’s vehicle near the intersection of Street Road and Bustleton Pike. Kim was arrested at the scene without resistance.

Police have charged Kim with several serious offenses, including possession of a criminal instrument and reckless endangerment. Fortunately, no injuries were reported because of the shooting, though the situation caused panic in the area during the afternoon traffic rush.

Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the motive behind the incident. For now, Kim remains in custody as the legal process moves forward.

A poll released on the 28th revealed that 6 out of 10 Americans believe that President Donald Trump’s policies have worsened the U.S. economy. The survey, conducted by CNN and research firm SSRS from the 17th to the 24th of April, included responses from 1,678 U.S. adults. The findings showed that 59% of respondents thought Trump’s policies had a negative impact on the economy, an increase from 51% in a similar poll conducted in March.

In addition, 69% of respondents expressed concerns about a potential economic recession next year, with 32% of them deeming it “very likely.” The Trump administration’s tariff policy drew significant criticism. A majority—55%—viewed Trump’s tariff measures as harmful, while only 28% saw them as beneficial. Furthermore, 72% of respondents believed that tariffs would negatively impact the U.S. economy in the short term, and 53% anticipated long-term economic harm. Only 12% and 34%, respectively, believed tariffs would be beneficial in the short and long term.

The poll also highlighted broader concerns about America’s global standing. Sixty percent of respondents thought the tariffs would harm America’s reputation abroad, while just 26% felt they would improve it. In terms of personal financial impact, 59% of respondents held a negative view, with only 15% believing they would benefit personally.