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One of Donald Trumps first acts as president was to sign an executive order attacking birthright citizenship. While several judges have moved to block the order, Trumps anti-immigrant push is continuingfrom allowing immigration officials to conduct arrests at schools and places of worship to training local law officers to interrogate and detain immigrants in their custody. However, Deirdre Schifeling, chief policy and advocacy officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), points out that local government resistance as well as individuals fighting back against anti-immigrant policies are showing results. Were seeing this in Chicago, where Trump is suing the government for not helping enough, she says. Here are five ways to fight anti-immigration policies: 1. Contact government officials, particularly local ones Politicians are moved by public opinion. Apply pressure by continually calling and emailing your representatives. The most effective way to change immigration policy is to contact members of Congress and express your opposition to anti-immigrant policies, Oleg Nekritin, an attorney at the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot, said via email. And dont neglect local officials. Schifeling points out that cities and states cannot be forced to assist with mass deportation by the federal government. While they cant obstruct the federal government, they can choose not to help. Schifeling recommends asking local leaders to pass sanctuary city or state laws, which means they wont use their resources to help the federal immigration authorities, as well as laws that prevent city data from being used to deport immigrants. She also recommends asking school boards to issue guidance to schools asking them not to track student immigration status and not to share it if they do have the status. 2. Educate yourself Learn whats going on in your community vis a vis the law. Schifeling recommends attending a Know Your Rights workshop so people can understand what their and their neighbors rights are if they’re faced with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. In addition, the more people who understand the law, the more people there are who can educate others in their community, as well as bear witness when ICE raids happen and try to help prevent unlawful actions. For example, if ICE doesnt have a warrant, you dont have to let them in. Were hearing from the Trump administration that communities are very educated and this as a top obstacle for carrying out their mass deportations, Schifeling says. Its confirmation that know-your-rights outreach is working. 3. Donate While organizations such as the ACLU are looking to expand and appreciate donations, donating to local legal service organizations and immigrant advocacy groups can also be powerful. These smaller groups are on the frontlines in the fight to protect immigrants but often lack the resources of their larger counterparts. Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, notes that smaller organizations often struggle to get funding since they may not have brand-name recognition or even the ability to hire marketing teams. Yet often, it’s local organizations that best understand the needs of the immigrant community, says Sweet, “and can be the most responsive. In addition, consider donating to immigrant bond funds. Helping people bond out of immigration detention is going to be really important to give them a chance to find an attorney to represent them in their deportation cases, said Tara Tidwell Cullen, director of communications at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in an email. 4. Volunteer Volunteering can take many different forms. Schifeling at the ACLU recommends getting trained in Know Your Rights, so if a raid happens in the community, volunteers can show up and distribute Know Your Rights cards printed in multiple languages. Organizations may also need volunteers to help people fill out citizenship paperwork or register to vote. Small organizations often also need professional skills since they dont have the budget to retain large staffs. Legal service organizations depend on volunteer attorneys, while in general, nonprofits need expertise with fundraising, finance, marketing, and website management. Check with your local organizations to see which of your skills might be a good fit. 5. Verify information before you share it Last, but not least, in your desire to help, make sure you’re not inadvertently spreading misinformation. Immigrant communities are already living in fear. If you have information, make sure its coming from a credible source before sharing it. Were hearing so many rumors flying around, sometimes from folks who want to be helpful,” Sweet says. “But when someone says, ‘ICE is here and they are going to take action in this community,’ its really scaring people who are already scared.”
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Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) surged over 10% on Tuesday on the news that rivals Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are in talks to divide the ailing American chipmaker’s business into two parts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fast Company reached out to Intel for comment but a spokesperson didn’t immediately return our request. Once the largest semiconductor company in the world, Intel is now struggling to turn around its business after the chip-manufacturing giants shares lost 59.60% last year due, in part, to missing out on the generative artificial intelligence boom. According to the Journal report, Broadcom is interested in Intel’s chip-design and marketing business, if it finds someone to partner with Intels manufacturing business. TSMC signaled interest in investing in and studying Intels chip plants, potentially as one of several investors. The two companies are in separate, preliminary talks with Intel. Shares in TSMC (NYSE:TSM) were down more than 1% at the time of this writing in midday trading, while Broadcom stock (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down about 3%, after both fell substantially on the market’s open. Splitting up Intel would have been unthinkable in its heyday when it dominated the processing business, but the split is in line with recent industry trends toward either manufacturing or designing chips. And Intel has had quite a fall from grace. In November, after 25 years, the company lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia. News of the talks comes after the Trump administration signaled it would safeguard American chip technologies at Frances AI Action Summit in Paris about a week ago, and the White House has been involved with aspects of the talks between Intel and TSMC over Intel’s factories, according to the Journal.
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Parents across the U.S. should soon be able to determine how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are in the food they feed their babies, thanks to a California law, the first of its kind, that took effect this year. As of January 1, 2025, every company that sells baby food products in California is required to test for these four heavy metals every month. That comes five years after a congressional report warned about the presence of dangerously high levels of lead and other heavy metals in baby food. Every baby food product packaged in jars, pouches, tubs, and boxes sold in California must carry a QR code on its label that consumers can scan to check the most recent heavy metal readings, although many are not yet complying. Because companies seldom package products for a single state, parents and caregivers across the country will be able to scan these QR codes or go online to the companies websites and see the results. I am a pharmacist researcher who has studied heavy metals in mineral supplements, dietary supplements, and baby food for several years. My research highlights how prevalent these toxic agents are in everyday products such as baby food. I believe the new California law offers a solid first step in giving people the ability to limit the intake of these substances. How do heavy metals get into foods? Soil naturally contains heavy metals. The earth formed as a hot molten mass. As it cooled, heavier elements settled into its center regions, called the mantle and core. Volcanic eruptions in certain areas have brought these heavy metals to the surface over time. The volcanic rock erodes to form heavy metal-laden soil, contaminating nearby water supplies. Another major source of soil contamination is the exhaust from fossil fuels, and in particular leaded gasoline. Some synthetic fertilizers contribute, too. Heavy metals in the soil can pass into foods via several routes. Plants that yield foods such as sweet potatoes and carrots, apples, cinnamon, rice, and plant-based protein powder are especially good at extracting them from contaminated soil. Sometimes the contamination happens after harvesting. For example, local water that contains heavy metals is often used to rinse debris and bugs off natural products, such as leaves used to make a widely used supplement called kratom. When the water evaporates, the heavy metals are retained on the surface. Sometimes drying products in the open air, such as cacao beans for dark chocolate, allows dust laden with heavy metals to stick to their surface. Producers can reduce heavy metal contamination in food in several ways, which range from modestly to very effectively. First, they can reserve more contaminated areas for growing crops that are less prone to taking in heavy metals from the soil, such as peppers, beans, squash, melons, and cucumbers, and conversely grow more susceptible crops in less-contaminated areas. They can also dry plants on uncontaminated soil and filter heavy metals out of water before washing produce. Producers are starting to use genetic engineering and crossbreeding to create susceptible plants that take up fewer heavy metals through their roots, but this approach is still in its early stages. Sweet potatoes and other root vegetables are especially susceptible to absorbing heavy metals from soil. [Photo: Hui Sang/Unsplash] How much is too much? Although there is no entirely safe level of chronic heavy metal ingestion, heavy metals are all around us and are impossible to avoid entirely. In January 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its first-ever guidance for manufacturers that sets limits on the amount of lead that baby food can contain. But the FDA guidance does not require companies to adhere to the limits. In that guidance, the FDA suggested a limit of 10 parts per billion of lead for baby foods that contain fruits, vegetables, meats, or combinations of those items, with or without grains. Yogurts, custard, and puddings should have the same cutoff, according to the agency. Root vegetables and dry infant cereals, meanwhile, should contain less than 20 parts per billion of lead. The FDA regulations dont apply to some products babies frequently consume, such as formula, teething crackers, and other snacks. The agency has not defined firm limits for the consumption of other heavy metals, but its campaign against heavy metals in baby food, called Closer to Zero, reflects that a lower dose is better. That campaign also laid out plans to propose limits for other heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. Modestly exceeding the agencys recommended dosage for lead or arsenic a few times a month is unlikely to have noticeable negative health effects. However, chronically ingesting too much lead or inorganic arsenic can negatively affect childhood health, including cognitive development, and can cause softening of bones. How Californias QR codes can help parents and other caregivers Its unclear how many products consistently exceed these recommendations. A study by Consumer Reports in 2018 found that 33 of 50 products had concerning levels of at least one heavy metal. In 2023, researchers repeated testing on seven of the failing products and found that heavy metal levels were now lower in three, the same in one, and slightly higher in three. Because these tests assess products bought and tested at one specific time, they may not reflect the average heavy metal content in the same product over the entire year. These levels can vary over time if the manufacturer sources ingredients from different parts of the country or the world at different times of the year. Thats where Californias new law can help. The law requires manufacturers to gather and divulge real-time information on heavy metal contamination monthly. By scanning a QR code on a box of Gerber Teether Snacks or a jar of Beech Nut Naturals sweet potato puree, parents and caregivers can call up test results on a smartphone and learn how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury were found in those specific products manufactured recently. These test results can also be accessed by entering a products name or batch number on the manufacturers website. Slow rollout In an investigation by Consumer Reports and a child advocacy group called Unleaded Kids, only four companies out of 28 were fully in compliance with the California law as of early this year. Some noncompliant companies had developed no infrastructure, some had developed websites but no heavy metal information was logged in, and some had information but required consumers to enter batch numbers to access results, without the required QR codes on the product packaging. The law requires companies to provide this information for foods produced after Jan. 1, 2025, with no provisions for extensions, and the major producers agreed to comply not only for California residents but to provide the results nationwide. California enforces noncompliance by embargoing misbranded baby food products, issuing penalties, and suspending or revoking registrations and licenses. When companies testing and reporting systems are fully up and running, a quick scan at the grocery store will allow consumers to adapt their purchases to minimize infants exposures to heavy metals. Initially, parents and caregivers may find it overwhelming to decide between one chicken and rice product that is higher in lead but lower in arsenic than a competitors product, for example. However, they may also encounter instances where one baby food product clearly contains less of three heavy metals and only slightly more for the fourth heavy metal than a comparable product from a different manufacturer. That information can more clearly inform their choice. Regardless of the readings, health experts advise parents and caregivers not to eliminate all root vegetables, apples, and rice but instead to feed babies a wide variety of foods. C. Michael White is a distinguished professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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