Legal residents await driver's license ruling
By Brandi Grissom / El Paso Times, 07/27/2009
AUSTIN -- Betty Tercero has lived in El Paso nearly her whole life.
The 27-year-old has a Social Security number.
She has a job.
She has a valid work permit.
But the state of Texas won't give her a driver's license.
Like thousands of other legal Texas residents, Tercero is waiting for court rulings in two cases that seek to stop rules linking driver's licenses to immigration status. These restrictions have resulted in many citizens and legal immigrants losing their ability to drive legally.
"I have my husband drive me around and -- guilty as charged -- there have been times I have to drive, so I'm driving without a driver's license," she said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety in October implemented a rule that denies driver's licenses and identification cards to those whose legal status in the United States expires in fewer than six months. The department also started printing "TEMPORARY VISITOR" on licenses for all non-U.S. citizens.
Two civil rights groups have sued the state over the rule.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed suit in state court, saying state lawmakers had not given DPS authority to implement the rule. DPS lawyers argued in court that the agency had broad discretion to make rules.
A judge last spring agreed with MALDEF and ordered the department to stop its policy. But the agency appealed the ruling and is continuing to enforce rules on driver's licenses.
Lawyers on each side have filed briefs. They await a decision on the appeal.
Jeff Thimesch, owner of Green Meadows Landscaping in North Texas, is one of several people listed in the MALDEF lawsuit. He said he was worried the new rule could put him out of business.
About 90 percent of his 40 workers are in the country on temporary work visas. Many have been working for him for decades, but their permits are only good for 10 months at a time.
That means unless his workers get a license at the start of their visa period, they could be denied. If their existing license expires with fewer than six months remaining during their visa period, they would lose the license.
"Everything we do requires driving to and from a job site," Thimesch said.
The rule makes it hard for business owners who are trying to follow the law and hire legal workers, Thimesch said.
"I think it should go back to the way it was," he said.
The Texas Civil Rights Project also sued DPS over the license rule. That lawsuit is scheduled for a hearing Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court in Austin.
Jim Harrington, a lawyer for the group, said the lawsuit argues that federal immigration law trumps Texas' attempt to enforce immigration laws. It also charges that the DPS rule unconstitutionally deprives legal U.S. residents of their right to travel.
Harrington also said the rule is arbitrary because it allows some legal residents to get a driver's license but not others.
DPS and Gov. Rick Perry have said the rule was aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses and protecting the integrity of licenses as identification documents.
Briefs in the federal case have not been submitted yet but are to be filed Friday.
Lawmakers this year attempted to pass measures that would clarify the driver's license rule and end the lawsuits. Their efforts failed.
State Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, proposed making the DPS citizenship rules permanent. Ensuring that only those in the country legally are allowed to obtain driver's licenses is critical to national security, Merritt said.
He said it could prevent potential terrorists who entered the country illegally from getting a recognized identification document.
"What we use as ID almost everywhere is the Texas driver's license," he said.
Other legislators, though, worried that requiring DPS to inspect and assess immigration documents and issue licenses based on Texans' legal residency status could result in discrimination and harassment.
"These people, they don't come to do any harm to anybody. They just come here to work, to take care of their families," said state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio.
Without clear guidance from lawmakers, Merritt said, he expected the lawsuits to continue through multiple appeals.
When lawmakers meet again in 2011, he said, the issue would likely still be undecided.
As lawyers and lawmakers continue their dispute over the driver's license rules, Betty Tercero said she would remain without a license until she gets a new visa from federal officials.
It's a process she knows from past experience could take months. Meanwhile, she said, she drives when she has to and prays that police don't pull her over.
"Honestly," she said, "sometimes you do feel like you're undocumented."
Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Latino police group says PD acted 'Stupidly'
Latino Cops Organization: Cambridge Police Acted "Stupidly"
By Anthony Miranda, Black Star News, July 25th, 2009
The disproportionate stopping of African Americans and Latinos by law enforcement is a national problem. We at the National Latino Officers Association support President Barack Obama 100% on this issue, especially his statement following the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., by officers of the Cambridge Police Department that: “What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.
That's just a fact.”
For the first time perhaps there was an acknowledgement and understanding of what many minorities know to be true, that African Americans and Latinos are being stopped disproportionately by law enforcement. The President should not apologize for being African American and having a greater understanding and sensitivity to racial profiling or over bearing police responses. We should be clear, the President never asked the Cambridge police to apologize.
The officer’s response however, clearly shows that he is responding to an African American and not the President of the United States. Any police officer after reviewing his actions in retrospect can conclude that this situation if handled differently could have better served police and community relations. We also agree that the officers acted “stupidly” in arresting a man in his own home for disorderly conduct.
Police officers are held to a higher standard than the public. They are trained to de-escalate situations and to be more tolerant. The officer in question, an instructor of sensitivity, should have exercised more discretion between free speech and the necessary element of public alarm for disorderly conduct. It is a common practice, often complained of, that requesting an officer’s name and badge number often results in being arrested. Resisting arrest, resisting arrest without violence, disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and similarly worded statutes are tools for law enforcement officers to advance or support legitimate police actions and strategies.
These statutes were never meant to advance the intimidation of the public. Whether you call it “racial profiling,” “selective enforcement,” “abuse of authority,” “disparate impact” or any other name which translates to illegal, it is a national and local issue that plagues African Americans, Latinos and others who are not Caucasian. It is long overdue that law enforcement practices be more closely scrutinized for civil rights violations. All law enforcement agencies should be mandated to analyze and document their enforcement activities for race, age, and sexual orientation for review by the public. Police practices need greater accountability for the protection, advancement and potential violations of civil rights with renewed vitality.
Miranda is the Executive Chairman NLOA WWW.NLOAUS.ORG
By Anthony Miranda, Black Star News, July 25th, 2009
The disproportionate stopping of African Americans and Latinos by law enforcement is a national problem. We at the National Latino Officers Association support President Barack Obama 100% on this issue, especially his statement following the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., by officers of the Cambridge Police Department that: “What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.
That's just a fact.”
For the first time perhaps there was an acknowledgement and understanding of what many minorities know to be true, that African Americans and Latinos are being stopped disproportionately by law enforcement. The President should not apologize for being African American and having a greater understanding and sensitivity to racial profiling or over bearing police responses. We should be clear, the President never asked the Cambridge police to apologize.
The officer’s response however, clearly shows that he is responding to an African American and not the President of the United States. Any police officer after reviewing his actions in retrospect can conclude that this situation if handled differently could have better served police and community relations. We also agree that the officers acted “stupidly” in arresting a man in his own home for disorderly conduct.
Police officers are held to a higher standard than the public. They are trained to de-escalate situations and to be more tolerant. The officer in question, an instructor of sensitivity, should have exercised more discretion between free speech and the necessary element of public alarm for disorderly conduct. It is a common practice, often complained of, that requesting an officer’s name and badge number often results in being arrested. Resisting arrest, resisting arrest without violence, disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and similarly worded statutes are tools for law enforcement officers to advance or support legitimate police actions and strategies.
These statutes were never meant to advance the intimidation of the public. Whether you call it “racial profiling,” “selective enforcement,” “abuse of authority,” “disparate impact” or any other name which translates to illegal, it is a national and local issue that plagues African Americans, Latinos and others who are not Caucasian. It is long overdue that law enforcement practices be more closely scrutinized for civil rights violations. All law enforcement agencies should be mandated to analyze and document their enforcement activities for race, age, and sexual orientation for review by the public. Police practices need greater accountability for the protection, advancement and potential violations of civil rights with renewed vitality.
Miranda is the Executive Chairman NLOA WWW.NLOAUS.ORG
Conservatives threatened by Latino group
Controversy precedes Latino conference
Economics in focus amid criticism for immigration stance
By Oscar Avila | Tribune reporter, July 26, 2009
An influential Latino civil-rights group kicked off its national conference in Chicago on Friday by spotlighting immigrants taking their oaths as citizens, a tribute to the American dream.
But the National Council of La Raza has been forced to defend itself against charges that its aggressive advocacy for Latinos, especially illegal immigrants, is harmful to America. On talk radio, its very name is decried as racist, and one former congressman even recently termed it the "Latino KKK."
Consequently, the group's weeklong meeting at McCormick Place will unfold in a vitriolic climate, but also at a time when the American Dream seems more elusive for Latinos who have been especially hurt by unemployment, home foreclosures and other economic woes.
In these turbulent times, the conference will enlist everyone from Cabinet secretaries to Obama advisers to neighborhood leaders to offer a comprehensive prescription for the Latino community, with topics from diabetes to philanthropy.
"Our families are in a lot of pain out there," Janet Murguia, the group's president and CEO, said in an interview.
In most circles, the council is seen as a Latino equivalent to the NAACP that has drawn leading politicians from both parties to its past conferences, as well as major corporate sponsors such as McDonald's.
But the recent confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor capped a groundswell against the group.
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who ran for president last year primarily on a platform of more enforcement of Immigration laws, blasted Sotomayor's membership in a group he called a "Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." Much of the criticism stems from the group's support for legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain legal status.
Another Republican congressman, Charlie Norwood, wrote a long critique in the influential conservative magazine Human Events that the group's alleged ties to radical Latino groups made it a potential enemy to America.
Most major GOP figures, however, praise the organization as a mainstream civil-rights group. And the council's leadership has decried groups that promote ethnic separatism or a reclaiming of U.S. territory that once belonged to Mexico.
Some critical columnists and activists point to the group's very name as being troublesome. Translated literally, "La Raza" means "the race," which causes some groups to accuse the group of having a strictly racial agenda.
Notwithstanding the fact that Latinos are an ethnic group that draws from several races, the council has been forced to explain that "la raza" colloquially means "the people." The group says its name was specifically born from "The Cosmic Race," a term by renowned writer Jose Vasconcelos for the racial fusion born in the Americas.
"People feel that we're getting traction, that we're more influential as an organization and community. I think there are some people that don't necessarily appreciate that fact," Murguia said. "I think that there is still a fear among some in the extreme that we're a threat to the American way of life. Their thinking is not of the 21st Century, a time that reflects a huge demographic shift in this country."
Murguia, along with groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, has blamed advocates of stronger Immigration enforcement for creating a climate indirectly responsible for violence against Latinos. The FBI reports that hate crimes against Latinos increased 40 percent from 2003 to 2007.
In an on-air confrontation that created a buzz for weeks, CNN commentator Lou Dobbs angrily clashed with Murguia about that association. Another group that opposes illegal Immigration, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says Murguia deserves much of the blame for removing civility from the debate.
"They recognize that [Immigration reform] is a hard sell to the American public, especially at this time," FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman said. "So if you can't win the arguments, the next thing to do is start attacking the people on the other side."
Despite the emotion surrounding the Immigration debate, most of the conference will center on nuts-and-bolts economic issues.
On Sunday, the conference will feature a "home rescue" fair offering free legal advice and counseling for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. That same day, the conference will feature a town hall on health-care reform.
The group's leaders say it is worrisome that Latinos stand to lose up to $100 billion because of subprime home loans, more than any other group, according to the William C. Velasquez Institute. Likewise, the Latino unemployment rate is 12.2 percent compared with the overall rate of 9.5 percent.
oavila@tribune.com
Economics in focus amid criticism for immigration stance
By Oscar Avila | Tribune reporter, July 26, 2009
An influential Latino civil-rights group kicked off its national conference in Chicago on Friday by spotlighting immigrants taking their oaths as citizens, a tribute to the American dream.
But the National Council of La Raza has been forced to defend itself against charges that its aggressive advocacy for Latinos, especially illegal immigrants, is harmful to America. On talk radio, its very name is decried as racist, and one former congressman even recently termed it the "Latino KKK."
Consequently, the group's weeklong meeting at McCormick Place will unfold in a vitriolic climate, but also at a time when the American Dream seems more elusive for Latinos who have been especially hurt by unemployment, home foreclosures and other economic woes.
In these turbulent times, the conference will enlist everyone from Cabinet secretaries to Obama advisers to neighborhood leaders to offer a comprehensive prescription for the Latino community, with topics from diabetes to philanthropy.
"Our families are in a lot of pain out there," Janet Murguia, the group's president and CEO, said in an interview.
In most circles, the council is seen as a Latino equivalent to the NAACP that has drawn leading politicians from both parties to its past conferences, as well as major corporate sponsors such as McDonald's.
But the recent confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor capped a groundswell against the group.
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who ran for president last year primarily on a platform of more enforcement of Immigration laws, blasted Sotomayor's membership in a group he called a "Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." Much of the criticism stems from the group's support for legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain legal status.
Another Republican congressman, Charlie Norwood, wrote a long critique in the influential conservative magazine Human Events that the group's alleged ties to radical Latino groups made it a potential enemy to America.
Most major GOP figures, however, praise the organization as a mainstream civil-rights group. And the council's leadership has decried groups that promote ethnic separatism or a reclaiming of U.S. territory that once belonged to Mexico.
Some critical columnists and activists point to the group's very name as being troublesome. Translated literally, "La Raza" means "the race," which causes some groups to accuse the group of having a strictly racial agenda.
Notwithstanding the fact that Latinos are an ethnic group that draws from several races, the council has been forced to explain that "la raza" colloquially means "the people." The group says its name was specifically born from "The Cosmic Race," a term by renowned writer Jose Vasconcelos for the racial fusion born in the Americas.
"People feel that we're getting traction, that we're more influential as an organization and community. I think there are some people that don't necessarily appreciate that fact," Murguia said. "I think that there is still a fear among some in the extreme that we're a threat to the American way of life. Their thinking is not of the 21st Century, a time that reflects a huge demographic shift in this country."
Murguia, along with groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, has blamed advocates of stronger Immigration enforcement for creating a climate indirectly responsible for violence against Latinos. The FBI reports that hate crimes against Latinos increased 40 percent from 2003 to 2007.
In an on-air confrontation that created a buzz for weeks, CNN commentator Lou Dobbs angrily clashed with Murguia about that association. Another group that opposes illegal Immigration, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says Murguia deserves much of the blame for removing civility from the debate.
"They recognize that [Immigration reform] is a hard sell to the American public, especially at this time," FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman said. "So if you can't win the arguments, the next thing to do is start attacking the people on the other side."
Despite the emotion surrounding the Immigration debate, most of the conference will center on nuts-and-bolts economic issues.
On Sunday, the conference will feature a "home rescue" fair offering free legal advice and counseling for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. That same day, the conference will feature a town hall on health-care reform.
The group's leaders say it is worrisome that Latinos stand to lose up to $100 billion because of subprime home loans, more than any other group, according to the William C. Velasquez Institute. Likewise, the Latino unemployment rate is 12.2 percent compared with the overall rate of 9.5 percent.
oavila@tribune.com
'Wise Latina' won't get Cronyn's support
Cornyn to vote against Sotomayor's confirmation
By MARJORIE KORN / The Dallas Morning News, July 25, 2009
WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Friday that he would vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, though he acknowledged her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court is inevitable.
Cornyn said that he believes Sotomayor has a tendency toward judicial activism and holds a radical view of the law.
Sotomayor's comments during hearings last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee – on which Cornyn sits – did little to assuage the Republican's fears that she holds a narrow interpretation of gun and private property rights. He said he fears that she would fail to see objectivity in the law and was not satisfied with her explanation of past comments, such as her statement that a "wise Latina" could reach better decisions than a white man.
"The hearings were an opportunity for Judge Sotomayor and ultimately, in my view, a missed opportunity," Cornyn said on the Senate floor. "At the end of the hearing, I found myself still wondering: 'Who is the real Judge Sotomayor?' "
Cornyn praised Sotomayor's academic record and said he believes the bulk of her decisions fall within the judicial mainstream. Still, he said, he worries Sotomayor could let her biases affect decisions and create new rights not enumerated in the Constitution, perhaps based on foreign law.
"The stakes are too high for me to vote for a nominee who can address all of these issues from a liberal, activist perspective," Cornyn said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday, and Democratic leaders confirmed that the full Senate will consider her nomination before the August recess. Democrats hold 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, so her confirmation is all but guaranteed.
Hispanic leaders and Democrats criticized Cornyn's decision, saying he was overlooking Sotomayor's qualifications.
"Her credentials are unparalleled," said state Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, expressing disappointment with Cornyn's announcement.
Janet Murguia, president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, said Latinos have watched the confirmation process closely because Sotomayor is a prominent figure in a growing voting bloc.
"There is a great interest in this nomination by the Latino community, and we were interested not only in the outcome but also in the process," Murguia said. She called it a "test run" for hot-button issues on the horizon, such as changes in immigration policy.
But other experts question the lasting impact of the vote.
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political science professor at Northwestern University, noted that the majority of Latinos already vote for Democrats.
Also Friday, Cornyn's fellow Texas Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said she had not yet decided how to vote on Sotomayor.
Hutchison, appearing in Dallas, said she was reviewing the judge's record and would probably announce a decision next week.
Staff writer Jim Landers in Dallas contributed to this report.
By MARJORIE KORN / The Dallas Morning News, July 25, 2009
WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Friday that he would vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, though he acknowledged her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court is inevitable.
Cornyn said that he believes Sotomayor has a tendency toward judicial activism and holds a radical view of the law.
Sotomayor's comments during hearings last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee – on which Cornyn sits – did little to assuage the Republican's fears that she holds a narrow interpretation of gun and private property rights. He said he fears that she would fail to see objectivity in the law and was not satisfied with her explanation of past comments, such as her statement that a "wise Latina" could reach better decisions than a white man.
"The hearings were an opportunity for Judge Sotomayor and ultimately, in my view, a missed opportunity," Cornyn said on the Senate floor. "At the end of the hearing, I found myself still wondering: 'Who is the real Judge Sotomayor?' "
Cornyn praised Sotomayor's academic record and said he believes the bulk of her decisions fall within the judicial mainstream. Still, he said, he worries Sotomayor could let her biases affect decisions and create new rights not enumerated in the Constitution, perhaps based on foreign law.
"The stakes are too high for me to vote for a nominee who can address all of these issues from a liberal, activist perspective," Cornyn said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday, and Democratic leaders confirmed that the full Senate will consider her nomination before the August recess. Democrats hold 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, so her confirmation is all but guaranteed.
Hispanic leaders and Democrats criticized Cornyn's decision, saying he was overlooking Sotomayor's qualifications.
"Her credentials are unparalleled," said state Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, expressing disappointment with Cornyn's announcement.
Janet Murguia, president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, said Latinos have watched the confirmation process closely because Sotomayor is a prominent figure in a growing voting bloc.
"There is a great interest in this nomination by the Latino community, and we were interested not only in the outcome but also in the process," Murguia said. She called it a "test run" for hot-button issues on the horizon, such as changes in immigration policy.
But other experts question the lasting impact of the vote.
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political science professor at Northwestern University, noted that the majority of Latinos already vote for Democrats.
Also Friday, Cornyn's fellow Texas Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said she had not yet decided how to vote on Sotomayor.
Hutchison, appearing in Dallas, said she was reviewing the judge's record and would probably announce a decision next week.
Staff writer Jim Landers in Dallas contributed to this report.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Latinos seize court ruling to boost voting power
Latino Activists Seize on Texas Ruling to Boost Voting Power
By STEPHANIE SIMON, WSJ.COM
Latino activists are seeking to gain political clout by forcing electoral changes in communities nationwide, using a recent federal court decision in Irving, Texas, as a template.
The city of 200,000, a Dallas suburb, was ordered to reorganize its municipal election system to give Hispanics more voting power. Irving had been choosing its council members through citywide "at large" elections, but U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis ruled that the system diluted the influence of Irving's fast-growing minority population, which is concentrated in the southern half of the city.
He didn't impose a specific remedy but said any new system -- perhaps electing council members by district -- must allow "Hispanics to elect candidates of their own choosing."
The ruling offers a road map for activists who expect the 2010 census to show big growth in the Latino population, especially in Southern states such as Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. With the data in hand, they plan to press politicians to give Latino residents more influence when they redraw congressional and state legislative districts, and to force cities and towns to retool municipal elections -- or face lawsuits like the one in Irving.
The coming census will allow Latinos to make their case to city and state power brokers "in a way they cannot ignore," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
The Irving case was brought by Manuel Benavidez, a Hispanic resident who argued that the city violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by holding citywide elections instead of dividing the city into districts. Latinos make up nearly 42% of Irving's population, but only one Latino has won a city-council seat in the last 20 years (and, according to the court record, he didn't have a Spanish surname and didn't acknowledge his Hispanic heritage until after the election).
Irving, like other suburbs of Dallas, has churned with ethnic tension in recent years. City police have turned over more than 1,600 illegal immigrants suspected of various crimes to federal authorities for deportation, to the outrage of some in the Hispanic community. Last year, the Justice Department sent federal observers to monitor city elections to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
The city is negotiating with the Latino community to devise a new electoral system but also plans to appeal the ruling, Mayor Herbert Gears said. "We don't believe our system is illegal and we want to correct the record on that," he said.
Nationwide, Latinos and other minorities have been challenging at-large voting systems in court for three decades and have won scores of victories, including a landmark case in Dallas in 1990.
Afterward, Dallas was divided into 14 council districts, which has greatly increased minority representation -- but has also fueled discontent, with critics saying the council members run their districts like fiefdoms, with little concern for the greater good.
Mr. Gears says he supports diversity on the Irving city council but fears adopting a Dallas-style system will jeopardize the city's stability -- built on a strong business community and low tax rate -- by "creating parochialism and opportunities for corruption and shenanigans."
Latino advocates respond that they deserve a voice in policy making and will insist on districts and election rules that make that possible.
"To take a slogan from the American revolutionaries, taxation without representation is tyranny," said Hector M. Flores, past president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino advocacy group.
The Hispanic population in the U.S. is now estimated at 47 million and could top 50 million in the census, which aims to count everyone living in the country, including illegal immigrants.
Census directors are making an all-out effort to reach Hispanics and other groups considered hard to count because of language and cultural barriers. For the first time, the census will send a bilingual questionnaire to 13 million Spanish-speaking homes. Telemundo is even integrating census-related plot twists into its Spanish-language soap operas.
But there is some division in the Hispanic community. The Rev. Miguel Rivera, director of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, has been urging undocumented residents to boycott the census. The boycott, he says, is designed to pressure Congress into enacting reform that will put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Census population figures govern distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funding for scores of programs.
The census also spurs political redistricting at the federal, state and local levels. This happens automatically every 10 years as the new data come out. This year, however, Latinos hope to make race and ethnicity a crucial part of the conversation, with the Irving court decision as Exhibit A.
Bill Brewer, the attorney who took Irving's political system to court, said his "phone has been ringing off the hook" since the July 15 ruling with calls from activists in other cities seeking advice on bringing similar cases.
"After the census we can expect tons of legal challenges, because in many ways it's a spoils system," said Ellen Katz, a law professor at the University of Michigan who studies voting rights. "Everyone is grabbing."
Write to Stephanie Simon at stephanie.simon@wsj.com
By STEPHANIE SIMON, WSJ.COM
Latino activists are seeking to gain political clout by forcing electoral changes in communities nationwide, using a recent federal court decision in Irving, Texas, as a template.
The city of 200,000, a Dallas suburb, was ordered to reorganize its municipal election system to give Hispanics more voting power. Irving had been choosing its council members through citywide "at large" elections, but U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis ruled that the system diluted the influence of Irving's fast-growing minority population, which is concentrated in the southern half of the city.
He didn't impose a specific remedy but said any new system -- perhaps electing council members by district -- must allow "Hispanics to elect candidates of their own choosing."
The ruling offers a road map for activists who expect the 2010 census to show big growth in the Latino population, especially in Southern states such as Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. With the data in hand, they plan to press politicians to give Latino residents more influence when they redraw congressional and state legislative districts, and to force cities and towns to retool municipal elections -- or face lawsuits like the one in Irving.
The coming census will allow Latinos to make their case to city and state power brokers "in a way they cannot ignore," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
The Irving case was brought by Manuel Benavidez, a Hispanic resident who argued that the city violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by holding citywide elections instead of dividing the city into districts. Latinos make up nearly 42% of Irving's population, but only one Latino has won a city-council seat in the last 20 years (and, according to the court record, he didn't have a Spanish surname and didn't acknowledge his Hispanic heritage until after the election).
Irving, like other suburbs of Dallas, has churned with ethnic tension in recent years. City police have turned over more than 1,600 illegal immigrants suspected of various crimes to federal authorities for deportation, to the outrage of some in the Hispanic community. Last year, the Justice Department sent federal observers to monitor city elections to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
The city is negotiating with the Latino community to devise a new electoral system but also plans to appeal the ruling, Mayor Herbert Gears said. "We don't believe our system is illegal and we want to correct the record on that," he said.
Nationwide, Latinos and other minorities have been challenging at-large voting systems in court for three decades and have won scores of victories, including a landmark case in Dallas in 1990.
Afterward, Dallas was divided into 14 council districts, which has greatly increased minority representation -- but has also fueled discontent, with critics saying the council members run their districts like fiefdoms, with little concern for the greater good.
Mr. Gears says he supports diversity on the Irving city council but fears adopting a Dallas-style system will jeopardize the city's stability -- built on a strong business community and low tax rate -- by "creating parochialism and opportunities for corruption and shenanigans."
Latino advocates respond that they deserve a voice in policy making and will insist on districts and election rules that make that possible.
"To take a slogan from the American revolutionaries, taxation without representation is tyranny," said Hector M. Flores, past president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino advocacy group.
The Hispanic population in the U.S. is now estimated at 47 million and could top 50 million in the census, which aims to count everyone living in the country, including illegal immigrants.
Census directors are making an all-out effort to reach Hispanics and other groups considered hard to count because of language and cultural barriers. For the first time, the census will send a bilingual questionnaire to 13 million Spanish-speaking homes. Telemundo is even integrating census-related plot twists into its Spanish-language soap operas.
But there is some division in the Hispanic community. The Rev. Miguel Rivera, director of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, has been urging undocumented residents to boycott the census. The boycott, he says, is designed to pressure Congress into enacting reform that will put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Census population figures govern distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funding for scores of programs.
The census also spurs political redistricting at the federal, state and local levels. This happens automatically every 10 years as the new data come out. This year, however, Latinos hope to make race and ethnicity a crucial part of the conversation, with the Irving court decision as Exhibit A.
Bill Brewer, the attorney who took Irving's political system to court, said his "phone has been ringing off the hook" since the July 15 ruling with calls from activists in other cities seeking advice on bringing similar cases.
"After the census we can expect tons of legal challenges, because in many ways it's a spoils system," said Ellen Katz, a law professor at the University of Michigan who studies voting rights. "Everyone is grabbing."
Write to Stephanie Simon at stephanie.simon@wsj.com
Colorado Hispanic Republicans courted by Penry
Penry talks politics with Hispanic Republicans
By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post, 07/23/2009
William Woody, Special to the Post Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry speaks to a large crowd of supporters announcing his campaign for Governor in Grand Junction Colo., Saturday morning July 11, 2009. Penry joins the field of Republicans including Rep. Scott McInnis and Dan Maes of Evergreen. (DP | William Woody)
The federal government has it backward on immigration, gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry told a Republican Hispanic group today.
"It should be more difficult to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing," Penry said, noting in some cases it is easier to cross the border illegally than to immigrate legally to the United States.
Penry, a Grand Junction Republican and the state Senate minority leader, addressed the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado at its breakfast meeting at a downtown Denver hotel.
Some of his speech covered the same themes he has echoed since launching his candidacy earlier this month.
On Republican mistakes of the past: "Our party doubled the national debt. We're in the wilderness for a reason."
On Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter: "Bill Ritter is a likeable and decent person who cares about Colorado. I think it's important in the rough-and-tumble business of politics that we acknowledge that. But as governor he has been weak and ineffective and he has let us down."
On how Republicans are revved up: "Our people are engaged, our voters are engaged. Today is a new day."
But Penry tailored the rest of the speech to his audience, noting the growth of the Latino community.
"Latinos will play a pivotal role in picking everything from mayors to presidents and yes, governors, too," he said.
He said Republicans' concerns mirror Hispanic concerns: jobs, the economy and education reform.
Penry, who is considered one of the education experts at the Capitol, praised Ritter for his efforts at reforming education but said more needs to be done, including increasing standards.
"If we don't improve the quality of our public schools systems to keep up with what's happening in China and India and other parts of the world, America's economy will not continue to grow," he said. "We need to make sure that we have a work force that is skilled and capable, and ready to compete."
Penry fielded one question about immigration reform, but no questions about his vote earlier this year against a bill allowing illegal immigrants and recent high school graduations to get in-state tuition.
One person asked Penry why he would be a better governor than former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis . McInnis and businessman Dan Maes also are running for the GOP nomination.
Penry said his plan is to lay out his vision for how he is going to lead and what he thinks Ritter has done wrong, and let the voters decide.
"There are some people who have said, 'We don't want a primary,'" Penry said. "We don't want an ugly primary but a robust debate. The future of our party and the future of our state has never been more important than now."
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post, 07/23/2009
William Woody, Special to the Post Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry speaks to a large crowd of supporters announcing his campaign for Governor in Grand Junction Colo., Saturday morning July 11, 2009. Penry joins the field of Republicans including Rep. Scott McInnis and Dan Maes of Evergreen. (DP | William Woody)
The federal government has it backward on immigration, gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry told a Republican Hispanic group today.
"It should be more difficult to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing," Penry said, noting in some cases it is easier to cross the border illegally than to immigrate legally to the United States.
Penry, a Grand Junction Republican and the state Senate minority leader, addressed the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado at its breakfast meeting at a downtown Denver hotel.
Some of his speech covered the same themes he has echoed since launching his candidacy earlier this month.
On Republican mistakes of the past: "Our party doubled the national debt. We're in the wilderness for a reason."
On Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter: "Bill Ritter is a likeable and decent person who cares about Colorado. I think it's important in the rough-and-tumble business of politics that we acknowledge that. But as governor he has been weak and ineffective and he has let us down."
On how Republicans are revved up: "Our people are engaged, our voters are engaged. Today is a new day."
But Penry tailored the rest of the speech to his audience, noting the growth of the Latino community.
"Latinos will play a pivotal role in picking everything from mayors to presidents and yes, governors, too," he said.
He said Republicans' concerns mirror Hispanic concerns: jobs, the economy and education reform.
Penry, who is considered one of the education experts at the Capitol, praised Ritter for his efforts at reforming education but said more needs to be done, including increasing standards.
"If we don't improve the quality of our public schools systems to keep up with what's happening in China and India and other parts of the world, America's economy will not continue to grow," he said. "We need to make sure that we have a work force that is skilled and capable, and ready to compete."
Penry fielded one question about immigration reform, but no questions about his vote earlier this year against a bill allowing illegal immigrants and recent high school graduations to get in-state tuition.
One person asked Penry why he would be a better governor than former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis . McInnis and businessman Dan Maes also are running for the GOP nomination.
Penry said his plan is to lay out his vision for how he is going to lead and what he thinks Ritter has done wrong, and let the voters decide.
"There are some people who have said, 'We don't want a primary,'" Penry said. "We don't want an ugly primary but a robust debate. The future of our party and the future of our state has never been more important than now."
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
Hispanic voter turnout was low in Texas '08 election
Texas had low turnout in '08 election
Dallas Morning News, July 22, 2009
Texas had one of the lowest rates of voter turnout in last year's presidential election, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows.
MORE IS LESS
More Texans went to the polls than in 2004, the last presidential election year, but because the state's population had grown, turnout dropped from 57 percent to 56 percent. The state did slightly better among states, ranking 45th in turnout, compared with 47th in 2004.
MINORITIES
Turnout was up among black voters but down among Hispanics and Asians.
YOUNG AT HEART
Despite the impression of a boom in youth voting, the biggest increase in Texas was among voters ages 65 to 74, the data shows. Turnout for young voters in the Lone Star State was actually down 3 percentage points.
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau; wire reports
Dallas Morning News, July 22, 2009
Texas had one of the lowest rates of voter turnout in last year's presidential election, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows.
MORE IS LESS
More Texans went to the polls than in 2004, the last presidential election year, but because the state's population had grown, turnout dropped from 57 percent to 56 percent. The state did slightly better among states, ranking 45th in turnout, compared with 47th in 2004.
MINORITIES
Turnout was up among black voters but down among Hispanics and Asians.
YOUNG AT HEART
Despite the impression of a boom in youth voting, the biggest increase in Texas was among voters ages 65 to 74, the data shows. Turnout for young voters in the Lone Star State was actually down 3 percentage points.
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau; wire reports
Mexican immigration lowest in 10 years
Illegal Immigration from Mexico Hits Lowest Level in Decade
By MIRIAM JORDAN, WSJ.com, JULY 23, 2009
The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the U.S. declined to the lowest level in a decade during the past year, a sign that the recession is deterring economic migrants from heading north in search of jobs.
However, there is no evidence of an increase between March 2008 and March 2009 in the number of Mexicans returning home from the U.S., according to an analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, an independent research group in Washington.
The slowing of Mexican immigration to the U.S. is part of a broader trend, as migration flows around the world have also ebbed due to the global economic slowdown.
While the downturn has sharply curtailed employment of Latino immigrants, the analysis "finds no support for the hypothesis" that it is compelling Mexicans to return home, the report says.
The number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. was at one point estimated to be at least 12 million, and it appears to have shrunk recently. Pew Hispanic estimates that the Mexican immigrant population in the U.S. slipped to 11.5 million from 11.6 million between March 2008 and March 2009.
The decline in the number of illegal immigrants comes as the Obama administration prepares to push for a legislative overhaul of U.S. immigration policy. Opponents of retooling immigration laws believe undocumented residents are a drain on the nation's financial resources and compete with Americans for jobs.
The influx of Mexicans plunged to 175,000 in the 12-month period ending in March from a peak of 653,000 in 2005, based on analysis of Census data by Pew Hispanic. The number of entries has been decreasing steadily since mid-decade, according to the report.
This finding is supported by data from the U.S. Border Patrol showing the number of Mexicans caught trying to sneak into the U.S. has decreased. In 2008, border patrol agents apprehended 662,000 Mexicans, down from a 2004 peak of 1.1 million.
At the same time, stepped up border enforcement, coupled with the high cost charged by guides to ferry migrants through the desert into the U.S. Southwest, encourage illegal immigrants already here to remain even it gets tougher to earn a living.
Many of those here illegally "have spent a lot of money and taken a lot of risks to get into the U.S.," said Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer at Pew Hispanic who conducted the analysis.
What's more, the Mexican economy is faring worse than that of the U.S. "It appears those people are staying here and just waiting for times to get better," Mr. Passel said.
About two-thirds of all Latin American immigrants to the U.S. are of Mexican origin. About one in 10 Mexicans currently lives in the U.S., according to the report.
Annual immigration to the U.S. from its neighbor has risen and fallen several times during the past decade. For example, immigration dropped by one-third following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. For the three-year period from March 2003 to March 2006, the annual influx of Mexicans averaged 550,000. It then fell nearly 40% to an annual average of 350,000 for March 2006-March 2008 before the even steeper decline recorded for the most recent year.
Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com
By MIRIAM JORDAN, WSJ.com, JULY 23, 2009
The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the U.S. declined to the lowest level in a decade during the past year, a sign that the recession is deterring economic migrants from heading north in search of jobs.
However, there is no evidence of an increase between March 2008 and March 2009 in the number of Mexicans returning home from the U.S., according to an analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, an independent research group in Washington.
The slowing of Mexican immigration to the U.S. is part of a broader trend, as migration flows around the world have also ebbed due to the global economic slowdown.
While the downturn has sharply curtailed employment of Latino immigrants, the analysis "finds no support for the hypothesis" that it is compelling Mexicans to return home, the report says.
The number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. was at one point estimated to be at least 12 million, and it appears to have shrunk recently. Pew Hispanic estimates that the Mexican immigrant population in the U.S. slipped to 11.5 million from 11.6 million between March 2008 and March 2009.
The decline in the number of illegal immigrants comes as the Obama administration prepares to push for a legislative overhaul of U.S. immigration policy. Opponents of retooling immigration laws believe undocumented residents are a drain on the nation's financial resources and compete with Americans for jobs.
The influx of Mexicans plunged to 175,000 in the 12-month period ending in March from a peak of 653,000 in 2005, based on analysis of Census data by Pew Hispanic. The number of entries has been decreasing steadily since mid-decade, according to the report.
This finding is supported by data from the U.S. Border Patrol showing the number of Mexicans caught trying to sneak into the U.S. has decreased. In 2008, border patrol agents apprehended 662,000 Mexicans, down from a 2004 peak of 1.1 million.
At the same time, stepped up border enforcement, coupled with the high cost charged by guides to ferry migrants through the desert into the U.S. Southwest, encourage illegal immigrants already here to remain even it gets tougher to earn a living.
Many of those here illegally "have spent a lot of money and taken a lot of risks to get into the U.S.," said Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer at Pew Hispanic who conducted the analysis.
What's more, the Mexican economy is faring worse than that of the U.S. "It appears those people are staying here and just waiting for times to get better," Mr. Passel said.
About two-thirds of all Latin American immigrants to the U.S. are of Mexican origin. About one in 10 Mexicans currently lives in the U.S., according to the report.
Annual immigration to the U.S. from its neighbor has risen and fallen several times during the past decade. For example, immigration dropped by one-third following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. For the three-year period from March 2003 to March 2006, the annual influx of Mexicans averaged 550,000. It then fell nearly 40% to an annual average of 350,000 for March 2006-March 2008 before the even steeper decline recorded for the most recent year.
Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com
Hispanic immigrants can see change with Obama policies
Obama setting the priorities on immigration
By Anna Gorman L.A. Times, July 26, 2009
As Congress moves slowly on immigration reform, President Obama is making numerous policy changes in enforcement and other areas that are designed to shift priorities and boost confidence in the administration as it lays the groundwork for possible legislation.
Most of the changes are being driven by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and are primarily aimed at illegal immigrants with criminal records and employers who hire undocumented workers. Napolitano is working with lawmakers to develop a strategy for comprehensive legislative reforms.
In the meantime, she is "taking steps to ensure enforcement is conducted wisely and well," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.
The recent administrative changes include:
* New guidelines directing immigration agents to target employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than simply arresting undocumented employees.
* A requirement that all local police agencies deputized to check immigration status and turn criminals over for possible deportation sign new agreements pledging to focus on those who pose a risk to public safety.
* The implementation of a rule that requires federal contractors to use E-Verify, an online employment-verification program.
* The expansion of a program that uses government databases during the booking process to find illegal immigrants in the nation's jails.
Napolitano is expected to address immigration detention next. Administration officials said top experts are looking at all detention facilities, private and public, to see whether they are efficiently, safely and effectively operated. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention centers, has been heavily criticized for providing inadequate medical care and for violating detainees' due process.
"It's safe to say that we are going to look pretty seriously at the results and no doubt make some changes," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the changes.
Immigrant-rights advocates praised Obama for fixing what he can now while he begins working on reform legislation. Obama has said repeatedly that he will push for a bill that would include a path to legalization for the nation's undocumented immigrants.
"It makes sense to do now what the administration can do," said Ana Avendano of the AFL-CIO. "It doesn't have to go through Congress. It doesn't have to go through the toxic political process."
Obama's announcements are a deliberate effort to distinguish his approach from that of the Bush administration, said Doris Meissner, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.
The focus on employers is the most obvious example, Meissner said. The Homeland Security Department is moving away from the high-profile raids of the Bush administration that drew headlines and led to the arrests of hundreds of illegal workers. Instead, they are focusing on investigations of companies, notifying more than 650 businesses this month of plans to audit their employment records.
"The contrast is quantity versus quality," Meissner said. "The Bush administration was really interested in the numbers of people that they could remove from the country. . . . But it was random and ultimately was not going to the source of the problem."
But critics said Obama and Homeland Security officials were weakening the immigration laws and making it easier for illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S.
"They are systematically gutting the enforcement capabilities of the federal government," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Their strategy is to try and demonstrate they are serious about [enforcement] at the same time without actually doing it."
The government may have shifted its focus to employers, but workers are still being laid off because of increased audits and the use of E-Verify, said Nathalie Contreras, a union organizer and member of Southern California Immigration Coalition. "Employers are taking advantage of Obama's policy and laying off workers," she said. "It puts [workers] in a very difficult position."
Overhill Farms, a major food processing plant in Vernon, fired 260 workers in May after an Internal Revenue Service audit found that they provided "invalid or fraudulent" Social Security numbers. Like agriculture, the food-processing and preparation sectors rely heavily on immigrant labor, much of it illegal.
Meanwhile, other administration policy changes are underway.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. overturned an order by the Bush administration that limited the ability of immigrants fighting deportation to make claims of incompetent counsel.
At the border, Napolitano has shifted hundreds of federal agents and intelligence analysts to the area to target the southbound flow of weapons and the northbound flow of drugs, attack the drug cartels and prevent drug violence from spilling into the U.S.
The federal government is also clearing the backlog of pending FBI background checks on immigration petitions and speeding up processing of citizenship applications.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said it's always faster for the president to make policy than for Congress.
"You don't need 218 votes in the House and 60 votes in the Senate, or floor time or debate time," she said. But Lofgren said only Congress can fix the legal immigration process and the long waits for family petitions. She also hasn't agreed with every change and is still waiting for Napolitano to address medical care in detention.
Angela Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress, said Obama must tread carefully when it comes to the administrative changes, especially on enforcement. "The more robust the enforcement, the more eyebrows are going to go up in the Latino community," she said. "If legislation doesn't happen by 2012, and the only thing he has to show is enforcement, there would be a lot of explaining to do before folks enter the ballot box."
anna.gorman@latimes.com
By Anna Gorman L.A. Times, July 26, 2009
As Congress moves slowly on immigration reform, President Obama is making numerous policy changes in enforcement and other areas that are designed to shift priorities and boost confidence in the administration as it lays the groundwork for possible legislation.
Most of the changes are being driven by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and are primarily aimed at illegal immigrants with criminal records and employers who hire undocumented workers. Napolitano is working with lawmakers to develop a strategy for comprehensive legislative reforms.
In the meantime, she is "taking steps to ensure enforcement is conducted wisely and well," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.
The recent administrative changes include:
* New guidelines directing immigration agents to target employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than simply arresting undocumented employees.
* A requirement that all local police agencies deputized to check immigration status and turn criminals over for possible deportation sign new agreements pledging to focus on those who pose a risk to public safety.
* The implementation of a rule that requires federal contractors to use E-Verify, an online employment-verification program.
* The expansion of a program that uses government databases during the booking process to find illegal immigrants in the nation's jails.
Napolitano is expected to address immigration detention next. Administration officials said top experts are looking at all detention facilities, private and public, to see whether they are efficiently, safely and effectively operated. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention centers, has been heavily criticized for providing inadequate medical care and for violating detainees' due process.
"It's safe to say that we are going to look pretty seriously at the results and no doubt make some changes," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the changes.
Immigrant-rights advocates praised Obama for fixing what he can now while he begins working on reform legislation. Obama has said repeatedly that he will push for a bill that would include a path to legalization for the nation's undocumented immigrants.
"It makes sense to do now what the administration can do," said Ana Avendano of the AFL-CIO. "It doesn't have to go through Congress. It doesn't have to go through the toxic political process."
Obama's announcements are a deliberate effort to distinguish his approach from that of the Bush administration, said Doris Meissner, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.
The focus on employers is the most obvious example, Meissner said. The Homeland Security Department is moving away from the high-profile raids of the Bush administration that drew headlines and led to the arrests of hundreds of illegal workers. Instead, they are focusing on investigations of companies, notifying more than 650 businesses this month of plans to audit their employment records.
"The contrast is quantity versus quality," Meissner said. "The Bush administration was really interested in the numbers of people that they could remove from the country. . . . But it was random and ultimately was not going to the source of the problem."
But critics said Obama and Homeland Security officials were weakening the immigration laws and making it easier for illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S.
"They are systematically gutting the enforcement capabilities of the federal government," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Their strategy is to try and demonstrate they are serious about [enforcement] at the same time without actually doing it."
The government may have shifted its focus to employers, but workers are still being laid off because of increased audits and the use of E-Verify, said Nathalie Contreras, a union organizer and member of Southern California Immigration Coalition. "Employers are taking advantage of Obama's policy and laying off workers," she said. "It puts [workers] in a very difficult position."
Overhill Farms, a major food processing plant in Vernon, fired 260 workers in May after an Internal Revenue Service audit found that they provided "invalid or fraudulent" Social Security numbers. Like agriculture, the food-processing and preparation sectors rely heavily on immigrant labor, much of it illegal.
Meanwhile, other administration policy changes are underway.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. overturned an order by the Bush administration that limited the ability of immigrants fighting deportation to make claims of incompetent counsel.
At the border, Napolitano has shifted hundreds of federal agents and intelligence analysts to the area to target the southbound flow of weapons and the northbound flow of drugs, attack the drug cartels and prevent drug violence from spilling into the U.S.
The federal government is also clearing the backlog of pending FBI background checks on immigration petitions and speeding up processing of citizenship applications.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said it's always faster for the president to make policy than for Congress.
"You don't need 218 votes in the House and 60 votes in the Senate, or floor time or debate time," she said. But Lofgren said only Congress can fix the legal immigration process and the long waits for family petitions. She also hasn't agreed with every change and is still waiting for Napolitano to address medical care in detention.
Angela Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress, said Obama must tread carefully when it comes to the administrative changes, especially on enforcement. "The more robust the enforcement, the more eyebrows are going to go up in the Latino community," she said. "If legislation doesn't happen by 2012, and the only thing he has to show is enforcement, there would be a lot of explaining to do before folks enter the ballot box."
anna.gorman@latimes.com
Friday, July 24, 2009
Report ignores huge Hispanic population
Are some children more valuable than others? Colorblindness necessary to fix education in U.S.
By Esther J. Cepeda, 600 Words.com, July 15, 2009
Let us, for just a moment, remember back to oh, let’s say, the year 1980.
The U.S. boycotted the summer Olympics, Jimmy Carter bailed out the Chrysler corporation, Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington state, and Bruce Springsteen’s latest hit "Hungry Heart" was playing on seemingly every radio across the country.
Some might remember these as "the good old days" when things were as easy as, well, black and white.
Yes, back then the number of people who identified themselves as Hispanic to the U.S. Census was 14.5 million, about 6.5% of the population as compared to African-Americans who in that same year numbered 26.5 million and were 11.7% of the U.S. population.
That would have been a more appropriate time for the National Center for Education Statistics' new report, "Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress."
By 1988, however, Hispanics had multiplied by more than one-third since the 1980 census, growing nearly five times faster than the rest of the population, clocking in at about 19.4 million Americans of Hispanic background, representing 8.1% of the population.
The most recent numbers show the U.S. African American population at 14% and Hispanic at 15%.
My point?
It is the year 2009, folks, there is absolutely no reason why the National Center for Education Statistics should be releasing a report about a Black/White achievement gap for U.S. school children to the exclusion of Hispanic students, not to mention Asian and many other ethnicities.
And no reason why newspapers and television and radio stations across the country should be reporting on this admittedly sad state of affairs (see Illinois numbers here) while excluding the context of every other struggling kid in the U.S. – be they poor and white, from a foreign country, or Latino.
I could point out that it has been widely reported for about two years now that by 2050 Hispanics will be 30% of the U.S. population and African Americans 15% and argue for a special report highlighting Hispanics.
But that would be silly – you can already easily find such reports (Google it). But just try getting the mainstream media to put those in the headlines and I’ll personally bake you a dozen chocolate chip cookies.
There is no need to harp on the fact that, despite the very real challenges and biases African American students face in our abominable school system every day, there are now approximately 10 million Hispanic students in the nation's public kindergartens and its elementary and high schools, making up about one-in-five public school students in the United States.
Rather, it is high time to put the race and ethnicity issue – as it relates to student success in this country – in a coffin and bury it forever.
Any intelligent argument about success factors for U.S. children must center around familial wealth (lack thereof, actually) and kids’ access to decent schools, learning materials, and teachers – regardless of skin color.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a statement Tuesday in which he said: "This report makes clear that … when schools serving children of color are primarily staffed by less experienced, less effective teachers, the effects are tragic."
He is wrong because the part about less effective teachers is a true statement for every child, even poor white or Asian ones.
And that’s how we need to look at this problem if we have any hope of fixing it. Enough of trying to overhaul our education system while looking at the issue through the prism of a black/brown/white/blue-eyed/brown-eyed divide.
We are almost a full decade into the new millennium. No one child is more valuable than any other and, certainly, none of them deserve to be more or less valued in the academic research we’ll need for building a first-class educational system for the next thousand years of this nation’s history.
Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com
By Esther J. Cepeda, 600 Words.com, July 15, 2009
Let us, for just a moment, remember back to oh, let’s say, the year 1980.
The U.S. boycotted the summer Olympics, Jimmy Carter bailed out the Chrysler corporation, Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington state, and Bruce Springsteen’s latest hit "Hungry Heart" was playing on seemingly every radio across the country.
Some might remember these as "the good old days" when things were as easy as, well, black and white.
Yes, back then the number of people who identified themselves as Hispanic to the U.S. Census was 14.5 million, about 6.5% of the population as compared to African-Americans who in that same year numbered 26.5 million and were 11.7% of the U.S. population.
That would have been a more appropriate time for the National Center for Education Statistics' new report, "Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress."
By 1988, however, Hispanics had multiplied by more than one-third since the 1980 census, growing nearly five times faster than the rest of the population, clocking in at about 19.4 million Americans of Hispanic background, representing 8.1% of the population.
The most recent numbers show the U.S. African American population at 14% and Hispanic at 15%.
My point?
It is the year 2009, folks, there is absolutely no reason why the National Center for Education Statistics should be releasing a report about a Black/White achievement gap for U.S. school children to the exclusion of Hispanic students, not to mention Asian and many other ethnicities.
And no reason why newspapers and television and radio stations across the country should be reporting on this admittedly sad state of affairs (see Illinois numbers here) while excluding the context of every other struggling kid in the U.S. – be they poor and white, from a foreign country, or Latino.
I could point out that it has been widely reported for about two years now that by 2050 Hispanics will be 30% of the U.S. population and African Americans 15% and argue for a special report highlighting Hispanics.
But that would be silly – you can already easily find such reports (Google it). But just try getting the mainstream media to put those in the headlines and I’ll personally bake you a dozen chocolate chip cookies.
There is no need to harp on the fact that, despite the very real challenges and biases African American students face in our abominable school system every day, there are now approximately 10 million Hispanic students in the nation's public kindergartens and its elementary and high schools, making up about one-in-five public school students in the United States.
Rather, it is high time to put the race and ethnicity issue – as it relates to student success in this country – in a coffin and bury it forever.
Any intelligent argument about success factors for U.S. children must center around familial wealth (lack thereof, actually) and kids’ access to decent schools, learning materials, and teachers – regardless of skin color.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a statement Tuesday in which he said: "This report makes clear that … when schools serving children of color are primarily staffed by less experienced, less effective teachers, the effects are tragic."
He is wrong because the part about less effective teachers is a true statement for every child, even poor white or Asian ones.
And that’s how we need to look at this problem if we have any hope of fixing it. Enough of trying to overhaul our education system while looking at the issue through the prism of a black/brown/white/blue-eyed/brown-eyed divide.
We are almost a full decade into the new millennium. No one child is more valuable than any other and, certainly, none of them deserve to be more or less valued in the academic research we’ll need for building a first-class educational system for the next thousand years of this nation’s history.
Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com
Hispanics learn how to be PC
Hispanic contractors' group pulls video called demeaning to gays
Organization that led protests of repeated use of ethnic slur on KLBJ-AM had clip on its Web site.
By Juan Castillo, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, July 22, 2009
One of the groups that led protests over the repeated use of an ethnic slur on KLBJ-AM has pulled a video from its Web site amid complaints that the video demeaned gay people.
"The video was in poor taste, and we certainly need to be held accountable to the community's expectations," Paul Saldaña, a spokesman for the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association, said Tuesday.
The video included comedian/actor Paul Rodriguez dressed as a construction worker walking in an effeminate manner. It was posted to the group's local Web site.
Frank Fuentes, the group's chairman, said he asked that the video be removed Monday after KVUE reported earlier that viewers called to complain about finding the video on the contractors' Web site. At least two people also contacted the American-Statesman saying they found the video offensive.
"We shouldn't have had it up there. I personally don't think it equates to what happened on the radio station, but I can understand why people would think that," Fuentes said, adding that he did not know how long the video had been on the site. Fuentes said it was several years old and was composed of outtakes of a promotional spot Rodriguez did for a fundraising event. The outtakes were not part of the actual spot, which aired on cable channels across the state, he said.
Fuentes and Saldaña said Rodriguez initiated the scenes. He said the contractors' group had received a handful of complaints about the video and that it was still receiving hundreds of complaints about its role in the protests of the ethnic slurs on KLBJ-AM.
Saldaña said Fuentes requested a meeting with local gay and lesbian leaders, scheduled for later this week.
On Monday, KLBJ's parent company announced that it had canceled "The Todd and Don Show" and that co-host Don Pryor has been reassigned to off-air duties under an agreement with local members of the contractors association. The group also agreed to cancel plans for a boycott of parent company Emmis Austin Radio, its six local stations and their advertisers.
The agreement follows last week's repeated use by Pryor of an ethnic slur to describe illegal immigrants on the morning talk show, triggering complaints from listeners and Hispanic leaders.
Pryor apologized on the air last Wednesday, calling the slur, "wetback," highly offensive but adding that he thought the audience knew he was being sarcastic.
jcastillo@statesman.com; 445-3635
Organization that led protests of repeated use of ethnic slur on KLBJ-AM had clip on its Web site.
By Juan Castillo, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, July 22, 2009
One of the groups that led protests over the repeated use of an ethnic slur on KLBJ-AM has pulled a video from its Web site amid complaints that the video demeaned gay people.
"The video was in poor taste, and we certainly need to be held accountable to the community's expectations," Paul Saldaña, a spokesman for the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association, said Tuesday.
The video included comedian/actor Paul Rodriguez dressed as a construction worker walking in an effeminate manner. It was posted to the group's local Web site.
Frank Fuentes, the group's chairman, said he asked that the video be removed Monday after KVUE reported earlier that viewers called to complain about finding the video on the contractors' Web site. At least two people also contacted the American-Statesman saying they found the video offensive.
"We shouldn't have had it up there. I personally don't think it equates to what happened on the radio station, but I can understand why people would think that," Fuentes said, adding that he did not know how long the video had been on the site. Fuentes said it was several years old and was composed of outtakes of a promotional spot Rodriguez did for a fundraising event. The outtakes were not part of the actual spot, which aired on cable channels across the state, he said.
Fuentes and Saldaña said Rodriguez initiated the scenes. He said the contractors' group had received a handful of complaints about the video and that it was still receiving hundreds of complaints about its role in the protests of the ethnic slurs on KLBJ-AM.
Saldaña said Fuentes requested a meeting with local gay and lesbian leaders, scheduled for later this week.
On Monday, KLBJ's parent company announced that it had canceled "The Todd and Don Show" and that co-host Don Pryor has been reassigned to off-air duties under an agreement with local members of the contractors association. The group also agreed to cancel plans for a boycott of parent company Emmis Austin Radio, its six local stations and their advertisers.
The agreement follows last week's repeated use by Pryor of an ethnic slur to describe illegal immigrants on the morning talk show, triggering complaints from listeners and Hispanic leaders.
Pryor apologized on the air last Wednesday, calling the slur, "wetback," highly offensive but adding that he thought the audience knew he was being sarcastic.
jcastillo@statesman.com; 445-3635
Hispanic immigrant homes entered illegally report says
Report says immigration officials entered homes illegally, violated rights in raids in NY, NJ
DEEPTI HAJELA | Associated Press, July 22, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — Immigration agents raiding homes for suspected illegal immigrants violated the U.S. Constitution by entering without proper consent and may have used racial profiling, a report analyzing arrest records found.
Latinos made up a disproportionate number of the people arrested who were not the stated targets of the raids, and many of their arrest reports gave no basis for why they were initially seized, said the report, which was based on data from raids in New York and New Jersey.
The Immigration Justice Clinic at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law analyzed home raid arrest records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Long Island and throughout New Jersey. The clinic, founded last year, represents indigent immigrants facing deportation.
Its report, released Wednesday, said that since ICE agents use administrative warrants — instead of judicial warrants, which give law enforcement unfettered access — they must have a resident's consent to enter a home or else violate the constitutional right to protection against unreasonable searches.
On Long Island, 86 percent of arrest records from 100 raids between January 2006 and April 2008 showed no record of consent being given, the report found. In northern and central New Jersey, no record of consent being given was found for 24 percent of about 600 arrests in 2006 and 2007, it found.
Peter Markowitz, director of the clinic and one of the authors of the report, said raids often are carried out with great force, with immigration officials pushing their way into homes in pre-dawn or late-night hours.
The raids are ostensibly aimed at targeted individuals who present threats either to national security or community safety, but arrests of illegal immigrants nearby, known as collateral arrests, are also made.
While the report only analyzed data from two states, it said the pattern suggested the problem was nationwide. It listed examples from California, Texas, Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia and other places.
A federal judge in Connecticut last month ruled that federal agents violated the constitutional rights of four illegal immigrants in a 2007 raid under similar issues. The judge ruled the immigration agents went into the immigrants' homes without warrants, probable cause or their consent, and he put a stop to deportation proceedings against the four defendants.
"The widespread illegality by a law enforcement agency should be kind of shocking to anybody," Markowitz said.
In a statement, ICE said its agents uphold the country's laws.
"We do so professionally, humanely and with an acute awareness regarding the impact enforcement has on the individuals we encounter," it said.
The agency said it also had a mandate to pursue all illegal immigrants, whether targeted or not. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment further.
The agency has about 100 Fugitive Operations Teams around the country; in fiscal year 2008, the teams made more than 34,000 arrests.
The report also found that Latinos were a disproportionate number of collateral arrests. In both New Jersey and on Long Island, two-thirds of the targeted detainees were Latino. But 87 percent of collateral arrests in New Jersey were Latino, as were 94 percent of the collateral arrests in Long Island.
Collateral arrest records can indicate why the person was seized and questioned. But the report found that almost all of the records that didn't contain that information were for Latinos taken into custody. The report said that supported community complaints that Latinos were targeted for arrest simply because of how they looked or how well they spoke English.
The report makes several recommendations, including limiting the use of home raids to a last resort for targets who pose a serious risk to national security or have violent criminal records; the use of judicial rather than administrative warrants, and the videotaping of all home raids.
It also calls for the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation.
"These are violations that go to the very heart of the Constitutional expectation of privacy in this country," Markowitz said.
DEEPTI HAJELA | Associated Press, July 22, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — Immigration agents raiding homes for suspected illegal immigrants violated the U.S. Constitution by entering without proper consent and may have used racial profiling, a report analyzing arrest records found.
Latinos made up a disproportionate number of the people arrested who were not the stated targets of the raids, and many of their arrest reports gave no basis for why they were initially seized, said the report, which was based on data from raids in New York and New Jersey.
The Immigration Justice Clinic at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law analyzed home raid arrest records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Long Island and throughout New Jersey. The clinic, founded last year, represents indigent immigrants facing deportation.
Its report, released Wednesday, said that since ICE agents use administrative warrants — instead of judicial warrants, which give law enforcement unfettered access — they must have a resident's consent to enter a home or else violate the constitutional right to protection against unreasonable searches.
On Long Island, 86 percent of arrest records from 100 raids between January 2006 and April 2008 showed no record of consent being given, the report found. In northern and central New Jersey, no record of consent being given was found for 24 percent of about 600 arrests in 2006 and 2007, it found.
Peter Markowitz, director of the clinic and one of the authors of the report, said raids often are carried out with great force, with immigration officials pushing their way into homes in pre-dawn or late-night hours.
The raids are ostensibly aimed at targeted individuals who present threats either to national security or community safety, but arrests of illegal immigrants nearby, known as collateral arrests, are also made.
While the report only analyzed data from two states, it said the pattern suggested the problem was nationwide. It listed examples from California, Texas, Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia and other places.
A federal judge in Connecticut last month ruled that federal agents violated the constitutional rights of four illegal immigrants in a 2007 raid under similar issues. The judge ruled the immigration agents went into the immigrants' homes without warrants, probable cause or their consent, and he put a stop to deportation proceedings against the four defendants.
"The widespread illegality by a law enforcement agency should be kind of shocking to anybody," Markowitz said.
In a statement, ICE said its agents uphold the country's laws.
"We do so professionally, humanely and with an acute awareness regarding the impact enforcement has on the individuals we encounter," it said.
The agency said it also had a mandate to pursue all illegal immigrants, whether targeted or not. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment further.
The agency has about 100 Fugitive Operations Teams around the country; in fiscal year 2008, the teams made more than 34,000 arrests.
The report also found that Latinos were a disproportionate number of collateral arrests. In both New Jersey and on Long Island, two-thirds of the targeted detainees were Latino. But 87 percent of collateral arrests in New Jersey were Latino, as were 94 percent of the collateral arrests in Long Island.
Collateral arrest records can indicate why the person was seized and questioned. But the report found that almost all of the records that didn't contain that information were for Latinos taken into custody. The report said that supported community complaints that Latinos were targeted for arrest simply because of how they looked or how well they spoke English.
The report makes several recommendations, including limiting the use of home raids to a last resort for targets who pose a serious risk to national security or have violent criminal records; the use of judicial rather than administrative warrants, and the videotaping of all home raids.
It also calls for the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation.
"These are violations that go to the very heart of the Constitutional expectation of privacy in this country," Markowitz said.
Latino perspective important for Wisconsin Veteran programs
Adding a Latino Perspective to Wisconsin Council on Veterans Programs
By State Senator Jim Sullivan, WAUWATOSA NOW, July 20, 2009
As chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, Biotechnology, and Financial Institutions, I urged my colleagues during a committee hearing last week to vote for adding a member from the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Wisconsin Council on Veterans Programs.
Sixty years ago, the American GI Forum was launched by Dr. Hector Garcia and other Latino veterans who had served in World War II to end the discrimination that denied them the same benefits others enjoyed as a result of their service to our nation. The American GI Forum is a national organization chartered by Congress and recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our state's chapter of the group, the Wisconsin American GI Forum, has sought to advance the interests of Latino veterans by fighting against systemic discrimination and inequities that bureaucracy can impose on Latino veterans. Adding a member of the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Council on Veterans Programs will help ensure Latino veterans’ voices are heard and their best interests are represented.
The Council on Veterans Programs advises the Board of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) on solutions and policy alternatives relating to veterans’ issues. The Council is attached to DVA and consists of members of various veterans organizations, all of whom are appointed for one-year terms.
I believe it is important that we add a member from the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Council on Veterans Programs to help lend a new perspective to decisions and advice.
You can read a copy of proposal, Senate Bill 195, here. Please contact me if you have questions about the bill. You can reach me toll-free at 866-817-6061 or via email at Sen.Sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov.
By State Senator Jim Sullivan, WAUWATOSA NOW, July 20, 2009
As chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, Biotechnology, and Financial Institutions, I urged my colleagues during a committee hearing last week to vote for adding a member from the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Wisconsin Council on Veterans Programs.
Sixty years ago, the American GI Forum was launched by Dr. Hector Garcia and other Latino veterans who had served in World War II to end the discrimination that denied them the same benefits others enjoyed as a result of their service to our nation. The American GI Forum is a national organization chartered by Congress and recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our state's chapter of the group, the Wisconsin American GI Forum, has sought to advance the interests of Latino veterans by fighting against systemic discrimination and inequities that bureaucracy can impose on Latino veterans. Adding a member of the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Council on Veterans Programs will help ensure Latino veterans’ voices are heard and their best interests are represented.
The Council on Veterans Programs advises the Board of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) on solutions and policy alternatives relating to veterans’ issues. The Council is attached to DVA and consists of members of various veterans organizations, all of whom are appointed for one-year terms.
I believe it is important that we add a member from the Wisconsin American GI Forum to the Council on Veterans Programs to help lend a new perspective to decisions and advice.
You can read a copy of proposal, Senate Bill 195, here. Please contact me if you have questions about the bill. You can reach me toll-free at 866-817-6061 or via email at Sen.Sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov.
Monday, July 20, 2009
La Raza plans conference in Chicago this week
NCLR ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO WILL FEATURE
POLICYMAKERS, BUSINESS LEADERS, CELEBRITIES, AND MORE
PRESS RELEASE
White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett; Cabinet Secretaries Solis, Donovan, and Duncan; Bank of America President and CEO Ken Lewis, and Philanthropist Melinda Gates to Speak at Largest National Latino Event of the Year
Washington, DC— NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, will draw some of the nation’s foremost business and community leaders, government officials, and entertainers to participate in the 2009 NCLR Annual Conference held July 25–28 at McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois.
Workshops, Town Halls, and Latino Expo USA are free and open to the public. Members of the general public can register for all other events on site at McCormick Place West, located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. All members of the media interested in attending any of the following events at no cost can register on site or online at www.nclr.org/pressregistration. For a complete list of workshops, including speakers, dates, and times, please visit http://www.nclr.org/conferenceworkshops.
POLICYMAKERS, BUSINESS LEADERS, CELEBRITIES, AND MORE
PRESS RELEASE
White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett; Cabinet Secretaries Solis, Donovan, and Duncan; Bank of America President and CEO Ken Lewis, and Philanthropist Melinda Gates to Speak at Largest National Latino Event of the Year
Washington, DC— NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, will draw some of the nation’s foremost business and community leaders, government officials, and entertainers to participate in the 2009 NCLR Annual Conference held July 25–28 at McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois.
Workshops, Town Halls, and Latino Expo USA are free and open to the public. Members of the general public can register for all other events on site at McCormick Place West, located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. All members of the media interested in attending any of the following events at no cost can register on site or online at www.nclr.org/pressregistration. For a complete list of workshops, including speakers, dates, and times, please visit http://www.nclr.org/conferenceworkshops.
Latino leader may back Republican for NJ governor
Key Latino leader considers backing Christie
By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
NEW BRUNSWICK - Martin Perez, the president of one of the state's largest Latino organizations, has stunned many of his allies with public declarations of praise for Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie.
Earlier this year, at a gala dinner celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey (LLANJ), Perez irked members of his organization with an effusive introduction of Christie, who entered the room while Gov. Jon Corzine was speaking. Some LLANJ members viewed it is a ceremonial faux pas.
But then a few weeks later, Perez was quoted in the New York Times saying Corzine was "ineffective" as governor. That caused several LLANJ members to wonder if Perez was putting his membership in an organization that supports school vouchers, E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone) ahead of the traditional political alliance between the state's Latino community and the New Jersey Democratic Party.
Perez says the Times quote was an out-of-context snippet from a larger conversation.
But the Latino leader has sent clear signals that he personally favors Christie, largely because the Republican candidate for governor favors vouchers. Some say that Perez also wants to reinforce the non-partisan image of the LLANJ, despite a record of supporting Democrats, and he appears willing to back Christie even though Corzine appointed him to the School Development Authority earlier this year.
In the midst of an intensifying gubernatorial campaign, the Carpenters' Union, which supports the governor's re-election, last week contributed $15,000 to the Latino Leadership Alliance Foundation (LLAF), which goes toward scholarships and programs and is separate from the LLANJ, a 501 (c) (4) with an annual operating budget of about $200,000.
Perez says that contributions to the foundation have little to do with his personal political agenda, pointing to a $150 donation from Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello. Perez and Cresitello have battled over illegal immigration issues over the past few years.
"We take money from a lot of people, including Don Cresitello," said Perez. "Does that mean I'm controlled by Don Cresitello?"
While some Perez's critics within the alliance continue to seethe at the idea of Perez publicly flirting with an endorsement of Christie, Perez says his agenda is based on a multitude of issues.
"I come from the labor movement and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party, and I was a student leader in the 1960s," Perez explains. "I am the most progressive person in the organization. People try to label you to control you but we cannot allow that. I am a union person, but the NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) is killing the teaching profession. Being a teacher is a calling. You're not working in a factory. You're not making chairs. I'm pro-choice, both in education and when it comes to abortion. But I tell Democrats all the time, you're willing to give my 16-year old daughter the choice to get an abortion, but not which high school she wants to go to? I am pro-choice on both things."
A close ally of Perez, Angel Cordero, an independent Camden mayoral candidate who runs E3's operation there, publicly declared his support for Christie when the former federal prosecutor appeared at a June graduation ceremony at charter school Cordero founded.
"The plus for Christie is not just vouchers but his work against corruption," says Perez. "The best friend of Corzine during his administration was Christie. Christie comes and puts all the political bosses in jail to give Corzine the opportunity to reform the party, but Corzine blew it. He didn't take the opportunity. He gave money to the political bosses, he didn't take money away from the party. I'm a Democrat, but we know there's corruption in the party Let's say it. We have to say it."
If it sounds to this point as though Perez likes Christie over Corzine, or that the governor's failure to deliver on certain issues bans him from consideration, the alliance president shakes his head.
"We don't have permanent enemies - only permanent issues," says Perez, a lawyer who runs his own practice out of New Brunswick. "Our issues are education, immigration and healthcare."
Perez is critical of Christie's positions on immigration, including opposition to in-state tuition and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants. Corzine, who supports in-state tuition but not drivers licenses, has not yet signed off on recommendations made by his Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration Policy that were made last March.
"Corzine can lose support on immigration if he fails to implement the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel," warned Perez. "We want to see the recommendations implemented before the election."
Of particular interest to Perez was a move this month by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano implementing 287 (g), which giving local law enforcement some authority now resting with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Authority.
"If you gave the right to a police officer to enforce immigration laws these people don't have the training - and that's a problem," says Perez, who wrote a letter to President Barack Obama this week on the occasion of his Thursday rally at the PNC Bank Center with Corzine.
The issue is particularly important in gubernatorial politics because Christie is reportedly considering Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno for Lt. Governor. Guadagno is one of the law enforcement officials now authorized to enforce immigration laws.
Perez says he could not support a GOP ticket that includes Guadagno.
Even as he publicly muses about the Corzine vs. Christie contest and torments the more progressive elements of the LLANJ in the process, Perez acknowledges that his 47-member board will ultimately decide on an endorsement.
"We have people in our group who are working for Corzine right now, and we have people who are committed to supporting Christie," says Perez. "The most important thing for me is to hold the alliance together, and to examine those issues that are critical for Latinos and push in both parties. That's true democracy. We are not loyal to any party, and political parties do not tell us who we are."
Perez doesn't hesitate to dissect the problems inherent in one-party rule, and specifically the problems of Latinos trying to work with what amounts to omnipotent Democratic leadership.
"What we have is a party that picks a given Latino because he's going to be loyal to the party - not to the people," says Perez.
He says Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden) and former Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark) are examples of Democrats who were summarily dismissed by their local party leadership.
"As long as they are dependent on those machines, they are not representing the Latino community," says Perez. "I'm not questioning their good faith. I'm questioning the system, but if you don't have your own political base, you are running in someone else's home base.
"Democrats take us for granted and the Republican Party doesn't care," he adds. "The problem with the Democratic Party is we have given them more loyalty and support so they owe us more. The problem is they want to speak to us but they don't want to listen to us. And when it comes to the Republican Party, sometime it's easier to deal with your enemy than someone who tells you he's your friend who pat you on the back and then goes against you."
The alliance includes a broad spectrum of Latino professionals, white and blue collars, police officers, firefighters, churches, union affiliates, and chapters in counties across a broad geographic area.
"This is not just about the Democratic Party here, or any specific county," Perez says. "It's about New Jersey. Democrats control certain counties and Republicans control certain counties. What we want to see is a strong Republican Party and strong Democratic Party in every county, because that will give us more influence and power in the process. The more competitive the election, the more things we can achieve as a group. That's why we think people need to get involved in both parties.
"If the Republican Party were truly the party of family values, they would put a lot of money into the urban areas, but they have conceded that territory to the Democrats," he said. "That's their fault, but it creates a problem for us because the Democrats want our votes without sharing the power, and what we tell them, as well as everyone, is we're going to organize - whether you like it or not."
Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.
By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter
NEW BRUNSWICK - Martin Perez, the president of one of the state's largest Latino organizations, has stunned many of his allies with public declarations of praise for Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie.
Earlier this year, at a gala dinner celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey (LLANJ), Perez irked members of his organization with an effusive introduction of Christie, who entered the room while Gov. Jon Corzine was speaking. Some LLANJ members viewed it is a ceremonial faux pas.
But then a few weeks later, Perez was quoted in the New York Times saying Corzine was "ineffective" as governor. That caused several LLANJ members to wonder if Perez was putting his membership in an organization that supports school vouchers, E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone) ahead of the traditional political alliance between the state's Latino community and the New Jersey Democratic Party.
Perez says the Times quote was an out-of-context snippet from a larger conversation.
But the Latino leader has sent clear signals that he personally favors Christie, largely because the Republican candidate for governor favors vouchers. Some say that Perez also wants to reinforce the non-partisan image of the LLANJ, despite a record of supporting Democrats, and he appears willing to back Christie even though Corzine appointed him to the School Development Authority earlier this year.
In the midst of an intensifying gubernatorial campaign, the Carpenters' Union, which supports the governor's re-election, last week contributed $15,000 to the Latino Leadership Alliance Foundation (LLAF), which goes toward scholarships and programs and is separate from the LLANJ, a 501 (c) (4) with an annual operating budget of about $200,000.
Perez says that contributions to the foundation have little to do with his personal political agenda, pointing to a $150 donation from Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello. Perez and Cresitello have battled over illegal immigration issues over the past few years.
"We take money from a lot of people, including Don Cresitello," said Perez. "Does that mean I'm controlled by Don Cresitello?"
While some Perez's critics within the alliance continue to seethe at the idea of Perez publicly flirting with an endorsement of Christie, Perez says his agenda is based on a multitude of issues.
"I come from the labor movement and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party, and I was a student leader in the 1960s," Perez explains. "I am the most progressive person in the organization. People try to label you to control you but we cannot allow that. I am a union person, but the NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) is killing the teaching profession. Being a teacher is a calling. You're not working in a factory. You're not making chairs. I'm pro-choice, both in education and when it comes to abortion. But I tell Democrats all the time, you're willing to give my 16-year old daughter the choice to get an abortion, but not which high school she wants to go to? I am pro-choice on both things."
A close ally of Perez, Angel Cordero, an independent Camden mayoral candidate who runs E3's operation there, publicly declared his support for Christie when the former federal prosecutor appeared at a June graduation ceremony at charter school Cordero founded.
"The plus for Christie is not just vouchers but his work against corruption," says Perez. "The best friend of Corzine during his administration was Christie. Christie comes and puts all the political bosses in jail to give Corzine the opportunity to reform the party, but Corzine blew it. He didn't take the opportunity. He gave money to the political bosses, he didn't take money away from the party. I'm a Democrat, but we know there's corruption in the party Let's say it. We have to say it."
If it sounds to this point as though Perez likes Christie over Corzine, or that the governor's failure to deliver on certain issues bans him from consideration, the alliance president shakes his head.
"We don't have permanent enemies - only permanent issues," says Perez, a lawyer who runs his own practice out of New Brunswick. "Our issues are education, immigration and healthcare."
Perez is critical of Christie's positions on immigration, including opposition to in-state tuition and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants. Corzine, who supports in-state tuition but not drivers licenses, has not yet signed off on recommendations made by his Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration Policy that were made last March.
"Corzine can lose support on immigration if he fails to implement the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel," warned Perez. "We want to see the recommendations implemented before the election."
Of particular interest to Perez was a move this month by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano implementing 287 (g), which giving local law enforcement some authority now resting with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Authority.
"If you gave the right to a police officer to enforce immigration laws these people don't have the training - and that's a problem," says Perez, who wrote a letter to President Barack Obama this week on the occasion of his Thursday rally at the PNC Bank Center with Corzine.
The issue is particularly important in gubernatorial politics because Christie is reportedly considering Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno for Lt. Governor. Guadagno is one of the law enforcement officials now authorized to enforce immigration laws.
Perez says he could not support a GOP ticket that includes Guadagno.
Even as he publicly muses about the Corzine vs. Christie contest and torments the more progressive elements of the LLANJ in the process, Perez acknowledges that his 47-member board will ultimately decide on an endorsement.
"We have people in our group who are working for Corzine right now, and we have people who are committed to supporting Christie," says Perez. "The most important thing for me is to hold the alliance together, and to examine those issues that are critical for Latinos and push in both parties. That's true democracy. We are not loyal to any party, and political parties do not tell us who we are."
Perez doesn't hesitate to dissect the problems inherent in one-party rule, and specifically the problems of Latinos trying to work with what amounts to omnipotent Democratic leadership.
"What we have is a party that picks a given Latino because he's going to be loyal to the party - not to the people," says Perez.
He says Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden) and former Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark) are examples of Democrats who were summarily dismissed by their local party leadership.
"As long as they are dependent on those machines, they are not representing the Latino community," says Perez. "I'm not questioning their good faith. I'm questioning the system, but if you don't have your own political base, you are running in someone else's home base.
"Democrats take us for granted and the Republican Party doesn't care," he adds. "The problem with the Democratic Party is we have given them more loyalty and support so they owe us more. The problem is they want to speak to us but they don't want to listen to us. And when it comes to the Republican Party, sometime it's easier to deal with your enemy than someone who tells you he's your friend who pat you on the back and then goes against you."
The alliance includes a broad spectrum of Latino professionals, white and blue collars, police officers, firefighters, churches, union affiliates, and chapters in counties across a broad geographic area.
"This is not just about the Democratic Party here, or any specific county," Perez says. "It's about New Jersey. Democrats control certain counties and Republicans control certain counties. What we want to see is a strong Republican Party and strong Democratic Party in every county, because that will give us more influence and power in the process. The more competitive the election, the more things we can achieve as a group. That's why we think people need to get involved in both parties.
"If the Republican Party were truly the party of family values, they would put a lot of money into the urban areas, but they have conceded that territory to the Democrats," he said. "That's their fault, but it creates a problem for us because the Democrats want our votes without sharing the power, and what we tell them, as well as everyone, is we're going to organize - whether you like it or not."
Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.
NY Mayor fires independent thinking Hispanics
When Mayor Bloomberg fired Hispanic leaders--mayoral control in action
Jesse Alred, Examiner, July 19, 2009
On July 1, 2009 New York state senators, in a surprise move, refused to approve a bill extending Mayor Michael Bloomberg's control over New York City's public schools.
The mayor is currently fighting to have the legislature approve the bill.
The extent of the mayor's power was exercised fully in March of 2004, when the mayor and his schools' Chancellor Joel Klein laid before the Panel of Education Policy, a proposal to end social promotion of third graders.
When several members opposed the measure, the mayor fired two of them. Under the state law establishing mayoral control, he appointed and could fire panel members any time he wanted.
Mr. Bloomberg fired two Hispanic Panel members--Susana Torruella Leval and Ramona Hernandez--and appointed two Hispanic government employees in their place.
The Staten Island borough president, who had the authority to hire and fire one member, fired John Mckeever-Thomas, a parent, and replaced him with a more compliant delegate.
The mayor won by a vote of eight to five.
"Corruption, Nepotism at its worst. This is one of the reasons we never supported mayoral control," said Robin Brown, the president of the United Parents Assocation, a city-wide coalition of PTA's.
The incident has gone down in the history of New York City's mayoral control system as an example of the need for more checks and balances in how the community runs its schools.
New York City schools has a diverse, mutli-racial student body, with the largest single group of Hispanic origin.
Jesse Alred, Examiner, July 19, 2009
On July 1, 2009 New York state senators, in a surprise move, refused to approve a bill extending Mayor Michael Bloomberg's control over New York City's public schools.
The mayor is currently fighting to have the legislature approve the bill.
The extent of the mayor's power was exercised fully in March of 2004, when the mayor and his schools' Chancellor Joel Klein laid before the Panel of Education Policy, a proposal to end social promotion of third graders.
When several members opposed the measure, the mayor fired two of them. Under the state law establishing mayoral control, he appointed and could fire panel members any time he wanted.
Mr. Bloomberg fired two Hispanic Panel members--Susana Torruella Leval and Ramona Hernandez--and appointed two Hispanic government employees in their place.
The Staten Island borough president, who had the authority to hire and fire one member, fired John Mckeever-Thomas, a parent, and replaced him with a more compliant delegate.
The mayor won by a vote of eight to five.
"Corruption, Nepotism at its worst. This is one of the reasons we never supported mayoral control," said Robin Brown, the president of the United Parents Assocation, a city-wide coalition of PTA's.
The incident has gone down in the history of New York City's mayoral control system as an example of the need for more checks and balances in how the community runs its schools.
New York City schools has a diverse, mutli-racial student body, with the largest single group of Hispanic origin.
Latina's experience serves as examples for future appointees
Lessons for future nominees
Among them: Make friends. Be tough on crime. Reticence is a proven virtue.
By David Lightman and Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Republicans spent four days last week repeating a stern message to President Obama: Your future Supreme Court nominees will be grilled about their personal views and examined thoroughly for any hint of liberal bias.
But Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appellate judge seeking to become the high court's first Hispanic justice, was sending her own message to presidents and future nominees alike: Keep answers general, stay likable, and avoid offering personal views on anything - even including your favorite baseball team.
The jurisprudential reticence can frustrate senators and court-watchers alike. That doesn't mean the hearing is useless.
"It's very hard to get specific information about what a nominee thinks; it's scripted," acknowledged Olatunde Johnson, an associate professor at Columbia Law School, "but even with the hearing's shortcomings, it's still worthwhile to see how a nominee comports herself."
Watching a nominee under the lights, answering hundreds of questions, can help viewers glean an understanding of her mental discipline and physical stamina, Johnson said.
When it comes to detailed how-will-you-vote questions, though, reticence has one proven virtue: It apparently works. Sotomayor is considered a shoo-in for confirmation.
"We'll see what your future holds, but I think it's going to be pretty bright," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Sotomayor.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Sotomayor's nomination by the end of July. A full Senate vote is likely during the week of Aug. 3.
On Friday, Republicans began crossing party lines to announce their support for the 55-year-old Yale Law School graduate, with Sens. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez of Florida, and Olympia Snowe of Maine announcing their intentions to vote for Sotomayor.
Politically, the only question now is how many GOP votes she will gain. Longer term, the political question becomes what lessons will endure from the Sotomayor nomination.
Some elements are unique to her nomination. As the first Latina nominee, she put in a bind those Republicans who want to oppose Obama, but who don't want to alienate Hispanic voters. Part of the message Republicans had to send was respect for the nominee, even as they pressed her hard.
"There are messages being sent," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R., Utah), a senior committee member. "That's part of what these hearings do; they sent messages to the president."
Republican senators say their chief message to Obama was to be careful about sending up nominees who ooze empathy - a quality Obama once said he wanted in judges. The much-mocked word has since seemingly dropped from the president's judicial vocabulary.
Beyond the White House, Republican senators were sending messages to their base supporters. The message: We feel your pain. The GOP senators' insistent focus on three issues - abortion, gun rights, and affirmative action - to the exclusion of almost all others showed their singular priorities.
For future nominees, the hearings that included Sotomayor's 21/2 days on the witness stand offered myriad lessons. These include:
Make personal connections. In the weeks before the hearings, Sotomayor visited 89 senators for private meetings of about half an hour each - yet only 19 senators serve on the judiciary panel. She wowed the Democrats and soothed the Republicans.
Have a compelling life story. Sotomayor's rise from the Bronx, her overcoming obstacles such as juvenile diabetes, and her professional accomplishments led Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse to enthuse that he had "goose bumps" just thinking about her.
No matter how liberal or conservative in general, be able to show you're tough on crime. Sotomayor's five years as a New York prosecutor proved immensely helpful in softening Republican fears. She was able to recount for senators how she prosecuted child-pornography dealers and an infamous killer, thereby undermining a traditional conservative attack line.
Don't predict how you might rule. Republicans tried over and over to pin her down, and she refused to budge. On gun rights, business law, voting rights, and other crucial issues, as well as on lesser issues such as televising court proceedings, Sotomayor avoided making commitments. "I don't like making statements about what I think the court can do until I've experienced the process," Sotomayor said at one point.
The lesson for future nominees is clear, said Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.).
"The message is if you don't say very much, and agree with the questioners, and can wiggle off the main question - and you have the votes," he said, "you'll get confirmed."
Among them: Make friends. Be tough on crime. Reticence is a proven virtue.
By David Lightman and Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Republicans spent four days last week repeating a stern message to President Obama: Your future Supreme Court nominees will be grilled about their personal views and examined thoroughly for any hint of liberal bias.
But Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appellate judge seeking to become the high court's first Hispanic justice, was sending her own message to presidents and future nominees alike: Keep answers general, stay likable, and avoid offering personal views on anything - even including your favorite baseball team.
The jurisprudential reticence can frustrate senators and court-watchers alike. That doesn't mean the hearing is useless.
"It's very hard to get specific information about what a nominee thinks; it's scripted," acknowledged Olatunde Johnson, an associate professor at Columbia Law School, "but even with the hearing's shortcomings, it's still worthwhile to see how a nominee comports herself."
Watching a nominee under the lights, answering hundreds of questions, can help viewers glean an understanding of her mental discipline and physical stamina, Johnson said.
When it comes to detailed how-will-you-vote questions, though, reticence has one proven virtue: It apparently works. Sotomayor is considered a shoo-in for confirmation.
"We'll see what your future holds, but I think it's going to be pretty bright," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Sotomayor.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Sotomayor's nomination by the end of July. A full Senate vote is likely during the week of Aug. 3.
On Friday, Republicans began crossing party lines to announce their support for the 55-year-old Yale Law School graduate, with Sens. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez of Florida, and Olympia Snowe of Maine announcing their intentions to vote for Sotomayor.
Politically, the only question now is how many GOP votes she will gain. Longer term, the political question becomes what lessons will endure from the Sotomayor nomination.
Some elements are unique to her nomination. As the first Latina nominee, she put in a bind those Republicans who want to oppose Obama, but who don't want to alienate Hispanic voters. Part of the message Republicans had to send was respect for the nominee, even as they pressed her hard.
"There are messages being sent," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R., Utah), a senior committee member. "That's part of what these hearings do; they sent messages to the president."
Republican senators say their chief message to Obama was to be careful about sending up nominees who ooze empathy - a quality Obama once said he wanted in judges. The much-mocked word has since seemingly dropped from the president's judicial vocabulary.
Beyond the White House, Republican senators were sending messages to their base supporters. The message: We feel your pain. The GOP senators' insistent focus on three issues - abortion, gun rights, and affirmative action - to the exclusion of almost all others showed their singular priorities.
For future nominees, the hearings that included Sotomayor's 21/2 days on the witness stand offered myriad lessons. These include:
Make personal connections. In the weeks before the hearings, Sotomayor visited 89 senators for private meetings of about half an hour each - yet only 19 senators serve on the judiciary panel. She wowed the Democrats and soothed the Republicans.
Have a compelling life story. Sotomayor's rise from the Bronx, her overcoming obstacles such as juvenile diabetes, and her professional accomplishments led Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse to enthuse that he had "goose bumps" just thinking about her.
No matter how liberal or conservative in general, be able to show you're tough on crime. Sotomayor's five years as a New York prosecutor proved immensely helpful in softening Republican fears. She was able to recount for senators how she prosecuted child-pornography dealers and an infamous killer, thereby undermining a traditional conservative attack line.
Don't predict how you might rule. Republicans tried over and over to pin her down, and she refused to budge. On gun rights, business law, voting rights, and other crucial issues, as well as on lesser issues such as televising court proceedings, Sotomayor avoided making commitments. "I don't like making statements about what I think the court can do until I've experienced the process," Sotomayor said at one point.
The lesson for future nominees is clear, said Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.).
"The message is if you don't say very much, and agree with the questioners, and can wiggle off the main question - and you have the votes," he said, "you'll get confirmed."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hearings minimize "Wise Latina" comment
Diversity a touchy topic at Sotomayor hearings
What Sen. Jeff Sessions calls an 'honest discussion' on race, some observers say is an attack on ethnic pride.
By James Oliphant and David G. Savage, LA Times, July 19, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Two months ago, Sonia Sotomayor's Latino heritage was viewed as an overwhelming asset. And though history will be made if she becomes the Supreme Court's newest justice, there wasn't much talk about that during three days of grueling testimony last week. For some, her confirmation hearings left a bitter taste.
"This is a great first, but we are not being allowed to celebrate it in the way we are allowed to celebrate Thurgood Marshall as the first African American on the court," said Laura Gomez, a University of New Mexico law professor.
That's because Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee attempted to shine a negative light on Sotomayor's earlier statements about what she as a Latina could bring to judging and on her connections with a Latino advocacy group. In wave after wave of questions, they suggested that statements by the New York federal appellate judge indicated an inability to remain impartial on the bench.
Sotomayor had given them ammunition: speeches in which she said she hoped that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male."
By the end of the week, however, she had forcefully rejected that notion -- along with the idea that her diverse background meant she would judge with "empathy," a quality President Obama had said was important for a high court justice.
She also denied being involved in abortion-rights lawsuits filed by the Puerto Rican advocacy group whose board she served on for 12 years.
Even though Sotomayor is almost certain to be confirmed, some Republicans considered their bid to root out what they saw as potential prejudices as a kind of victory.
"We had a more honest discussion of some of the complexities and sensitivities of the race question in this hearing than in the 12 years I have been in the Senate," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee, whose own bid for a federal judgeship was blocked because of racially insensitive remarks he had made in the past.
Sotomayor's supporters, however, viewed the questioning another way.
"It was extremely disappointing and a walk backward from the point of diversity," said Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at the University of Maryland. "This was not a productive conversation. It was unfortunate posturing by the Republicans.
"This was an all-white judiciary committee asking condescending questions. And it was an unequal power situation. She was not in a position to honestly engage with them, because she needed their votes."
What last week's public exercise illustrated was the nature of questions of race and identity in America: Ethnic pride to some is identity politics to others.
At the heart of the Republican questioning was a sense of mistrust that they said was based on a notable difference between the probity of Sotomayor's decisions as a judge and the more liberal tone of her speeches. Some senators were convinced she was masking her true nature -- and that it would be revealed once she was given a lifetime post on the Supreme Court.
To put a human face on their concerns, they invited a white firefighter and a Latino firefighter from Connecticut to testify on Sotomayor's ruling in their discrimination case, Ricci vs. DeStefano.
"I think we all want a justice who is neutral and impartial," said Jenny Rivera, a law professor at the City University of New York, who once clerked for Sotomayor. But Republicans, she said, maintained that "when you put on the robes, you put on the shelf your sense of history and identity and heritage."
Conservatives, however, said that the GOP senators had succeeded in forcing Sotomayor to distance herself from her earlier statements about ethnicity and gender swaying her decisions.
"It seems conservatives are winning the larger war over the judiciary, even if losing the battle over this nomination," Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, wrote in the Washington Post.
Sotomayor "ended up disavowing many of her previous statements or trying to reinterpret them," said Ilya Somin of George Mason University School of Law.
"More significantly, she ended up publicly rejecting the president's view that empathy should often guide judicial decision-making," he said.
Democrats on the judiciary committee seemed to go out of their way to avoid the issue of Sotomayor's heritage, focusing instead on her 17-year judicial record, one that even some Republicans conceded contained little to fight about.
And Sotomayor herself was forced to step lightly around the subject, disavowing her "wise Latina" comment as a "rhetorical riff" that had the opposite meaning than she had intended.
"Her selection by the nation's first black president is a testament to the advances in diversity and tolerance that we have made as a nation," said Rachel Moran, a law professor at UC Irvine.
But, Moran noted, Sotomayor "made no explicit reference to her personal story as the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York. Instead, she described her life as 'uniquely American.' "
Several GOP senators cast their line of questioning in terms of achieving a goal laid out by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who has said: "The best way to stop discriminating based on race is to stop discriminating based on race."
Their actions had an effect.
"I think, before the hearings, we were seeing a discussion that diversity can enrich any institution," said Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political science professor at Northwestern University. But that talk "became too radioactive," she said.
The GOP senators "were playing to the angry white male voter. Some of the remarks were clearly about saying that 'you' can say things that 'we' can't," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.
"These kinds of comments attacking ethnic pride and the benefits of diversity in any institution -- which is really what her remark was about -- combined with the Ricci case looked like backlash politics, pure and simple."
Despite the hearings, Sotomayor's Puerto Rican heritage and Bronx upbringing will have an effect inside the Supreme Court, legal experts said.
"Thurgood Marshall's presence changed the Supreme Court in profound ways, and I do not doubt that Judge Sotomayor will also have a significant impact on the court," said John Payton, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
"She is a powerful personality. She is extremely thoughtful and self-reflective. . . . She will be the second woman, the second nonwhite member and the first Latina. All of these will certainly matter."
joliphant@latimes.com
david.savage@latimes.com
What Sen. Jeff Sessions calls an 'honest discussion' on race, some observers say is an attack on ethnic pride.
By James Oliphant and David G. Savage, LA Times, July 19, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Two months ago, Sonia Sotomayor's Latino heritage was viewed as an overwhelming asset. And though history will be made if she becomes the Supreme Court's newest justice, there wasn't much talk about that during three days of grueling testimony last week. For some, her confirmation hearings left a bitter taste.
"This is a great first, but we are not being allowed to celebrate it in the way we are allowed to celebrate Thurgood Marshall as the first African American on the court," said Laura Gomez, a University of New Mexico law professor.
That's because Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee attempted to shine a negative light on Sotomayor's earlier statements about what she as a Latina could bring to judging and on her connections with a Latino advocacy group. In wave after wave of questions, they suggested that statements by the New York federal appellate judge indicated an inability to remain impartial on the bench.
Sotomayor had given them ammunition: speeches in which she said she hoped that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male."
By the end of the week, however, she had forcefully rejected that notion -- along with the idea that her diverse background meant she would judge with "empathy," a quality President Obama had said was important for a high court justice.
She also denied being involved in abortion-rights lawsuits filed by the Puerto Rican advocacy group whose board she served on for 12 years.
Even though Sotomayor is almost certain to be confirmed, some Republicans considered their bid to root out what they saw as potential prejudices as a kind of victory.
"We had a more honest discussion of some of the complexities and sensitivities of the race question in this hearing than in the 12 years I have been in the Senate," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee, whose own bid for a federal judgeship was blocked because of racially insensitive remarks he had made in the past.
Sotomayor's supporters, however, viewed the questioning another way.
"It was extremely disappointing and a walk backward from the point of diversity," said Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at the University of Maryland. "This was not a productive conversation. It was unfortunate posturing by the Republicans.
"This was an all-white judiciary committee asking condescending questions. And it was an unequal power situation. She was not in a position to honestly engage with them, because she needed their votes."
What last week's public exercise illustrated was the nature of questions of race and identity in America: Ethnic pride to some is identity politics to others.
At the heart of the Republican questioning was a sense of mistrust that they said was based on a notable difference between the probity of Sotomayor's decisions as a judge and the more liberal tone of her speeches. Some senators were convinced she was masking her true nature -- and that it would be revealed once she was given a lifetime post on the Supreme Court.
To put a human face on their concerns, they invited a white firefighter and a Latino firefighter from Connecticut to testify on Sotomayor's ruling in their discrimination case, Ricci vs. DeStefano.
"I think we all want a justice who is neutral and impartial," said Jenny Rivera, a law professor at the City University of New York, who once clerked for Sotomayor. But Republicans, she said, maintained that "when you put on the robes, you put on the shelf your sense of history and identity and heritage."
Conservatives, however, said that the GOP senators had succeeded in forcing Sotomayor to distance herself from her earlier statements about ethnicity and gender swaying her decisions.
"It seems conservatives are winning the larger war over the judiciary, even if losing the battle over this nomination," Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, wrote in the Washington Post.
Sotomayor "ended up disavowing many of her previous statements or trying to reinterpret them," said Ilya Somin of George Mason University School of Law.
"More significantly, she ended up publicly rejecting the president's view that empathy should often guide judicial decision-making," he said.
Democrats on the judiciary committee seemed to go out of their way to avoid the issue of Sotomayor's heritage, focusing instead on her 17-year judicial record, one that even some Republicans conceded contained little to fight about.
And Sotomayor herself was forced to step lightly around the subject, disavowing her "wise Latina" comment as a "rhetorical riff" that had the opposite meaning than she had intended.
"Her selection by the nation's first black president is a testament to the advances in diversity and tolerance that we have made as a nation," said Rachel Moran, a law professor at UC Irvine.
But, Moran noted, Sotomayor "made no explicit reference to her personal story as the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York. Instead, she described her life as 'uniquely American.' "
Several GOP senators cast their line of questioning in terms of achieving a goal laid out by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who has said: "The best way to stop discriminating based on race is to stop discriminating based on race."
Their actions had an effect.
"I think, before the hearings, we were seeing a discussion that diversity can enrich any institution," said Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political science professor at Northwestern University. But that talk "became too radioactive," she said.
The GOP senators "were playing to the angry white male voter. Some of the remarks were clearly about saying that 'you' can say things that 'we' can't," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.
"These kinds of comments attacking ethnic pride and the benefits of diversity in any institution -- which is really what her remark was about -- combined with the Ricci case looked like backlash politics, pure and simple."
Despite the hearings, Sotomayor's Puerto Rican heritage and Bronx upbringing will have an effect inside the Supreme Court, legal experts said.
"Thurgood Marshall's presence changed the Supreme Court in profound ways, and I do not doubt that Judge Sotomayor will also have a significant impact on the court," said John Payton, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
"She is a powerful personality. She is extremely thoughtful and self-reflective. . . . She will be the second woman, the second nonwhite member and the first Latina. All of these will certainly matter."
joliphant@latimes.com
david.savage@latimes.com
Hispanic U.S. Ambassador settles into retired life
Tony Garza plans for future beyond public office
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald, July 18, 2009
Immigration reform. Trade with Mexico. Drug cartels. Bi-national education. Deepening ties with our neighbors. All those issues have guided retired U. S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio O. "Tony" Garza Jr. in his diplomatic service.
And while public service has been a productive career for the 50-year-old Garza, he now is transitioning to find his niche in private enterprise. Inactivity is definitely not an option for the dynamic Brownsville native.
"Unlike elective office, where you won’t see my name on the ballot, on policy issues, I just don’t see myself staying on the sidelines," he said in an interview recently with The Brownsville Herald. "On Jan. 20, at noon, when I walked out of the U.S. embassy for the last time as ambassador, I really felt good about the opportunities I’ve had, but I also felt that there was a nice sense of closure. I want to be in the private sector, but certainly I’ll be involved, I hope, with the shaping of policy."
He is, after all, quite used to making an impact. A prominent member of the country’s Latino elite, Garza stands as a model for civic leadership.
He built his reputation as a levelheaded, single-minded, moderate Republican from an area that has remained staunchly yellow-dog Democrat in the face of a changing economic and political climate. Garza’s cross-over appeal has encouraged the sort of consensus that centrism affords.
Serving as Texas Secretary of State from 1995 to 1997 under Gov. George W. Bush, he in 2002 was appointed ambassador to Mexico by Bush, who by then was president.
"I hope to always be near people that are making decisions," Garza said. "And I hope to have the opportunity to have input and share my experiences with others that will now hold elective positions."
CREDENTIALS TO LEAD
As the influence of the Latino community expands, leaders in the political and cultural arena continue to inspire a new generation of trailblazers, Garza said; such guidance is well distributed and makes for an "interesting phenomenon."
"Unlike other communities, where you can say, ‘these are the leaders,’ the leadership of the Latino community is very diverse," Garza said. "There are a lot of strong regional leaders and they are in academia, and they are in business, and they are in the arts, and they are in politics.
"There is some very talented young leadership across the country, many of whom you will find in state legislatures."
He cites the influence that former Democratic San Antonio mayor and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros had and continues to have, along with the influence of yet another Brownsville native, Democrat Federico F. Peña, who was the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1993-1997) and U.S. Secretary of Energy (1997-1998) under President Bill Clinton. Peña is the former mayor of Denver and most recently the national co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s election campaign.
Garza has an impressive political pedigree of his own. The Mexican government this year awarded him the "Aguila Azteca," in recognition for his efforts to strengthen ties with the country of his ancestors; it is the highest award Mexico bestows on foreigners.
A lawyer by trade, he first served as Cameron County judge in 1988, then as Texas Secretary of State and as Texas Railroad Commissioner before his appointment as ambassador to Mexico.
He recently joined the international law firm White & Case, based in New York, and the management and communications consultancy group called ViaNovo, based in Austin, but he also plans to continue his public service.
Garza points to former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former Kellogg Company CEO Carlos M. Gutierrez, and Henry B. Gonzalez, former San Antonio City Council member, Texas senator and U.S. congressman.
"You also can’t underestimate the importance of Hector Garcia," Garza said, referring to the founder of the American G. I. Forum.
"I also think that, in terms of leadership, you’ve got to include people like Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, chancellor of The University of Texas System; Ricardo Romo, president of the University of Texas at San Antonio; and U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of McAllen.
"These are all people that have led, have inspired, and can help identify and bring along the next generation of Latino leaders," Garza said.
He does not limit his list of Hispanic leaders to the political arena.
"I also think about people like the author Sandra Cisneros, or Robert Rodriguez the filmmaker, each having a significant impact in the cultural area," he said.
TIPPING POINTS OF LIGHT
Garza said demographic changes in the United States cannot be ignored.
"Our (Latino) community is becoming not only more active, but more demanding, in a sense, in terms of holding both parties and officeholders more accountable to issues that are important to us," he said. "I hate to use the expression tipping point, but in terms of the economic presence, certainly we are well beyond the tipping point."
A lot of that clout is rooted in good old-fashioned economics: The Latino consumer is recognized now, and respected by the business community.
Likewise, "the Latino as a presence in the political arena is much more active. We are at those tipping points where the community is going to be critical. It is in the southwest, midwest and southeast, even. The community is growing and has reached a point where it is a very influential one, and I think that is very healthy."
In terms of global issues, immigration reform and trade policy continue to be very important to him.
"I’ve told my successor that I want to be available as a sounding board and offer insight where I can. I am very supportive of those issues, and where there is the possibility to support the new administration as they roll out their reform initiative, you bet I want to be (involved)," Garza said.
LOCAL IMPACT
He remains optimistic about the future of deep South Texas, the border and the Hispanic community under Obama.
"Certainly there are challenges, and I think that there is a tendency to see many of the border issues through the prism of security and violence," he said. "But if you look more closely, you see a very vibrant, developing entrepreneurial class. You see an area that has been always resilient, but more recently somewhat resistant to the economic downturn. That doesn’t suggest that people aren’t hurting, but you’ve seen some resistance to the economic downturn. I am very optimistic."
In a display of the political moderation that has kept him a viable public servant for more than two decades, he talked about Democratic President Barack Obama and their differences on public policy.
"Democrat or Republican, I want our president to succeed," Garza said. "Honest disagreement should never be stifled. That’s what makes us unique as a country.
"I’m very supportive of President Obama’s desire to reform our laws and hope that he remains committed to global trade. I am, however, increasingly wary of his economic plan. The fact that our federal government is taking over large sectors of the U.S. economy and running massive deficits should give rise to honest debate, something that has always served our country well," he said.
‘THE RIGHT THING TO DO’
Garza, too, by all accounts has served his country well. He recalls his years in the spotlight with satisfaction and a degree of tempered pride.
"How blessed I’ve been to have the opportunity to serve in positions that I felt challenged by and were very satisfying," he said. "I always felt as though I was involved in things that were relevant and that were urgent."
When he was first elected county judge in 1988, he never imagined that decades later, he would be concluding a major chapter of his life, "the public one, the officeholder."
"It’s been extraordinary," he said. "I have met so many wonderful people along the way and have truly enjoyed it."
In 2008, speaking before the San Antonio-Mexico Friendship Council, he closed his speech with this pledge:
"Sometime around noon, on Jan. 20, I will no longer be the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. But on Jan. 21, I will wake up with the same passion for the issues I’ve spoken about, and the same commitment to making this relationship better.
"Every bone in my body knows that’s the right thing to do."
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald, July 18, 2009
Immigration reform. Trade with Mexico. Drug cartels. Bi-national education. Deepening ties with our neighbors. All those issues have guided retired U. S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio O. "Tony" Garza Jr. in his diplomatic service.
And while public service has been a productive career for the 50-year-old Garza, he now is transitioning to find his niche in private enterprise. Inactivity is definitely not an option for the dynamic Brownsville native.
"Unlike elective office, where you won’t see my name on the ballot, on policy issues, I just don’t see myself staying on the sidelines," he said in an interview recently with The Brownsville Herald. "On Jan. 20, at noon, when I walked out of the U.S. embassy for the last time as ambassador, I really felt good about the opportunities I’ve had, but I also felt that there was a nice sense of closure. I want to be in the private sector, but certainly I’ll be involved, I hope, with the shaping of policy."
He is, after all, quite used to making an impact. A prominent member of the country’s Latino elite, Garza stands as a model for civic leadership.
He built his reputation as a levelheaded, single-minded, moderate Republican from an area that has remained staunchly yellow-dog Democrat in the face of a changing economic and political climate. Garza’s cross-over appeal has encouraged the sort of consensus that centrism affords.
Serving as Texas Secretary of State from 1995 to 1997 under Gov. George W. Bush, he in 2002 was appointed ambassador to Mexico by Bush, who by then was president.
"I hope to always be near people that are making decisions," Garza said. "And I hope to have the opportunity to have input and share my experiences with others that will now hold elective positions."
CREDENTIALS TO LEAD
As the influence of the Latino community expands, leaders in the political and cultural arena continue to inspire a new generation of trailblazers, Garza said; such guidance is well distributed and makes for an "interesting phenomenon."
"Unlike other communities, where you can say, ‘these are the leaders,’ the leadership of the Latino community is very diverse," Garza said. "There are a lot of strong regional leaders and they are in academia, and they are in business, and they are in the arts, and they are in politics.
"There is some very talented young leadership across the country, many of whom you will find in state legislatures."
He cites the influence that former Democratic San Antonio mayor and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros had and continues to have, along with the influence of yet another Brownsville native, Democrat Federico F. Peña, who was the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1993-1997) and U.S. Secretary of Energy (1997-1998) under President Bill Clinton. Peña is the former mayor of Denver and most recently the national co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s election campaign.
Garza has an impressive political pedigree of his own. The Mexican government this year awarded him the "Aguila Azteca," in recognition for his efforts to strengthen ties with the country of his ancestors; it is the highest award Mexico bestows on foreigners.
A lawyer by trade, he first served as Cameron County judge in 1988, then as Texas Secretary of State and as Texas Railroad Commissioner before his appointment as ambassador to Mexico.
He recently joined the international law firm White & Case, based in New York, and the management and communications consultancy group called ViaNovo, based in Austin, but he also plans to continue his public service.
Garza points to former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former Kellogg Company CEO Carlos M. Gutierrez, and Henry B. Gonzalez, former San Antonio City Council member, Texas senator and U.S. congressman.
"You also can’t underestimate the importance of Hector Garcia," Garza said, referring to the founder of the American G. I. Forum.
"I also think that, in terms of leadership, you’ve got to include people like Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, chancellor of The University of Texas System; Ricardo Romo, president of the University of Texas at San Antonio; and U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of McAllen.
"These are all people that have led, have inspired, and can help identify and bring along the next generation of Latino leaders," Garza said.
He does not limit his list of Hispanic leaders to the political arena.
"I also think about people like the author Sandra Cisneros, or Robert Rodriguez the filmmaker, each having a significant impact in the cultural area," he said.
TIPPING POINTS OF LIGHT
Garza said demographic changes in the United States cannot be ignored.
"Our (Latino) community is becoming not only more active, but more demanding, in a sense, in terms of holding both parties and officeholders more accountable to issues that are important to us," he said. "I hate to use the expression tipping point, but in terms of the economic presence, certainly we are well beyond the tipping point."
A lot of that clout is rooted in good old-fashioned economics: The Latino consumer is recognized now, and respected by the business community.
Likewise, "the Latino as a presence in the political arena is much more active. We are at those tipping points where the community is going to be critical. It is in the southwest, midwest and southeast, even. The community is growing and has reached a point where it is a very influential one, and I think that is very healthy."
In terms of global issues, immigration reform and trade policy continue to be very important to him.
"I’ve told my successor that I want to be available as a sounding board and offer insight where I can. I am very supportive of those issues, and where there is the possibility to support the new administration as they roll out their reform initiative, you bet I want to be (involved)," Garza said.
LOCAL IMPACT
He remains optimistic about the future of deep South Texas, the border and the Hispanic community under Obama.
"Certainly there are challenges, and I think that there is a tendency to see many of the border issues through the prism of security and violence," he said. "But if you look more closely, you see a very vibrant, developing entrepreneurial class. You see an area that has been always resilient, but more recently somewhat resistant to the economic downturn. That doesn’t suggest that people aren’t hurting, but you’ve seen some resistance to the economic downturn. I am very optimistic."
In a display of the political moderation that has kept him a viable public servant for more than two decades, he talked about Democratic President Barack Obama and their differences on public policy.
"Democrat or Republican, I want our president to succeed," Garza said. "Honest disagreement should never be stifled. That’s what makes us unique as a country.
"I’m very supportive of President Obama’s desire to reform our laws and hope that he remains committed to global trade. I am, however, increasingly wary of his economic plan. The fact that our federal government is taking over large sectors of the U.S. economy and running massive deficits should give rise to honest debate, something that has always served our country well," he said.
‘THE RIGHT THING TO DO’
Garza, too, by all accounts has served his country well. He recalls his years in the spotlight with satisfaction and a degree of tempered pride.
"How blessed I’ve been to have the opportunity to serve in positions that I felt challenged by and were very satisfying," he said. "I always felt as though I was involved in things that were relevant and that were urgent."
When he was first elected county judge in 1988, he never imagined that decades later, he would be concluding a major chapter of his life, "the public one, the officeholder."
"It’s been extraordinary," he said. "I have met so many wonderful people along the way and have truly enjoyed it."
In 2008, speaking before the San Antonio-Mexico Friendship Council, he closed his speech with this pledge:
"Sometime around noon, on Jan. 20, I will no longer be the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. But on Jan. 21, I will wake up with the same passion for the issues I’ve spoken about, and the same commitment to making this relationship better.
"Every bone in my body knows that’s the right thing to do."
Latina law students feel lift after Sotomayor
Latina law students get a lift
Sotomayor's tough climb and her bid for Supreme Court justice awe and inspire DePaul women
By Oscar Avila | Chicago Tribune, July 19, 2009
Perhaps the hardest thing for Sonia Sotomayor in law school was that there were no Sonia Sotomayors. That's where the daughter of poor Puerto Rican parents from the Bronx said she started "not feeling completely a part of any of the worlds I inhabit."
So, Sotomayor's confirmation hearings have been especially poignant for Latina law students who share not only a common ethnic heritage but, in many cases, similar tough climbs to success. The incoming president of DePaul University's Latino Law Student Association, for example, is the daughter of two formerly undocumented immigrants.
While much has changed from Sotomayor's days at Yale Law School, the DePaul students say the hearings show that Latinas in the law still have to face questions about whether they will be slaves to ethnic loyalties and whether affirmative action is discriminatory. Even at DePaul -- where minorities made up 23 percent of last year's students -- Latina students report that daily life can be filled with loneliness and tests to their self-confidence.
Nationwide, nearly 90 percent of lawyers are white. Race-based admission policies have been challenged for decades, with a prominent UCLA professor asserting recently that they actually harm black students. In 2003, the Supreme Court narrowly ruled that the University of Michigan could use race as a factor in law-school admissions.
Still, for minority law students, these have been inspiring days, what with the president, first lady and most recent Supreme Court nominee being minority lawyers. DePaul had hoped to invite Sotomayor to speak when it hosts a national conference for Latino law students in late September. Now it appears likely that she will have more pressing obligations.
Rocio Alcantar, 23, Third-year law student, Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Mexican descent
"Law school has been one of the hardest stages in my life, you could say. I went to a very good college, undergraduate, and I thought I was prepared to deal with being a minority. I feel more odd than I did in undergrad, maybe because it really sticks in my mind that a lot of people have experiences within the law system that I just never had. A lot of them have parents who are lawyers; they know the process. The first couple of days, I realized, 'I have no idea what these people are talking about.'
"This goes to the debate over affirmative action, that we got here because we are Latinos. Just like Sotomayor said, 'Latinas are products of affirmative action.' That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. It just means you had a lot more disadvantages. To balance the ground, you might need a little more assistance, if you want to call it that.
"You have all these challenges, so it was so exciting to hear that [Sotomayor] was going to be the one. This country was founded on equality for all. For a long time, those words were vague and didn't mean much, the reality of who the country was. Now, seeing that those words have more truth to them, it's really inspiring. It's inspiring not only for the fact that she is a Latina, but you realize her family struggled through a lot for her to get there. That's what I value the most."
Lilian Jimenez, 30, Second-year law student, South Chicago neighborhood of Chicago, Mexican-Puerto Rican descent
"It's an insult that they have spent so much time on her ethnicity, that she's going to be -- What are they saying? -- too empathetic. The white males are so on the defensive. You get the tiniest bit of progress and all of a sudden you're accused of being a racist? It doesn't make any sense.
"The way that the senators are questioning Sotomayor is similar to the way that a lot of students see us as Latinos. They see that we have an organization and they automatically think we are excluding them and they get offended. There are so few of us. How are we a threat? You can't say anything because you don't know how it's going to be taken. They would be like, 'This person is just another radical Latina.'
"When I was in high school, I didn't walk around saying, 'I'm Puerto Rican; I'm Mexican.' When you get to college and you're confronted with negative stereotypes, you're forced to either assimilate and forget who you are and try to deny it or take the other road and try to learn more about where you came from. That's what I did.
"You keep going forward, and to see [the confirmation hearings for Sotomayor], it's almost unbelievable. I'm sure some people think the same way about the president being African-American. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, similar to where she grew up. I know how hard it is. I can't imagine how she did it, just knowing all the barriers that are in your way."
Vanessa Pineda, 23, Second-year law student, President of Latino Law Student Association, Phoenix, Mexican-Salvadoran descent
"I guess the 'wise Latina' comment is tough to defend, but I see where she's coming from. You're going to look at things differently than a white male. Some people say it should all be black and white. I don't think it can be. There has to be something that says, 'I know what this is like and that's how I interpret it.' Obviously, you look at the law, but there's no way to take out that bias. Everyone has it, even the white male who has had his own experiences. Even people who say they don't do that do that.
"I can't deny that race helped me. I just think it's bad that other people get the perception that you don't do anything at all. Even though race helps, there's still a certain amount of work I had to do just to get considered. I don't think the push is bad because we need diversity to have different ideas. I just wish other people would recognize that there's more work to it than just signing up, filling out an application, marking a certain box and getting in. I had to get good grades and do all the other things they did, too.
"She had it a lot harder than anyone has it in law school now. She fought a different battle. Back in her time, it was a fight just to be a judge. Even as she is having her hearings, I still feel like maybe another Latina that is my age could get up there just as easily. She has opened the door. We have a black president. The possibilities are endless."
Sotomayor's tough climb and her bid for Supreme Court justice awe and inspire DePaul women
By Oscar Avila | Chicago Tribune, July 19, 2009
Perhaps the hardest thing for Sonia Sotomayor in law school was that there were no Sonia Sotomayors. That's where the daughter of poor Puerto Rican parents from the Bronx said she started "not feeling completely a part of any of the worlds I inhabit."
So, Sotomayor's confirmation hearings have been especially poignant for Latina law students who share not only a common ethnic heritage but, in many cases, similar tough climbs to success. The incoming president of DePaul University's Latino Law Student Association, for example, is the daughter of two formerly undocumented immigrants.
While much has changed from Sotomayor's days at Yale Law School, the DePaul students say the hearings show that Latinas in the law still have to face questions about whether they will be slaves to ethnic loyalties and whether affirmative action is discriminatory. Even at DePaul -- where minorities made up 23 percent of last year's students -- Latina students report that daily life can be filled with loneliness and tests to their self-confidence.
Nationwide, nearly 90 percent of lawyers are white. Race-based admission policies have been challenged for decades, with a prominent UCLA professor asserting recently that they actually harm black students. In 2003, the Supreme Court narrowly ruled that the University of Michigan could use race as a factor in law-school admissions.
Still, for minority law students, these have been inspiring days, what with the president, first lady and most recent Supreme Court nominee being minority lawyers. DePaul had hoped to invite Sotomayor to speak when it hosts a national conference for Latino law students in late September. Now it appears likely that she will have more pressing obligations.
Rocio Alcantar, 23, Third-year law student, Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Mexican descent
"Law school has been one of the hardest stages in my life, you could say. I went to a very good college, undergraduate, and I thought I was prepared to deal with being a minority. I feel more odd than I did in undergrad, maybe because it really sticks in my mind that a lot of people have experiences within the law system that I just never had. A lot of them have parents who are lawyers; they know the process. The first couple of days, I realized, 'I have no idea what these people are talking about.'
"This goes to the debate over affirmative action, that we got here because we are Latinos. Just like Sotomayor said, 'Latinas are products of affirmative action.' That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. It just means you had a lot more disadvantages. To balance the ground, you might need a little more assistance, if you want to call it that.
"You have all these challenges, so it was so exciting to hear that [Sotomayor] was going to be the one. This country was founded on equality for all. For a long time, those words were vague and didn't mean much, the reality of who the country was. Now, seeing that those words have more truth to them, it's really inspiring. It's inspiring not only for the fact that she is a Latina, but you realize her family struggled through a lot for her to get there. That's what I value the most."
Lilian Jimenez, 30, Second-year law student, South Chicago neighborhood of Chicago, Mexican-Puerto Rican descent
"It's an insult that they have spent so much time on her ethnicity, that she's going to be -- What are they saying? -- too empathetic. The white males are so on the defensive. You get the tiniest bit of progress and all of a sudden you're accused of being a racist? It doesn't make any sense.
"The way that the senators are questioning Sotomayor is similar to the way that a lot of students see us as Latinos. They see that we have an organization and they automatically think we are excluding them and they get offended. There are so few of us. How are we a threat? You can't say anything because you don't know how it's going to be taken. They would be like, 'This person is just another radical Latina.'
"When I was in high school, I didn't walk around saying, 'I'm Puerto Rican; I'm Mexican.' When you get to college and you're confronted with negative stereotypes, you're forced to either assimilate and forget who you are and try to deny it or take the other road and try to learn more about where you came from. That's what I did.
"You keep going forward, and to see [the confirmation hearings for Sotomayor], it's almost unbelievable. I'm sure some people think the same way about the president being African-American. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, similar to where she grew up. I know how hard it is. I can't imagine how she did it, just knowing all the barriers that are in your way."
Vanessa Pineda, 23, Second-year law student, President of Latino Law Student Association, Phoenix, Mexican-Salvadoran descent
"I guess the 'wise Latina' comment is tough to defend, but I see where she's coming from. You're going to look at things differently than a white male. Some people say it should all be black and white. I don't think it can be. There has to be something that says, 'I know what this is like and that's how I interpret it.' Obviously, you look at the law, but there's no way to take out that bias. Everyone has it, even the white male who has had his own experiences. Even people who say they don't do that do that.
"I can't deny that race helped me. I just think it's bad that other people get the perception that you don't do anything at all. Even though race helps, there's still a certain amount of work I had to do just to get considered. I don't think the push is bad because we need diversity to have different ideas. I just wish other people would recognize that there's more work to it than just signing up, filling out an application, marking a certain box and getting in. I had to get good grades and do all the other things they did, too.
"She had it a lot harder than anyone has it in law school now. She fought a different battle. Back in her time, it was a fight just to be a judge. Even as she is having her hearings, I still feel like maybe another Latina that is my age could get up there just as easily. She has opened the door. We have a black president. The possibilities are endless."
Friday, July 17, 2009
Latina nominee to be confirmed
Senate Republicans Won't Block Vote on Sotomayor
Decision All but Ensures Confirmation to Supreme Court
By Paul Kane, Robert Barnes and Amy Goldstein, Washington Post, July 17, 2009
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor won virtual assurance of rapid confirmation yesterday when Senate Republicans announced that they do not intend to block a vote that would make her the first Hispanic on the nation's highest court, concluding three days of intense questioning.
Sotomayor's path to becoming President Obama's first Supreme Court appointment was enhanced by a two-pronged strategy: During more than 15 hours of questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she revealed little about the type of justice she would be, declining to disclose her views on the most significant and polarizing legal matters working their way through the courts. In addition, she deflected critics' allegations that her public speeches showed a bias based on her sex and ethnicity, assuring the committee she is a moderate jurist and not a liberal judicial activist.
By the time she stepped out of the witness chair, Sotomayor had earned the grudging respect of even conservatives on the committee who are not likely to support her. "Thank you for giving us such a cordial response, and I am mightily impressed," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
For a nomination that began with conservative commentators charging that the judge had made "racist" comments, Sotomayor wrapped up her appearance with a confident smile and thanked the senators for their courtesy.
"I have received all the graciousness and fair hearing that I could have asked for," she said.
The committee has scheduled a Tuesday meeting to begin considering the nomination, with a formal vote likely the following week because Republicans expect to ask for extra time to review answers to written follow-up questions they will submit to her today. The committee's vote serves as a recommendation for the rest of the Senate, which is likely to hold its final roll call on Sotomayor by Aug. 7.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the panel's ranking GOP member, told the judge that he would not support any effort to filibuster her nomination, ending any possible suspense over her fate, given the 60 to 40 split in the Senate in favor of Democrats.
With the threat of a filibuster removed, Sotomayor will need just a simple majority -- 50 votes -- to win confirmation. And yesterday she edged closer to gaining Republican support after she continued to reassure members that her history as a judge is a fair barometer of her future rulings.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has discussed supporting her, told Sotomayor that her "record as a judge has not been radical by any means."
"You have been very reassuring here today and throughout this hearing that you're going to try to understand the difference between judging and whatever political feelings you have about groups or gender," he said.
Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who has voted in favor of every Supreme Court nominee in his 29 years in the Senate, said that Sotomayor's answers were effective but that he is trying to decide whether she was "pandering" to the committee's conservatives.
"I still got a big question mark about whether or not I really know her," Grassley said in an interview after the hearings.
Conservative activists were continuing to try to gin up opposition. Moments after Sotomayor concluded her testimony, the National Rifle Association said it was dissatisfied with her responses about the Second Amendment and said it would oppose her confirmation. Ralph Reed, a GOP strategist, issued a memo advising Republicans to vote against Sotomayor and make "her an issue in key races next year," focusing on her rulings on gun rights.
Other Republican strategists have questioned the wisdom of such a strategy, saying it could alienate Hispanic voters, an emerging bloc that tilted heavily toward Obama and Democrats last fall.
Once the outcome of the committee's pending deliberations and vote were no longer in doubt, Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) allowed Republican members three rounds of questioning. The last round was more about lobbying for specific pet issues than trying to elicit new information.
Throughout the questioning, Sotomayor, like previous nominees, deflected any questions that might give clues to future rulings.
Committee members found that frustrating at times. "You know, the test is not whether Judge Sonia Sotomayor is intelligent. You are," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). "The test is not whether we like you. I think, speaking personally, I think we all do. The test is not even whether we admire you or we respect you, although we do admire you and respect what you've accomplished.
"The test is really: What kind of justice will you be if confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States?"
Sotomayor replied: "Look at my decisions for 17 years and note that, in every one of them, I have done what I say that I so firmly believe in. I prove my fidelity to the law, the fact that I do not permit personal views, sympathies or prejudices to influence the outcome."
In their final questioning, Republicans focused on issues important to their conservative base: same-sex marriage, gun control, campaign finance reform, abortion.
Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz), the first Republican to question Sotomayor yesterday, renewed the GOP's criticism of her role in a discrimination case involving Connecticut firefighters. He challenged her assertion that she and two other judges on an appeals court panel had been bound by legal precedent in their ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano.
The ruling, which the Supreme Court recently reversed, has been one of the GOP's central lines of attack on the nominee all week. Sotomayor and two colleagues on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held that the city of New Haven was justified when it dropped a promotions test for firefighters after only white candidates and a small number of Hispanics -- but no African Americans -- would be eligible for advancement.
The lower courts held that the city was justified in scuttling the test results because of past rulings that tests with disparate outcomes for minorities could be a form of unintended discrimination, and would open the city to lawsuits from minorities.
But the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the city's actions violated the portion of the same civil rights act that outlaws discrimination on the basis of race.
Kyl's quick return to the case yesterday morning also served as a prelude to a moment of drama in the afternoon, when Frank Ricci appeared before the committee as one of the public witnesses invited by the GOP.
Ricci was one of more than 30 witnesses, supporting the judge and opposing her, who testified after Sotomayor left the room. They included David Cone, a former major league baseball player who praised her role in ending a 1990s baseball strike; a leader of the antiabortion movement; and former FBI director Louis J. Freeh, who recalled helping her as a federal district judge in New York when she first joined the bench.
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) told the panel that he first recommended her nomination several months ago, before Justice David H. Souter announced his retirement, after a White House meeting with Obama on an unrelated subject.
"She is an independent jurist who does not fit squarely into an ideological box," Bloomberg said, echoing a refrain the nominee trumpeted all week.
Decision All but Ensures Confirmation to Supreme Court
By Paul Kane, Robert Barnes and Amy Goldstein, Washington Post, July 17, 2009
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor won virtual assurance of rapid confirmation yesterday when Senate Republicans announced that they do not intend to block a vote that would make her the first Hispanic on the nation's highest court, concluding three days of intense questioning.
Sotomayor's path to becoming President Obama's first Supreme Court appointment was enhanced by a two-pronged strategy: During more than 15 hours of questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she revealed little about the type of justice she would be, declining to disclose her views on the most significant and polarizing legal matters working their way through the courts. In addition, she deflected critics' allegations that her public speeches showed a bias based on her sex and ethnicity, assuring the committee she is a moderate jurist and not a liberal judicial activist.
By the time she stepped out of the witness chair, Sotomayor had earned the grudging respect of even conservatives on the committee who are not likely to support her. "Thank you for giving us such a cordial response, and I am mightily impressed," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
For a nomination that began with conservative commentators charging that the judge had made "racist" comments, Sotomayor wrapped up her appearance with a confident smile and thanked the senators for their courtesy.
"I have received all the graciousness and fair hearing that I could have asked for," she said.
The committee has scheduled a Tuesday meeting to begin considering the nomination, with a formal vote likely the following week because Republicans expect to ask for extra time to review answers to written follow-up questions they will submit to her today. The committee's vote serves as a recommendation for the rest of the Senate, which is likely to hold its final roll call on Sotomayor by Aug. 7.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the panel's ranking GOP member, told the judge that he would not support any effort to filibuster her nomination, ending any possible suspense over her fate, given the 60 to 40 split in the Senate in favor of Democrats.
With the threat of a filibuster removed, Sotomayor will need just a simple majority -- 50 votes -- to win confirmation. And yesterday she edged closer to gaining Republican support after she continued to reassure members that her history as a judge is a fair barometer of her future rulings.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has discussed supporting her, told Sotomayor that her "record as a judge has not been radical by any means."
"You have been very reassuring here today and throughout this hearing that you're going to try to understand the difference between judging and whatever political feelings you have about groups or gender," he said.
Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who has voted in favor of every Supreme Court nominee in his 29 years in the Senate, said that Sotomayor's answers were effective but that he is trying to decide whether she was "pandering" to the committee's conservatives.
"I still got a big question mark about whether or not I really know her," Grassley said in an interview after the hearings.
Conservative activists were continuing to try to gin up opposition. Moments after Sotomayor concluded her testimony, the National Rifle Association said it was dissatisfied with her responses about the Second Amendment and said it would oppose her confirmation. Ralph Reed, a GOP strategist, issued a memo advising Republicans to vote against Sotomayor and make "her an issue in key races next year," focusing on her rulings on gun rights.
Other Republican strategists have questioned the wisdom of such a strategy, saying it could alienate Hispanic voters, an emerging bloc that tilted heavily toward Obama and Democrats last fall.
Once the outcome of the committee's pending deliberations and vote were no longer in doubt, Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) allowed Republican members three rounds of questioning. The last round was more about lobbying for specific pet issues than trying to elicit new information.
Throughout the questioning, Sotomayor, like previous nominees, deflected any questions that might give clues to future rulings.
Committee members found that frustrating at times. "You know, the test is not whether Judge Sonia Sotomayor is intelligent. You are," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). "The test is not whether we like you. I think, speaking personally, I think we all do. The test is not even whether we admire you or we respect you, although we do admire you and respect what you've accomplished.
"The test is really: What kind of justice will you be if confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States?"
Sotomayor replied: "Look at my decisions for 17 years and note that, in every one of them, I have done what I say that I so firmly believe in. I prove my fidelity to the law, the fact that I do not permit personal views, sympathies or prejudices to influence the outcome."
In their final questioning, Republicans focused on issues important to their conservative base: same-sex marriage, gun control, campaign finance reform, abortion.
Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz), the first Republican to question Sotomayor yesterday, renewed the GOP's criticism of her role in a discrimination case involving Connecticut firefighters. He challenged her assertion that she and two other judges on an appeals court panel had been bound by legal precedent in their ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano.
The ruling, which the Supreme Court recently reversed, has been one of the GOP's central lines of attack on the nominee all week. Sotomayor and two colleagues on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held that the city of New Haven was justified when it dropped a promotions test for firefighters after only white candidates and a small number of Hispanics -- but no African Americans -- would be eligible for advancement.
The lower courts held that the city was justified in scuttling the test results because of past rulings that tests with disparate outcomes for minorities could be a form of unintended discrimination, and would open the city to lawsuits from minorities.
But the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the city's actions violated the portion of the same civil rights act that outlaws discrimination on the basis of race.
Kyl's quick return to the case yesterday morning also served as a prelude to a moment of drama in the afternoon, when Frank Ricci appeared before the committee as one of the public witnesses invited by the GOP.
Ricci was one of more than 30 witnesses, supporting the judge and opposing her, who testified after Sotomayor left the room. They included David Cone, a former major league baseball player who praised her role in ending a 1990s baseball strike; a leader of the antiabortion movement; and former FBI director Louis J. Freeh, who recalled helping her as a federal district judge in New York when she first joined the bench.
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) told the panel that he first recommended her nomination several months ago, before Justice David H. Souter announced his retirement, after a White House meeting with Obama on an unrelated subject.
"She is an independent jurist who does not fit squarely into an ideological box," Bloomberg said, echoing a refrain the nominee trumpeted all week.
Hispanic youth helped through mentors
Mentors show Hispanic youths college possible
By HEATHER CLARK Associated Press, 07/16/2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Ashley Vegara, a 16-year-old who says her older sister dropped out of college after getting pregnant, vows she will become the first in her family to get a bachelor's degree.
To achieve her goal, Vegara of Roswell, attended a four-day Hispanic Youth Symposium this week designed to boost dismal nationwide statistics on how many Hispanic students graduate from college.
The Hispanic College Fund is organizing six symposiums this summer on college campuses in Albuquerque, Baltimore, Dallas, Fairfax, Vir., Los Angeles and Fresno, Calif., and plans to expand the program next summer.
Only 7.2 percent of Hispanics received bachelor's degrees compared with 72 percent of white students in 2005-2006, according to the U.S. Department of Education's most recent statistics on college graduation rates.
Because Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic population in America's schools, the low college graduation rates should concern all communities, said George Cushman, one of the founders of the symposiums and a vice president of programs for the Hispanic College Fund.
"If we don't have them really contributing to our economy in the high need areas, like health care and science, we're in a world of trouble," he said. "Ultimately what we're trying to do here is to change the culture about going to college."
Cushman said Hispanic students are often given subtle messages that they are not college material from teachers, counselors, peers and even parents. The students are often told they don't need to take advanced placement classes, Cushman said.
And poverty in some Hispanic communities makes youths feel marginalized and disassociated with the professional world.
"They don't believe they can afford it. They don't believe they can belong there. They wind up saying it's because we're Hispanic," Cushman said. "But they have not only so much of a right, they have the same potential as any other kid."
Some parents encourage their daughters to stay close to home and raise families, while the sons of some recent immigrants are encouraged to work manual jobs, said Andrew Gonzalez, director of the symposiums in the Western states.
But if the teens attending Albuquerque's symposium are any indication, those attitudes may be shifting.
Lucero Hernandez, 16, of Roswell said her parents, who came to the United States from Mexico, support her desire to attend college.
Hernandez says she wants to show her parents she appreciates all that they have done for her.
"I really want to go to make my mom proud," she said. "I want to make her happy."
Hernandez would be the first member of her family to attend college. She hopes to major in civil or chemical engineering.
Devon Castro, 15, of Albuquerque, says he wants to be an electronic engineer who makes better solar panels.
"I'm not a manual labor kind of guy. I like to build stuff, but I don't want to be working on a construction site in the hot sun every day and getting minimum wage," he said. "I want to use my brain power."
During the symposium, co-sponsored by New Mexico Math, Engineering Science Achievement, or MESA, Hispanic role models show students they can overcome obstacles to success. Organizers lead sessions on how to apply to colleges and obtain financial aid.
In one session called Hispanic Heroes, students network with Hispanic business leaders and public figures.
State Auditor Hector Balderas gave high school students he met his contact information and talked about obstacles he faced.
Balderas grew up in Wagon Mound and at age 33 became the youngest elected statewide Hispanic official in the nation. He told high school students he didn't realize early enough that relationships with adults could help him reach his goals.
"If you can really not be as shy as I was, really speak out and set goals, you can really do anything you want," he told participants.
Organizers say students often see peers fall short of graduating from high school and that makes it harder for them to imagine becoming college students. But if promising students can help their peers, their chances of going to college are better.
So students chose several issues—teen pregnancy, alcohol and drugs, dropouts, violence, education and peer pressure—that they could work on in their communities.
One group said they wanted to form a club—called Optimist Prime after a Transformers character—to help kids avoid becoming dropouts by offering them mentors and boosting their self-esteem.
Following the summer program, students will be enrolled in the Hispanic Youth Institute, which is designed to help students remain on-track to attend college.
New Mexico's symposium has doubled in size since last year and organizers have plans to bring the program to Phoenix and San Jose, Calif., next summer.
The symposiums have been attended by 2,500 students since 2004. Of those, 90 percent enroll in higher educational institutions and 75 percent have pursued business, science, technology, engineering or math majors.
Organizers say they have no reliable statistics yet on the college graduation rates of participants.
For a student like Vegara, getting financing and overcoming trepidation about leaving her family are the last things she needs to overcome before she starts to work toward becoming a veterinarian.
"I don't want any distractions," she said. "That way I can get college done for me, so I'll be happy with myself."
By HEATHER CLARK Associated Press, 07/16/2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Ashley Vegara, a 16-year-old who says her older sister dropped out of college after getting pregnant, vows she will become the first in her family to get a bachelor's degree.
To achieve her goal, Vegara of Roswell, attended a four-day Hispanic Youth Symposium this week designed to boost dismal nationwide statistics on how many Hispanic students graduate from college.
The Hispanic College Fund is organizing six symposiums this summer on college campuses in Albuquerque, Baltimore, Dallas, Fairfax, Vir., Los Angeles and Fresno, Calif., and plans to expand the program next summer.
Only 7.2 percent of Hispanics received bachelor's degrees compared with 72 percent of white students in 2005-2006, according to the U.S. Department of Education's most recent statistics on college graduation rates.
Because Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic population in America's schools, the low college graduation rates should concern all communities, said George Cushman, one of the founders of the symposiums and a vice president of programs for the Hispanic College Fund.
"If we don't have them really contributing to our economy in the high need areas, like health care and science, we're in a world of trouble," he said. "Ultimately what we're trying to do here is to change the culture about going to college."
Cushman said Hispanic students are often given subtle messages that they are not college material from teachers, counselors, peers and even parents. The students are often told they don't need to take advanced placement classes, Cushman said.
And poverty in some Hispanic communities makes youths feel marginalized and disassociated with the professional world.
"They don't believe they can afford it. They don't believe they can belong there. They wind up saying it's because we're Hispanic," Cushman said. "But they have not only so much of a right, they have the same potential as any other kid."
Some parents encourage their daughters to stay close to home and raise families, while the sons of some recent immigrants are encouraged to work manual jobs, said Andrew Gonzalez, director of the symposiums in the Western states.
But if the teens attending Albuquerque's symposium are any indication, those attitudes may be shifting.
Lucero Hernandez, 16, of Roswell said her parents, who came to the United States from Mexico, support her desire to attend college.
Hernandez says she wants to show her parents she appreciates all that they have done for her.
"I really want to go to make my mom proud," she said. "I want to make her happy."
Hernandez would be the first member of her family to attend college. She hopes to major in civil or chemical engineering.
Devon Castro, 15, of Albuquerque, says he wants to be an electronic engineer who makes better solar panels.
"I'm not a manual labor kind of guy. I like to build stuff, but I don't want to be working on a construction site in the hot sun every day and getting minimum wage," he said. "I want to use my brain power."
During the symposium, co-sponsored by New Mexico Math, Engineering Science Achievement, or MESA, Hispanic role models show students they can overcome obstacles to success. Organizers lead sessions on how to apply to colleges and obtain financial aid.
In one session called Hispanic Heroes, students network with Hispanic business leaders and public figures.
State Auditor Hector Balderas gave high school students he met his contact information and talked about obstacles he faced.
Balderas grew up in Wagon Mound and at age 33 became the youngest elected statewide Hispanic official in the nation. He told high school students he didn't realize early enough that relationships with adults could help him reach his goals.
"If you can really not be as shy as I was, really speak out and set goals, you can really do anything you want," he told participants.
Organizers say students often see peers fall short of graduating from high school and that makes it harder for them to imagine becoming college students. But if promising students can help their peers, their chances of going to college are better.
So students chose several issues—teen pregnancy, alcohol and drugs, dropouts, violence, education and peer pressure—that they could work on in their communities.
One group said they wanted to form a club—called Optimist Prime after a Transformers character—to help kids avoid becoming dropouts by offering them mentors and boosting their self-esteem.
Following the summer program, students will be enrolled in the Hispanic Youth Institute, which is designed to help students remain on-track to attend college.
New Mexico's symposium has doubled in size since last year and organizers have plans to bring the program to Phoenix and San Jose, Calif., next summer.
The symposiums have been attended by 2,500 students since 2004. Of those, 90 percent enroll in higher educational institutions and 75 percent have pursued business, science, technology, engineering or math majors.
Organizers say they have no reliable statistics yet on the college graduation rates of participants.
For a student like Vegara, getting financing and overcoming trepidation about leaving her family are the last things she needs to overcome before she starts to work toward becoming a veterinarian.
"I don't want any distractions," she said. "That way I can get college done for me, so I'll be happy with myself."
Latino leaders miffed with Senator's racial comment
Senator's comment draws criticism from Latino leaders
BY SUMATHI REDDY | Newsday.com, July 15, 2009
It may have elicited laughter during Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing Wednesday, but Sen. Tom Coburn's reference to television character Ricky Ricardo also sparked criticism from Latino leaders and advocates.
In fact, it was the second comment in as many days that left Latinos perplexed at the line of questioning of some senators.
"This seems to be another instance of the growing pains we must deal with while our country is trying to move away from old stereotypes," said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D- Central Islip).
The joking comment in question - that Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent, would have a lot of 'splainin' to do - was a popular refrain of the Ricky Ricardo character, a Cuban bandleader on the "I Love Lucy" television show.
Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, made the comment in jest right after Sotomayor had talked hypothetically about getting a gun to shoot him in self-defense. "If I go home, get a gun, come back and shoot you, that may not be legal under New York law because you would have alternative ways to defend . . . " she said.
"You'll have lots of 'splainin' to do," Coburn said.
Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, said "oftentimes, comedy perpetuates these stereotypes and they're no less damaging than when they're not in jest."
The comment came a day after Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) pointed out to Sotomayor that Court of Appeals Judge Jose Cabranes disagreed with her decision in a firefighter affirmative action case. Cabranes, he noted, is also "of Puerto Rican ancestry."
In a statement, Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president of the Hispanic Federation, an organization of Hispanic community service agencies in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, called that remark "baffling."
"First, he focuses on the need to uphold the law based on the Constitution and legal precedent, and then he expects our judges to think exactly alike based on a shared ethnicity," Rodriguez-Lopez said.
Legis. Ricardo Montano (D-Central Islip) said he doesn't believe Coburn's comments Wednesday were mean-spirited, but said they were "in poor taste."
"I've heard worse and I'm sure that it was an attempt to be humorous, but it's not," he said. "This type of humor should be left to the comedians. In a Senate confirmation hearing for a Latina justice to the Supreme Court it's not funny.
BY SUMATHI REDDY | Newsday.com, July 15, 2009
It may have elicited laughter during Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing Wednesday, but Sen. Tom Coburn's reference to television character Ricky Ricardo also sparked criticism from Latino leaders and advocates.
In fact, it was the second comment in as many days that left Latinos perplexed at the line of questioning of some senators.
"This seems to be another instance of the growing pains we must deal with while our country is trying to move away from old stereotypes," said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D- Central Islip).
The joking comment in question - that Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent, would have a lot of 'splainin' to do - was a popular refrain of the Ricky Ricardo character, a Cuban bandleader on the "I Love Lucy" television show.
Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, made the comment in jest right after Sotomayor had talked hypothetically about getting a gun to shoot him in self-defense. "If I go home, get a gun, come back and shoot you, that may not be legal under New York law because you would have alternative ways to defend . . . " she said.
"You'll have lots of 'splainin' to do," Coburn said.
Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, said "oftentimes, comedy perpetuates these stereotypes and they're no less damaging than when they're not in jest."
The comment came a day after Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) pointed out to Sotomayor that Court of Appeals Judge Jose Cabranes disagreed with her decision in a firefighter affirmative action case. Cabranes, he noted, is also "of Puerto Rican ancestry."
In a statement, Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president of the Hispanic Federation, an organization of Hispanic community service agencies in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, called that remark "baffling."
"First, he focuses on the need to uphold the law based on the Constitution and legal precedent, and then he expects our judges to think exactly alike based on a shared ethnicity," Rodriguez-Lopez said.
Legis. Ricardo Montano (D-Central Islip) said he doesn't believe Coburn's comments Wednesday were mean-spirited, but said they were "in poor taste."
"I've heard worse and I'm sure that it was an attempt to be humorous, but it's not," he said. "This type of humor should be left to the comedians. In a Senate confirmation hearing for a Latina justice to the Supreme Court it's not funny.
Latino legislator to help Mayor run for Governorship
Newsom taps SoCal Latino powerhouse Padilla for state chair
Sfgate.com
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is aiming big for Southern California and Latino voters in his 2010 gubernatorial run -- underscored by his announcement today of his campaign's new state chair, State Senator Alex Padilla.
With Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa deciding not to make a 2010 run, Padilla, 36, ranks as one of the Latino community's biggest stars in California. He ran for Los Angeles City Council at the age of 26 and served more than 7 years on the Los Angeles City Council -- including more than four as council president.
And that's not all he brings to the campaign of the Democratic San Francisco mayor. Padilla's got a "very tight" relationship with labor, is seen as a rising star in the party -- the first Latino to be president of the League of California Cities -- and has a strong political organization in the voter-rich San Fernando Valley, all big advantages to Team Newsom.
And he'll need that help if they want to compete with his likely competition, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, the former two term governor. Public and private polls show that while the San Francisco mayor is equally well known as Brown in Northern California, Brown has the advantage in the Southland.
No wonder: he made his political debut in 1969, just around the time Newsom was born, on the Los Angeles Community College Board.
So Job One for Newsom: building cred and name recognition in that huge and crucial media market -- part of the reason he is taking his town hall road shows to the Southern part of the state all this month and next.
And, of course, Padilla's support is also crucial with regard to Newsom's Latino vote challenge; Brown has been widely seen as having the advantage with Latino voters and likely to pick up the lion's share of Villaraigosa's ethnic supporters. That's because with decades in state politics, the AG is not shy about reminding voters of his work with legendary farm labor leader Cesar Chavez, and noting his work as governor on issues like education and environment.
But the naming of a big state name like Padilla to lead the charge for Newsom also underscores a new challenge for Brown: seems we're getting to the point in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign where crucial endorsements are emerging.
So will the former governor have to finally declare whether in 2010 he's running for AG -- or governor -- before he can announce his own big backers?
Stay tuned.
Sfgate.com
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is aiming big for Southern California and Latino voters in his 2010 gubernatorial run -- underscored by his announcement today of his campaign's new state chair, State Senator Alex Padilla.
With Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa deciding not to make a 2010 run, Padilla, 36, ranks as one of the Latino community's biggest stars in California. He ran for Los Angeles City Council at the age of 26 and served more than 7 years on the Los Angeles City Council -- including more than four as council president.
And that's not all he brings to the campaign of the Democratic San Francisco mayor. Padilla's got a "very tight" relationship with labor, is seen as a rising star in the party -- the first Latino to be president of the League of California Cities -- and has a strong political organization in the voter-rich San Fernando Valley, all big advantages to Team Newsom.
And he'll need that help if they want to compete with his likely competition, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, the former two term governor. Public and private polls show that while the San Francisco mayor is equally well known as Brown in Northern California, Brown has the advantage in the Southland.
No wonder: he made his political debut in 1969, just around the time Newsom was born, on the Los Angeles Community College Board.
So Job One for Newsom: building cred and name recognition in that huge and crucial media market -- part of the reason he is taking his town hall road shows to the Southern part of the state all this month and next.
And, of course, Padilla's support is also crucial with regard to Newsom's Latino vote challenge; Brown has been widely seen as having the advantage with Latino voters and likely to pick up the lion's share of Villaraigosa's ethnic supporters. That's because with decades in state politics, the AG is not shy about reminding voters of his work with legendary farm labor leader Cesar Chavez, and noting his work as governor on issues like education and environment.
But the naming of a big state name like Padilla to lead the charge for Newsom also underscores a new challenge for Brown: seems we're getting to the point in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign where crucial endorsements are emerging.
So will the former governor have to finally declare whether in 2010 he's running for AG -- or governor -- before he can announce his own big backers?
Stay tuned.
Hispanic voters gain with court decision
Federal judge orders Irving to adopt single-member districts for city council
By JEFF MOSIER and KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News, July 16, 2009
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Irving's at-large City Council system violates the Voting Rights Act and must be replaced with single-member districts before elections are held again.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis echoes the decision two decades ago that forced the city of Dallas to adopt single-member districts. Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said the council would be briefed by attorneys next week about options, including a possible appeal.
The action this week was a result of a lawsuit filed in November 2007 by former school board candidate Manuel Benavidez. He sued both the school board and City Council, alleging that the at-large system of eight council members and mayor denies representation for Hispanics. They make up nearly 40 percent of the city's population – the largest group in Irving.
"That voting scheme is intentionally pernicious," said William Brewer, an attorney for Benavidez. "That's obviously designed to make sure that minorities don't have a meaningful opportunity to elect somebody to the City Council."
Benavidez said he shook with emotion when he was notified about the ruling.
"It's a big moment; to be looking at the way things are going to go and to have the court saying – you have a point," he said. "This is to give a voice to the citizens of Irving so this way they will have a government that really represents the people."
Gears said that the ruling was a surprise. He said he had fully expected a win in court.
Attorneys representing Irving had argued in February that creating a district that has a majority of Hispanic voters was almost impossible because a substantial percentage were too young to vote or were not citizens.
Six possible districts
David Ely, a demographics expert for Benavidez, said he found six possible districts where eligible voters were mainly Hispanic. He derived the finding from the 2000 census, a 2006 census sample of residents and his own population growth estimates.
Solis wrote that using the city's citizen-voting-age-population formula was not required and would not affect voting rights in other council districts. He wrote that applying the total population standard was "entirely appropriate."
Brewer said the city could create single-member districts that would mostly elect at least two Hispanic members. There are no Hispanics on the City Council or school board.
Decades of conflict
Single-member districts have been a contentious issue in Irving for decades. A charter review committee in February recommended creating a single-member district system, and a petition has been circulating to let voters decide whether there should be a mixed system of single-member and at-large council seats.
Gears said he's satisfied with the status quo.
"I think there is value in both systems, but we've been pleased with the system we have," he said. "We haven't felt like that there was any change necessary."
René Castilla, who lost City Council races twice in Irving, said this is a big victory.
"It proves what I've said all along. At-large election systems are inherently discriminatory," he said.
Castilla said that the changes will allow Hispanics to have more of a say in issues that impact them, such as the city's Criminal Alien Program and housing. Currently he serves as chairman of the mayor's human relations advisory committee and as chairman of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce's education committee. But he said a Hispanic in elected office would have more say than he can have now.
Accountability
"It really puts the responsibility for representation in the neighborhoods where it belongs, and it takes accountability right to the people," Castilla said. "It doesn't allow the City Council to operate like a corporate board and lets it be a board that represents the community."
City Council member Beth Van Duyne said she was surprised by the judge's ruling, especially after serving as chair of the redistricting committee. She also said she is concerned that single-member districts could make Irving more like Dallas, with representatives more interested in their own neighborhood's needs than "what's best for the city."
"I don't want to do anything that's going to further divide the city," she said. "By carving us up into eight separate blocks it seems to me you're going to see arguments. My concern is that council members will become very myopic and look at their own situation instead of looking at what's best for the city."
Van Duyne also said that with low voter turnout already an issue, the change could decrease the number of people who can run for office. Currently, it's such a small group of voters that if you had a group as small as a group of "soccer moms" they could probably sway the vote, she said.
Longtime community activist Anthony Bond, who has often sparred with city leaders over the voting system, said that after Benavidez called him to tell him about the ruling he felt "indescribable joy."
He noted that the Irving City Council is currently all-white, and he said he hopes that will change and more Hispanics and blacks will be elected because of the decision.
"They forced Manuel to go to court to force them to do the right thing in giving people equal representation on the council," he said. "I pray that this will not divide our city and that it will bring our city closer."
Other area cities
If Solis' ruling stands, Irving would join Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton and Grand Prairie among major North Texas cities with all or majority single-member city council district systems. A suit against Farmers Branch's at-large City Council voting system was dismissed by a federal judge last year. The plaintiffs in that case are appealing.
Key points of ruling on Irving City Council's at-large system
U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis' ruling that Irving's at-large system of electing council members violates the federal Voting Rights Act states:
Irving is prohibited from holding any future elections under the at-large system.
The parties must come up with a redistricting plan and a schedule for implementing it.
The parties must submit joint or separate proposals within 90 days.
If the parties cannot come up with an acceptable plan, the court will come up with a redistricting plan.
Plaintiff Manuel Benavidez is awarded court costs.
By JEFF MOSIER and KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News, July 16, 2009
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Irving's at-large City Council system violates the Voting Rights Act and must be replaced with single-member districts before elections are held again.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis echoes the decision two decades ago that forced the city of Dallas to adopt single-member districts. Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said the council would be briefed by attorneys next week about options, including a possible appeal.
The action this week was a result of a lawsuit filed in November 2007 by former school board candidate Manuel Benavidez. He sued both the school board and City Council, alleging that the at-large system of eight council members and mayor denies representation for Hispanics. They make up nearly 40 percent of the city's population – the largest group in Irving.
"That voting scheme is intentionally pernicious," said William Brewer, an attorney for Benavidez. "That's obviously designed to make sure that minorities don't have a meaningful opportunity to elect somebody to the City Council."
Benavidez said he shook with emotion when he was notified about the ruling.
"It's a big moment; to be looking at the way things are going to go and to have the court saying – you have a point," he said. "This is to give a voice to the citizens of Irving so this way they will have a government that really represents the people."
Gears said that the ruling was a surprise. He said he had fully expected a win in court.
Attorneys representing Irving had argued in February that creating a district that has a majority of Hispanic voters was almost impossible because a substantial percentage were too young to vote or were not citizens.
Six possible districts
David Ely, a demographics expert for Benavidez, said he found six possible districts where eligible voters were mainly Hispanic. He derived the finding from the 2000 census, a 2006 census sample of residents and his own population growth estimates.
Solis wrote that using the city's citizen-voting-age-population formula was not required and would not affect voting rights in other council districts. He wrote that applying the total population standard was "entirely appropriate."
Brewer said the city could create single-member districts that would mostly elect at least two Hispanic members. There are no Hispanics on the City Council or school board.
Decades of conflict
Single-member districts have been a contentious issue in Irving for decades. A charter review committee in February recommended creating a single-member district system, and a petition has been circulating to let voters decide whether there should be a mixed system of single-member and at-large council seats.
Gears said he's satisfied with the status quo.
"I think there is value in both systems, but we've been pleased with the system we have," he said. "We haven't felt like that there was any change necessary."
René Castilla, who lost City Council races twice in Irving, said this is a big victory.
"It proves what I've said all along. At-large election systems are inherently discriminatory," he said.
Castilla said that the changes will allow Hispanics to have more of a say in issues that impact them, such as the city's Criminal Alien Program and housing. Currently he serves as chairman of the mayor's human relations advisory committee and as chairman of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce's education committee. But he said a Hispanic in elected office would have more say than he can have now.
Accountability
"It really puts the responsibility for representation in the neighborhoods where it belongs, and it takes accountability right to the people," Castilla said. "It doesn't allow the City Council to operate like a corporate board and lets it be a board that represents the community."
City Council member Beth Van Duyne said she was surprised by the judge's ruling, especially after serving as chair of the redistricting committee. She also said she is concerned that single-member districts could make Irving more like Dallas, with representatives more interested in their own neighborhood's needs than "what's best for the city."
"I don't want to do anything that's going to further divide the city," she said. "By carving us up into eight separate blocks it seems to me you're going to see arguments. My concern is that council members will become very myopic and look at their own situation instead of looking at what's best for the city."
Van Duyne also said that with low voter turnout already an issue, the change could decrease the number of people who can run for office. Currently, it's such a small group of voters that if you had a group as small as a group of "soccer moms" they could probably sway the vote, she said.
Longtime community activist Anthony Bond, who has often sparred with city leaders over the voting system, said that after Benavidez called him to tell him about the ruling he felt "indescribable joy."
He noted that the Irving City Council is currently all-white, and he said he hopes that will change and more Hispanics and blacks will be elected because of the decision.
"They forced Manuel to go to court to force them to do the right thing in giving people equal representation on the council," he said. "I pray that this will not divide our city and that it will bring our city closer."
Other area cities
If Solis' ruling stands, Irving would join Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton and Grand Prairie among major North Texas cities with all or majority single-member city council district systems. A suit against Farmers Branch's at-large City Council voting system was dismissed by a federal judge last year. The plaintiffs in that case are appealing.
Key points of ruling on Irving City Council's at-large system
U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis' ruling that Irving's at-large system of electing council members violates the federal Voting Rights Act states:
Irving is prohibited from holding any future elections under the at-large system.
The parties must come up with a redistricting plan and a schedule for implementing it.
The parties must submit joint or separate proposals within 90 days.
If the parties cannot come up with an acceptable plan, the court will come up with a redistricting plan.
Plaintiff Manuel Benavidez is awarded court costs.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
LA City sees another Latino leave for a good cause
L.A. mayor's chief counsel tapped to lead MALDEF
By Phil Willon, LA Times, July 15, 2009
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's chief counsel, Thomas Saenz, has been tapped to become president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the organization announced Tuesday.
Saenz has been one of Villaraigosa's closest advisors since taking the post in August 2005, recently serving as the mayor's lead representative in negotiations with city labor unions over salary and benefit concessions to help close the city's $530-million budget gap. And he helped to successfully defend a city ordinance that required hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay a "living wage" to workers.
Saenz also was one of the main architects of Villaraigosa's unsuccessful effort to gain control over the Los Angeles Unified School system. The school takeover plan, one of Villaraigosa's top priorities in his first term, was rejected by the courts.
"Tom Saenz has been a trusted advisor who understands the importance of public service and working on behalf of those in need," Villaraigosa said.
Among his priorities as head of the Latino civil rights organization, Saenz said, is ensuring that all children have equal access to a quality public education. The fund also will continue to combat anti-illegal immigrant sentiment that has been on the rise in some parts of the country. He said comprehensive immigration reform is a critical challenge for the Obama administration and Congress.
"The issue is not going to go away, and we certainly need to address it," Saenz said.
Patricia A. Madrid, chairwoman of MALDEF's Board of Directors, said Saenz is a perfect fit for the civil rights organization at this "critical time."
"The Latino community is currently facing a drastic rise in hate crimes and witnessing an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures that adversely affect all Latinos," she said. "A highly respected attorney and community leader, Thomas brings a wealth of legal expertise and dedication to civil rights causes that fundamentally define the future of Latinos."
Before coming to City Hall, Saenz served as MALDEF's lead counsel for 12 years, and successfully challenged Proposition 187, a voter-approved initiative prohibiting illegal immigrants from having access to social service and healthcare benefits as well as public schools.
Saenz had been approached by the Obama administration earlier this year to oversee the Department of Justice's civil rights division, but his candidacy was withdrawn to avoid a confirmation fight over immigration issues, according to some civil rights leaders.
Saenz is the fourth senior member of the Villaraigosa administration to depart in recent months.
Mercedes Marquez, general manager of the city's Housing Department, was nominated by President Obama to become assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The deputy mayor who oversaw Villaraigosa's environment agency, Nancy Sutley, left earlier this year to work as one of Obama's main environmental advisors. And Arif Alikhan, the city's deputy mayor for homeland security and public safety, left to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
phil.willon@latimes.com
By Phil Willon, LA Times, July 15, 2009
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's chief counsel, Thomas Saenz, has been tapped to become president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the organization announced Tuesday.
Saenz has been one of Villaraigosa's closest advisors since taking the post in August 2005, recently serving as the mayor's lead representative in negotiations with city labor unions over salary and benefit concessions to help close the city's $530-million budget gap. And he helped to successfully defend a city ordinance that required hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay a "living wage" to workers.
Saenz also was one of the main architects of Villaraigosa's unsuccessful effort to gain control over the Los Angeles Unified School system. The school takeover plan, one of Villaraigosa's top priorities in his first term, was rejected by the courts.
"Tom Saenz has been a trusted advisor who understands the importance of public service and working on behalf of those in need," Villaraigosa said.
Among his priorities as head of the Latino civil rights organization, Saenz said, is ensuring that all children have equal access to a quality public education. The fund also will continue to combat anti-illegal immigrant sentiment that has been on the rise in some parts of the country. He said comprehensive immigration reform is a critical challenge for the Obama administration and Congress.
"The issue is not going to go away, and we certainly need to address it," Saenz said.
Patricia A. Madrid, chairwoman of MALDEF's Board of Directors, said Saenz is a perfect fit for the civil rights organization at this "critical time."
"The Latino community is currently facing a drastic rise in hate crimes and witnessing an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures that adversely affect all Latinos," she said. "A highly respected attorney and community leader, Thomas brings a wealth of legal expertise and dedication to civil rights causes that fundamentally define the future of Latinos."
Before coming to City Hall, Saenz served as MALDEF's lead counsel for 12 years, and successfully challenged Proposition 187, a voter-approved initiative prohibiting illegal immigrants from having access to social service and healthcare benefits as well as public schools.
Saenz had been approached by the Obama administration earlier this year to oversee the Department of Justice's civil rights division, but his candidacy was withdrawn to avoid a confirmation fight over immigration issues, according to some civil rights leaders.
Saenz is the fourth senior member of the Villaraigosa administration to depart in recent months.
Mercedes Marquez, general manager of the city's Housing Department, was nominated by President Obama to become assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The deputy mayor who oversaw Villaraigosa's environment agency, Nancy Sutley, left earlier this year to work as one of Obama's main environmental advisors. And Arif Alikhan, the city's deputy mayor for homeland security and public safety, left to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
phil.willon@latimes.com
Hispanic group works to recover immigrant unpaid wages
Kan. Hispanic group moves past immigration issues
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Kansas.com, Jul. 14, 2009
WICHITA, Kan. - When the subcontractor who hired Martin Martinez stiffed him and his co-workers on their paychecks, a Hispanic advocacy group picketed the employer's home and passed out critical flyers to the man's neighbors. They filed wage complaints with government agencies.
While immigration reform remains a priority, a Hispanic advocacy group has begun tackling other concerns such as worker justice, racial profiling and neighborhood blight in the immigrant community.
Sunflower Community Action's "Comunidad Latina en Accion" (Latin Community in Action) chapter has been working for about a year now on behalf of Hispanic immigrants to recover unpaid wages or advocate for workers' compensation when they are injured on the job.
Board member Teresa Molina said her group got involved because they were getting so many complaints from their members. Many had been cheated out of pay and benefits because they could not speak English or did not know to submit unpaid wage claims to regulators.
"It is becoming a bigger and bigger issue all the time: worker justice," Molina said.
In the past year, the Wichita-based group has recouped $800,000 for workers through their efforts, she said. At times, the group collected unpaid wages simply by sending the employer a letter on the worker's behalf.
"We have been very surprised at the quantity of cases now being resolved," Molina said.
In the past, language difficulties kept Hispanic workers from pressing wage claims. Some were also fearful of complaining because of their immigration status, even though the state does not ask about that when investigating an unpaid wage claim.
Sunflower also is working closely with the state Department of Labor, which has assigned a Spanish-speaking liaison to facilitate claims filed under the Kansas Wage Payment Act.
Last year, Kansas workers filed 1,147 claims for unpaid wages with the Kansas Department of Labor, said Kathy Toelkes, a spokeswoman for the department. The agency collected a little over $1 million in unpaid wages last year. So far this year, some 500 claims have been filed, Toelkes said.
Martinez fought back tears as he blamed his former employer for his children having gone hungry. They have eaten little besides beans and tortillas in the two months he waited for his promised pay, the 48-year-old immigrant said in Spanish. The family is also two months behind on rent and their car payments.
He claims his boss called them wetbacks, telling them: "I don't pay illegals."
"I worked like a mule, I worked like an animal," said Martinez, a legal U.S. resident.
His wife, Maria, is employed cleaning rooms at a Wichita motel. But her income is not enough to support the couple and their four children - ages 11 to 18, including one with Down syndrome - who still live at home. A son also is due back wages from the same employer.
Martinez said he got one personal check early in the construction job, but claims he is still due pay for 63 hours at $9 an hour.
"It is an injustice," his wife said.
Martinez found another job earlier this month working at a farm.
His case is more difficult than usual because the concrete construction company which hired him, Coconal LLC, has closed and its owner, Fidel Sierra, has moved out of state, Molina said.
Sierra does not dispute that he owes some workers money, but said he does not owe Martinez for quite as many hours as he claims. Sierra blamed his difficulties in collecting from customers, saying he closed his business operations in Wichita three weeks ago and does not plan to continue with any construction work.
"I don't care if they are illegal immigrants or not. That is not the issue. The issue is that I never got paid," Sierra said in a phone interview from McAllen, Texas.
"Whenever I get paid, I will be more than happy to pay them," he said.
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Kansas.com, Jul. 14, 2009
WICHITA, Kan. - When the subcontractor who hired Martin Martinez stiffed him and his co-workers on their paychecks, a Hispanic advocacy group picketed the employer's home and passed out critical flyers to the man's neighbors. They filed wage complaints with government agencies.
While immigration reform remains a priority, a Hispanic advocacy group has begun tackling other concerns such as worker justice, racial profiling and neighborhood blight in the immigrant community.
Sunflower Community Action's "Comunidad Latina en Accion" (Latin Community in Action) chapter has been working for about a year now on behalf of Hispanic immigrants to recover unpaid wages or advocate for workers' compensation when they are injured on the job.
Board member Teresa Molina said her group got involved because they were getting so many complaints from their members. Many had been cheated out of pay and benefits because they could not speak English or did not know to submit unpaid wage claims to regulators.
"It is becoming a bigger and bigger issue all the time: worker justice," Molina said.
In the past year, the Wichita-based group has recouped $800,000 for workers through their efforts, she said. At times, the group collected unpaid wages simply by sending the employer a letter on the worker's behalf.
"We have been very surprised at the quantity of cases now being resolved," Molina said.
In the past, language difficulties kept Hispanic workers from pressing wage claims. Some were also fearful of complaining because of their immigration status, even though the state does not ask about that when investigating an unpaid wage claim.
Sunflower also is working closely with the state Department of Labor, which has assigned a Spanish-speaking liaison to facilitate claims filed under the Kansas Wage Payment Act.
Last year, Kansas workers filed 1,147 claims for unpaid wages with the Kansas Department of Labor, said Kathy Toelkes, a spokeswoman for the department. The agency collected a little over $1 million in unpaid wages last year. So far this year, some 500 claims have been filed, Toelkes said.
Martinez fought back tears as he blamed his former employer for his children having gone hungry. They have eaten little besides beans and tortillas in the two months he waited for his promised pay, the 48-year-old immigrant said in Spanish. The family is also two months behind on rent and their car payments.
He claims his boss called them wetbacks, telling them: "I don't pay illegals."
"I worked like a mule, I worked like an animal," said Martinez, a legal U.S. resident.
His wife, Maria, is employed cleaning rooms at a Wichita motel. But her income is not enough to support the couple and their four children - ages 11 to 18, including one with Down syndrome - who still live at home. A son also is due back wages from the same employer.
Martinez said he got one personal check early in the construction job, but claims he is still due pay for 63 hours at $9 an hour.
"It is an injustice," his wife said.
Martinez found another job earlier this month working at a farm.
His case is more difficult than usual because the concrete construction company which hired him, Coconal LLC, has closed and its owner, Fidel Sierra, has moved out of state, Molina said.
Sierra does not dispute that he owes some workers money, but said he does not owe Martinez for quite as many hours as he claims. Sierra blamed his difficulties in collecting from customers, saying he closed his business operations in Wichita three weeks ago and does not plan to continue with any construction work.
"I don't care if they are illegal immigrants or not. That is not the issue. The issue is that I never got paid," Sierra said in a phone interview from McAllen, Texas.
"Whenever I get paid, I will be more than happy to pay them," he said.
Latina holds her own in Senate
Racist Republicans attack Hispanic Judge
Mark Hollis, EXAMINER, July 14, 2009
Sitting before the Senate today is the single most highly-qualified moderate judge nominated by a President as a Justice for the Supreme Court in close to a generation.
Let's look at her qualifications:
* She has argued cases before court judges as a lawyer (Clarence Thomas never did even once).
* She has sat as a judge of original jurisdiction.
* She has sat as a judge for an Appellate Court (something no other Supreme Court Justice has done).
* She was confirmed to an Appellate Court by the exact same Republicans who now say they oppose her (get out your flip-flops).
* She has backed up every single decision she has made by Legal Precedent and has frequently excoriated unprepared or ill-prepared attorneys arguing case law before her.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has never been, nor is likely to be an "activist" judge, though I'm not sure what the Right Wingnuts are calling "activist." If ever there were activism, the decision to hear Bush v. Gore was, as the Constitution clearly states that the States shall choose the President by nomination to the Electoral College. Thus, the decision of the Florida Supreme Court ought to have been final and preserved by the Supreme Court (by their refusal to hear the case).
So, listening to the Republican opposition (which will absolutely fail to prevent confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor) should be done through the filter of understanding that these Senators are speaking to their constituents.
So I have to wonder who their constituency is, in the face of all this blatant racism. All of their rhetoric is wrapped up in the Judge's Hispanic roots and these same Senators are on record for their having opposed immigration from Mexico and Central and South America, as well as having opposed any humane transition from illegal status to legal status for aliens who have overstayed their visas.
Judge Sotomayor is being treated by these Senators as if she were an illegal alien from Mexico, working in the fields illegally in California. Sotomayor's family comes from Puerto Rico, a US Possession.
Despite Senator Leahy's pleas that his colleagues not impugn her ethnic background or suggest that she may have non-mainstream views due to ethnicity, Senator Jeff Sessions immediately turned racist, saying that her ethnic background was "shocking and offensive."
I'm not Hispanic, but I can see racism for what it is. And I have to wonder who Senator Session is trying to cultivate here? White Supremacists? The KKK?
If out-and-out racists are the only people left who will vote for Republicans, I would hope that the party goes the way of the Federalist Party, which died out in the 1800s.
I wonder where the good moderates are in the Republican Party. I have wondered this in my past articles. I would like to think that the Party of Lincoln would not house only racists.
Mark Hollis, EXAMINER, July 14, 2009
Sitting before the Senate today is the single most highly-qualified moderate judge nominated by a President as a Justice for the Supreme Court in close to a generation.
Let's look at her qualifications:
* She has argued cases before court judges as a lawyer (Clarence Thomas never did even once).
* She has sat as a judge of original jurisdiction.
* She has sat as a judge for an Appellate Court (something no other Supreme Court Justice has done).
* She was confirmed to an Appellate Court by the exact same Republicans who now say they oppose her (get out your flip-flops).
* She has backed up every single decision she has made by Legal Precedent and has frequently excoriated unprepared or ill-prepared attorneys arguing case law before her.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has never been, nor is likely to be an "activist" judge, though I'm not sure what the Right Wingnuts are calling "activist." If ever there were activism, the decision to hear Bush v. Gore was, as the Constitution clearly states that the States shall choose the President by nomination to the Electoral College. Thus, the decision of the Florida Supreme Court ought to have been final and preserved by the Supreme Court (by their refusal to hear the case).
So, listening to the Republican opposition (which will absolutely fail to prevent confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor) should be done through the filter of understanding that these Senators are speaking to their constituents.
So I have to wonder who their constituency is, in the face of all this blatant racism. All of their rhetoric is wrapped up in the Judge's Hispanic roots and these same Senators are on record for their having opposed immigration from Mexico and Central and South America, as well as having opposed any humane transition from illegal status to legal status for aliens who have overstayed their visas.
Judge Sotomayor is being treated by these Senators as if she were an illegal alien from Mexico, working in the fields illegally in California. Sotomayor's family comes from Puerto Rico, a US Possession.
Despite Senator Leahy's pleas that his colleagues not impugn her ethnic background or suggest that she may have non-mainstream views due to ethnicity, Senator Jeff Sessions immediately turned racist, saying that her ethnic background was "shocking and offensive."
I'm not Hispanic, but I can see racism for what it is. And I have to wonder who Senator Session is trying to cultivate here? White Supremacists? The KKK?
If out-and-out racists are the only people left who will vote for Republicans, I would hope that the party goes the way of the Federalist Party, which died out in the 1800s.
I wonder where the good moderates are in the Republican Party. I have wondered this in my past articles. I would like to think that the Party of Lincoln would not house only racists.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Canada imposes visa requirements on Mexico
Canada imposes a visa on Mexico
PRESS RELEASE
Ottawa, July 13, 2009 — Beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 14, 2009, Mexican nationals will require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. For the first 48 hours, Mexican citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required.
Refugee claims from Mexico have almost tripled since 2005, making it the number one source country for claims. In 2008, more than 9,400 claims filed in Canada came from Mexican nationals, representing 25 per cent of all claims received. Of the Mexican claims reviewed and finalized in 2008 by the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent administrative tribunal, only 11 per cent were accepted.
“In addition to creating significant delays and spiraling new costs in our refugee program, the sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution,” said Minister Kenney. “All too often, people who really need Canada’s protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable.
“The visa requirement I am announcing will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides. By taking this important step towards reducing the burden on our refugee system, we will be better equipped to process genuine refugee claims faster.”
“The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue,” Minister Kenney said. “It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system.”
Canada regularly reviews its visa policies toward other countries. Countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.
This change means that nationals from Mexico who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and meet the requirements to receive one. It is up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer their visit to Canada is temporary, they will not overstay their approved time in Canada, they have enough money to cover their stay in Canada, they are in good health, they do not have a criminal record, and are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been working to increase processing capacity in Mexico City. Nevertheless, the imposition of the visa will mean short-term delays in travel as CIC puts resources in place. Applicants are encouraged to send their applications by courier or registered mail and to avoid visiting the Embassy unless specifically invited for an interview.
“Canada has strong ties with Mexico,” said Minister Kenney. “We continue to welcome all genuine travellers to Canada from this country.”
PRESS RELEASE
Ottawa, July 13, 2009 — Beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 14, 2009, Mexican nationals will require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. For the first 48 hours, Mexican citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required.
Refugee claims from Mexico have almost tripled since 2005, making it the number one source country for claims. In 2008, more than 9,400 claims filed in Canada came from Mexican nationals, representing 25 per cent of all claims received. Of the Mexican claims reviewed and finalized in 2008 by the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent administrative tribunal, only 11 per cent were accepted.
“In addition to creating significant delays and spiraling new costs in our refugee program, the sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution,” said Minister Kenney. “All too often, people who really need Canada’s protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable.
“The visa requirement I am announcing will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides. By taking this important step towards reducing the burden on our refugee system, we will be better equipped to process genuine refugee claims faster.”
“The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue,” Minister Kenney said. “It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system.”
Canada regularly reviews its visa policies toward other countries. Countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.
This change means that nationals from Mexico who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and meet the requirements to receive one. It is up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer their visit to Canada is temporary, they will not overstay their approved time in Canada, they have enough money to cover their stay in Canada, they are in good health, they do not have a criminal record, and are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been working to increase processing capacity in Mexico City. Nevertheless, the imposition of the visa will mean short-term delays in travel as CIC puts resources in place. Applicants are encouraged to send their applications by courier or registered mail and to avoid visiting the Embassy unless specifically invited for an interview.
“Canada has strong ties with Mexico,” said Minister Kenney. “We continue to welcome all genuine travellers to Canada from this country.”
Latinos hurt by state's budget impasse
Opinion: State Democratic leaders and unions should learn from the locals
by Adrian Perez, Publisher - The Latino Journal E-News
The Democratic Party and public labor unions have had a warm and long standing relationship stretching back a couple of decades. In fact some of these unions have successfully elected legislators to ensure their interests are fully covered. But in a tough economy, it's possible this relationship is being strained as state and local government leaders seek to resolve major holes in their respective budgets.
From local law enforcement and public services, to state provided health and welfare programs, this recession is impacting every corner of our society. Many local unions, like those representing local police and fire fighters, get it, and are working with county and city leaders to help resolve budgets without losing jobs. This is a great example of how unions and public leaders need to work during these trying times. But, in several state legislatures around the country, it appears neither the unions or the legislative leaders get it. Such is the case in the state of California.
With Latinos comprising almost 40 percent of the population and one of every two children in public schools being Latino, there is a need for real concessions to occur to ensure the funding of public schools. Yet, there is growing pressure from some public unions on Democratic leaders to save numerous programs, important for our society, but not nearly as crucial as ensuring the education of Latino children.
There are plenty of data showing that with a good education come good jobs, better health, less crime, etc. In addition, a well-educated community grows business, which grows better paying jobs, which results in a strong tax base for our government. But some of the unions are pushing for more taxes, in a taxed-strapped environment, to save the jobs of their members, regardless if those programs are essential or not.
The economy has presented a series of challenges that public officials and public unions at the local levels are learning to work with and maintain the services necessary for their communities. California state Democratic leaders and unions should take note and learn how best to deal with a dwindling budget and create the concessions needed to address an enormous budget deficit.
by Adrian Perez, Publisher - The Latino Journal E-News
The Democratic Party and public labor unions have had a warm and long standing relationship stretching back a couple of decades. In fact some of these unions have successfully elected legislators to ensure their interests are fully covered. But in a tough economy, it's possible this relationship is being strained as state and local government leaders seek to resolve major holes in their respective budgets.
From local law enforcement and public services, to state provided health and welfare programs, this recession is impacting every corner of our society. Many local unions, like those representing local police and fire fighters, get it, and are working with county and city leaders to help resolve budgets without losing jobs. This is a great example of how unions and public leaders need to work during these trying times. But, in several state legislatures around the country, it appears neither the unions or the legislative leaders get it. Such is the case in the state of California.
With Latinos comprising almost 40 percent of the population and one of every two children in public schools being Latino, there is a need for real concessions to occur to ensure the funding of public schools. Yet, there is growing pressure from some public unions on Democratic leaders to save numerous programs, important for our society, but not nearly as crucial as ensuring the education of Latino children.
There are plenty of data showing that with a good education come good jobs, better health, less crime, etc. In addition, a well-educated community grows business, which grows better paying jobs, which results in a strong tax base for our government. But some of the unions are pushing for more taxes, in a taxed-strapped environment, to save the jobs of their members, regardless if those programs are essential or not.
The economy has presented a series of challenges that public officials and public unions at the local levels are learning to work with and maintain the services necessary for their communities. California state Democratic leaders and unions should take note and learn how best to deal with a dwindling budget and create the concessions needed to address an enormous budget deficit.
Latina's appointment stirs political debates
Does Sotomayor Matter Politically?l
Washington Post
A prominent article in The Post this morning suggests that “The battle over President Obama’s first court nominee is also likely to have broad and long-lasting political implications for the president and both political parties.”
Or, maybe not. Consider: In 1993 and 1994, Bill Clinton’s two Supreme Court nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, sailed through a Democratic Senate without a glove being laid on them. It didn’t seem to help Clinton or his party politically. Clinton and the Democrats got no credit for well-qualified and popular appointments in the 1994 congressional elections, and the Court as an issue wasn’t that prominent in Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996 or, for that matter, in 2000 (until after the election!).
In 2005 and 2006, George Bush’s two nominees drew more opposition than Clinton’s had, but both made it through a GOP-controlled Senate pretty easily. They did well in the hearings, and, given that they’re conservatives, got respectful media treatment. But these impressive nominees didn’t slow down the free fall in Bush’s ratings in 2005-2006, didn’t help Republicans in the 2006 congressional elections, and the issue of the Court never took center stage in 2008.
Even the sturm und drang of the Bork hearings in 1987 and Thomas in 1991 had no clear effect on the politics of the day or the subsequent year’s elections. And there doesn’t look to be much prospect of much drama over Sotomayor. It’s possible, of course, that the Hispanic angle will be politically salient on behalf of Democrats -- though Republicans will be polite in their opposition, so I’m doubtful. It’s also possible, on the other hand, that the appearance of identity politics could hurt the Democrats -- though that seems to me to be unlikely too.
Obviously, the debate over Sotomayor is important in its own right. And obviously there could be surprises over the next week. But I think the political impact of what we’re seeing is likely to be minimal.
Washington Post
A prominent article in The Post this morning suggests that “The battle over President Obama’s first court nominee is also likely to have broad and long-lasting political implications for the president and both political parties.”
Or, maybe not. Consider: In 1993 and 1994, Bill Clinton’s two Supreme Court nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, sailed through a Democratic Senate without a glove being laid on them. It didn’t seem to help Clinton or his party politically. Clinton and the Democrats got no credit for well-qualified and popular appointments in the 1994 congressional elections, and the Court as an issue wasn’t that prominent in Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996 or, for that matter, in 2000 (until after the election!).
In 2005 and 2006, George Bush’s two nominees drew more opposition than Clinton’s had, but both made it through a GOP-controlled Senate pretty easily. They did well in the hearings, and, given that they’re conservatives, got respectful media treatment. But these impressive nominees didn’t slow down the free fall in Bush’s ratings in 2005-2006, didn’t help Republicans in the 2006 congressional elections, and the issue of the Court never took center stage in 2008.
Even the sturm und drang of the Bork hearings in 1987 and Thomas in 1991 had no clear effect on the politics of the day or the subsequent year’s elections. And there doesn’t look to be much prospect of much drama over Sotomayor. It’s possible, of course, that the Hispanic angle will be politically salient on behalf of Democrats -- though Republicans will be polite in their opposition, so I’m doubtful. It’s also possible, on the other hand, that the appearance of identity politics could hurt the Democrats -- though that seems to me to be unlikely too.
Obviously, the debate over Sotomayor is important in its own right. And obviously there could be surprises over the next week. But I think the political impact of what we’re seeing is likely to be minimal.
Hispanics divided over census boycott
Hispanics Divided Over Census Boycott
By Jennifer Ludden, NPR.org, July 13, 2009
The Census Bureau is waging an extensive campaign to make sure that minorities, including millions of illegal immigrants, are counted in next year's census.
But some in the Hispanic community are trying to undermine that effort. They want undocumented immigrants to boycott the census to send a protest message to Congress about the need to overhaul immigration laws.
A Stake In The Census
The Rev. Miguel Rivera heads the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which comprises 16,000 churches in 32 states. For years now, his pastors have been hearing complaints about the effects of stepped-up immigration enforcement.
Rivera estimates more than a third of his group's congregants are undocumented. One day, he says he had a flash of insight about all the local crackdowns and arrests they were facing.
"Law enforcement has been very effective in areas where the data of Census 2000 has been used," Rivera says.
That census made clear Hispanics were growing in numbers, but Rivera says they were far from feeling empowered.
Then Rivera thought about who has a really big stake in the upcoming census. He realized that members of Congress do — their very seats and billions of dollars in funding depend on the decennial count. The government distributes some $300 billion to states each year based on what is learned from the census.
"So if they don't want lacking of funding for their constituents, maybe losing seats at the congressional level, then what they have to do is roll their sleeves and move forward with comprehensive immigration reform," Rivera says.
To Boycott Or Not?
Nativo Lopez, who heads the Mexican American Political Association, has told his members for four decades that they should take part in the census.
Initially he thought that the boycott idea was well intentioned but "not the appropriate tactic for the moment."
But then Lopez found himself intrigued.
He took the issue to member forums and says he had an epiphany: Latinos are in no mood to support a federal undertaking like the census when they feel that government has betrayed them. As Lopez would go around the room seeking opinions, Latinos told him that President Obama seems to be merely continuing the Bush administration's immigration crackdown. And they felt that government concern about the recession's impact does not extend to them.
Lopez says one man who lost his home to foreclosure suspected fraud, but when he sought help at a legal aid society he was turned away because he's undocumented.
Member after member at forums stood up with a story to tell, Lopez says, leading him conclude that "there is no incentive for me to cooperate with the federal government to conduct this count unless we get relief from the federal government on the types of issues that are devastating our families socially and economically."
Leading the opposition against the boycott effort is the Rev. Luis Cortes, who heads Esperanza, a community organization with its own network of churches. Cortes doesn't think the boycott will make any difference to Congress.
"It's sad. It's unfortunate. Ultimately, it means more political power for the people who don't like immigrants," Cortes says.
A boycott would affect funding for fire departments, hospitals, public schools — things crucial for all residents, legal or not — Cortes says.
"You're going to take a community that has lot of poor folks and undocumented people who are not doing well, or struggling economically, and you're taking resources out of that neighborhood and redistributing them around the rest of the country," Cortes says.
Zero Percent
Each side has its moral arguments as well.
Boycott advocate Rivera says the census harkens back to the days of slavery, because undocumented immigrants are counted but not granted equal benefits.
Arturo Vargas, of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, draws a different analogy. He says when the census began in 1790, black slaves only counted as 60 percent of a man — and Native Americans, as zero.
"What Mr. Rivera would be advocating is that Latino immigrants make themselves once again zero percent of a person under the Constitution," Vargas says. "To me, that's not just irresponsible, it's immoral."
A spokesman says the Census Bureau is disappointed in the boycott effort and notes there is a constitutional mandate to count every person, legally present or not. He wouldn't say whether the bureau will fine boycotters $100 as allowed by law.
But Rivera insists his supporters are ready to pay. He says he may even expand the boycott effort, asking legal and U.S. citizen Hispanics to also not be counted.
By Jennifer Ludden, NPR.org, July 13, 2009
The Census Bureau is waging an extensive campaign to make sure that minorities, including millions of illegal immigrants, are counted in next year's census.
But some in the Hispanic community are trying to undermine that effort. They want undocumented immigrants to boycott the census to send a protest message to Congress about the need to overhaul immigration laws.
A Stake In The Census
The Rev. Miguel Rivera heads the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which comprises 16,000 churches in 32 states. For years now, his pastors have been hearing complaints about the effects of stepped-up immigration enforcement.
Rivera estimates more than a third of his group's congregants are undocumented. One day, he says he had a flash of insight about all the local crackdowns and arrests they were facing.
"Law enforcement has been very effective in areas where the data of Census 2000 has been used," Rivera says.
That census made clear Hispanics were growing in numbers, but Rivera says they were far from feeling empowered.
Then Rivera thought about who has a really big stake in the upcoming census. He realized that members of Congress do — their very seats and billions of dollars in funding depend on the decennial count. The government distributes some $300 billion to states each year based on what is learned from the census.
"So if they don't want lacking of funding for their constituents, maybe losing seats at the congressional level, then what they have to do is roll their sleeves and move forward with comprehensive immigration reform," Rivera says.
To Boycott Or Not?
Nativo Lopez, who heads the Mexican American Political Association, has told his members for four decades that they should take part in the census.
Initially he thought that the boycott idea was well intentioned but "not the appropriate tactic for the moment."
But then Lopez found himself intrigued.
He took the issue to member forums and says he had an epiphany: Latinos are in no mood to support a federal undertaking like the census when they feel that government has betrayed them. As Lopez would go around the room seeking opinions, Latinos told him that President Obama seems to be merely continuing the Bush administration's immigration crackdown. And they felt that government concern about the recession's impact does not extend to them.
Lopez says one man who lost his home to foreclosure suspected fraud, but when he sought help at a legal aid society he was turned away because he's undocumented.
Member after member at forums stood up with a story to tell, Lopez says, leading him conclude that "there is no incentive for me to cooperate with the federal government to conduct this count unless we get relief from the federal government on the types of issues that are devastating our families socially and economically."
Leading the opposition against the boycott effort is the Rev. Luis Cortes, who heads Esperanza, a community organization with its own network of churches. Cortes doesn't think the boycott will make any difference to Congress.
"It's sad. It's unfortunate. Ultimately, it means more political power for the people who don't like immigrants," Cortes says.
A boycott would affect funding for fire departments, hospitals, public schools — things crucial for all residents, legal or not — Cortes says.
"You're going to take a community that has lot of poor folks and undocumented people who are not doing well, or struggling economically, and you're taking resources out of that neighborhood and redistributing them around the rest of the country," Cortes says.
Zero Percent
Each side has its moral arguments as well.
Boycott advocate Rivera says the census harkens back to the days of slavery, because undocumented immigrants are counted but not granted equal benefits.
Arturo Vargas, of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, draws a different analogy. He says when the census began in 1790, black slaves only counted as 60 percent of a man — and Native Americans, as zero.
"What Mr. Rivera would be advocating is that Latino immigrants make themselves once again zero percent of a person under the Constitution," Vargas says. "To me, that's not just irresponsible, it's immoral."
A spokesman says the Census Bureau is disappointed in the boycott effort and notes there is a constitutional mandate to count every person, legally present or not. He wouldn't say whether the bureau will fine boycotters $100 as allowed by law.
But Rivera insists his supporters are ready to pay. He says he may even expand the boycott effort, asking legal and U.S. citizen Hispanics to also not be counted.
Hispanic Republican Governor says GOP must change
Prominent Hispanic Republican says GOP must change its tone
By Michael M. Gleeson and Bob Cusack, The Hill, 07/13/09
One of the most prominent Hispanic Republicans says the GOP is going in the wrong direction and must change its tone on a range of issues.
In an interview with The Hill, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (R) said the tenor adopted by some Republicans — particularly on the topic of illegal immigration — is “a turnoff to the Hispanic community.”
“[Republicans] are going in the wrong direction,” Fortuño said. “We should be the party of Hispanics.”
He added, “There are no terrorists coming from south of the border. That’s the bottom line.”
And proposals from some Republicans to deport 12 million illegal immigrants from the U.S. are “unreasonable,” he said.
Fortuño, who served in the House from 2005 to 2008 as resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, strongly opposes abortion rights and believes marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. He is viewed as a fiscal conservative, having cut government salaries in Puerto Rico and merging agencies in response to the dire budgetary shortfall he inherited.
But he also breaks with his party. He supported the $787 billion stimulus package and is backing the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Sotomayor is “obviously well-qualified” and “not an ideologue at all,” Fortuño told The Hill.
While respecting their right to speak out, Fortuño made it clear that he disapproves of charges by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) that Sotomayor is a racist. Gingrich has since backtracked, but Fortuño maintains that more Republicans need to respect the views of others — even if they don’t agree with them.
Fortuño says the GOP must look to its younger generation.
“We need to listen to the Paul Ryans and the Jeff Flakes,” Fortuño said, adding that neither Limbaugh nor Gingrich is an elected official.
The rising star of the GOP, who will turn 49 on Halloween, has defied the odds by winning elections in Puerto Rico, which leans left. Fortuño was one of the few Republicans who won in the Democratic wave of 2008.
Fortuño last year ran on a simple and basic message: Institute economic reforms that will put the island on a better economic footing. The message hit home and he won handily.
In a speech earlier this year, Fortuño directly addressed Puerto Rico’s fiscal issues: “In the last few years, our people have suffered the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s ... a crisis provoked in great measure by wrong economic policies and an incompetent and irresponsible management of the public finances that placed Puerto Rico at the brink of bankruptcy and our credit at the risk of a downgrade to junk status.”
Such a downgrade, Fortuño said, would likely send the island’s unemployment rate to 25 percent. In May, the island’s unemployment rate was 14.4 percent.
Fortuño visits Washington regularly, meeting recently with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
One of his major priorities is boosting low government reimbursement rates for Puerto Rico. Fortuño is pushing Congress to revamp the funding mechanism as part of healthcare reform.
Another top agenda item for the governor is a bill introduced by Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D) that would establish a process to allow voters in Puerto Rico to determine whether they are in favor of statehood. The bipartisan measure has 156 co-sponsors.
Fortuño said his wife, LuceVela, urged President Obama to visit Puerto Rico earlier this year. President Kennedy is the last sitting president to visit the island.
Asked what Obama said, Fortuño smiled and said, “It’s tough to say no to my wife.”
Republicans should sit up and take note of the fact that message matters, Fortuño said, pointing to the Obama campaign’s message of hope as a prime example of how good messaging can win over voters. For the party to be successful in the future, Fortuño added, Republicans need to understand how their messages, on issues like immigration, resonate with Hispanics.
Fortuño, the father of triplets (one girl, two boys) who are now 17, laments that his party has a long way to go in attracting Hispanic voters.
In 2008, Hispanics made up 9 percent of the voting population and voted for President Obama over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by more than two-to-one, 67 percent versus 31, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
As a Hispanic who prides himself in being socially and fiscally conservative, Fortuño would seem to make an attractive presidential candidate for the Republican Party.
However, as a native Puerto Rican, it is not clear if he can be president. The Constitution requires the commander in chief to be a natural-born citizen; a Puerto Rican is considered a statutory citizen.
By Michael M. Gleeson and Bob Cusack, The Hill, 07/13/09
One of the most prominent Hispanic Republicans says the GOP is going in the wrong direction and must change its tone on a range of issues.
In an interview with The Hill, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (R) said the tenor adopted by some Republicans — particularly on the topic of illegal immigration — is “a turnoff to the Hispanic community.”
“[Republicans] are going in the wrong direction,” Fortuño said. “We should be the party of Hispanics.”
He added, “There are no terrorists coming from south of the border. That’s the bottom line.”
And proposals from some Republicans to deport 12 million illegal immigrants from the U.S. are “unreasonable,” he said.
Fortuño, who served in the House from 2005 to 2008 as resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, strongly opposes abortion rights and believes marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. He is viewed as a fiscal conservative, having cut government salaries in Puerto Rico and merging agencies in response to the dire budgetary shortfall he inherited.
But he also breaks with his party. He supported the $787 billion stimulus package and is backing the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Sotomayor is “obviously well-qualified” and “not an ideologue at all,” Fortuño told The Hill.
While respecting their right to speak out, Fortuño made it clear that he disapproves of charges by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) that Sotomayor is a racist. Gingrich has since backtracked, but Fortuño maintains that more Republicans need to respect the views of others — even if they don’t agree with them.
Fortuño says the GOP must look to its younger generation.
“We need to listen to the Paul Ryans and the Jeff Flakes,” Fortuño said, adding that neither Limbaugh nor Gingrich is an elected official.
The rising star of the GOP, who will turn 49 on Halloween, has defied the odds by winning elections in Puerto Rico, which leans left. Fortuño was one of the few Republicans who won in the Democratic wave of 2008.
Fortuño last year ran on a simple and basic message: Institute economic reforms that will put the island on a better economic footing. The message hit home and he won handily.
In a speech earlier this year, Fortuño directly addressed Puerto Rico’s fiscal issues: “In the last few years, our people have suffered the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s ... a crisis provoked in great measure by wrong economic policies and an incompetent and irresponsible management of the public finances that placed Puerto Rico at the brink of bankruptcy and our credit at the risk of a downgrade to junk status.”
Such a downgrade, Fortuño said, would likely send the island’s unemployment rate to 25 percent. In May, the island’s unemployment rate was 14.4 percent.
Fortuño visits Washington regularly, meeting recently with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
One of his major priorities is boosting low government reimbursement rates for Puerto Rico. Fortuño is pushing Congress to revamp the funding mechanism as part of healthcare reform.
Another top agenda item for the governor is a bill introduced by Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D) that would establish a process to allow voters in Puerto Rico to determine whether they are in favor of statehood. The bipartisan measure has 156 co-sponsors.
Fortuño said his wife, LuceVela, urged President Obama to visit Puerto Rico earlier this year. President Kennedy is the last sitting president to visit the island.
Asked what Obama said, Fortuño smiled and said, “It’s tough to say no to my wife.”
Republicans should sit up and take note of the fact that message matters, Fortuño said, pointing to the Obama campaign’s message of hope as a prime example of how good messaging can win over voters. For the party to be successful in the future, Fortuño added, Republicans need to understand how their messages, on issues like immigration, resonate with Hispanics.
Fortuño, the father of triplets (one girl, two boys) who are now 17, laments that his party has a long way to go in attracting Hispanic voters.
In 2008, Hispanics made up 9 percent of the voting population and voted for President Obama over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by more than two-to-one, 67 percent versus 31, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
As a Hispanic who prides himself in being socially and fiscally conservative, Fortuño would seem to make an attractive presidential candidate for the Republican Party.
However, as a native Puerto Rican, it is not clear if he can be president. The Constitution requires the commander in chief to be a natural-born citizen; a Puerto Rican is considered a statutory citizen.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Hispanics, GOP have much in common
Hispanics and the GOP have much in common
Dianne Edmondson, Examiner, July 10, 2009
It’s a demographic given: In less than a decade, Hispanics will become the majority of Texas residents. Many political pundits predict that this increased Hispanic population will spell the death knell for Republicans throughout Texas. But does that prediction have to become reality?
It’s widely believed – due to much media hype – that Republicans view Hispanics as “the enemy” in some kind of “them versus us” contest. Yet none of the Republicans I know feel that way at all! While we believe that our laws –including those on immigration – should be obeyed, we do NOT translate that belief into a racial bias.
There is so much commonality between conservatives and traditional Hispanics – our views on pro-life, family values, high moral standards. But finding that common ground and showing Hispanics how well they would fit into the GOP tent seems to be difficult for most Republicans to do.
Enter a dynamic Denton County Republican Latina, Adryana Boyne, who brings her strong conservative beliefs unashamedly to the table as she speaks -- in both English and Spanish – to the Hispanic community. A native of Mexico who became a US citizen in 1994, Adryana has been on radio, television and in many newspaper articles. As a national delegate to the Republican convention last year, she caught the attention of many photographers and her smiling face appeared in many publications. Recently, she formed VOCES in Action, an organization dedicated to motivating, informing and equipping Latinos in America to help regain conservative values in our country.
Now Denton County Republicans have the opportunity to hear her words of wisdom concerning our outreach to her fellow Hispanics. She will be the featured speaker Thursday evening, July 16th at the monthly meeting of Denton County Republicans. The meeting, which is held in the second floor community room of the Lewisville Medical Center, will begin at 7 p.m. and is precede by a 6 p.m. social hour. All area Republicans are welcome to attend.
It’s high time that we learn how to find our common ground with Hispanics, and Adryana is just the person to show us how to do that!
Dianne Edmondson, Examiner, July 10, 2009
It’s a demographic given: In less than a decade, Hispanics will become the majority of Texas residents. Many political pundits predict that this increased Hispanic population will spell the death knell for Republicans throughout Texas. But does that prediction have to become reality?
It’s widely believed – due to much media hype – that Republicans view Hispanics as “the enemy” in some kind of “them versus us” contest. Yet none of the Republicans I know feel that way at all! While we believe that our laws –including those on immigration – should be obeyed, we do NOT translate that belief into a racial bias.
There is so much commonality between conservatives and traditional Hispanics – our views on pro-life, family values, high moral standards. But finding that common ground and showing Hispanics how well they would fit into the GOP tent seems to be difficult for most Republicans to do.
Enter a dynamic Denton County Republican Latina, Adryana Boyne, who brings her strong conservative beliefs unashamedly to the table as she speaks -- in both English and Spanish – to the Hispanic community. A native of Mexico who became a US citizen in 1994, Adryana has been on radio, television and in many newspaper articles. As a national delegate to the Republican convention last year, she caught the attention of many photographers and her smiling face appeared in many publications. Recently, she formed VOCES in Action, an organization dedicated to motivating, informing and equipping Latinos in America to help regain conservative values in our country.
Now Denton County Republicans have the opportunity to hear her words of wisdom concerning our outreach to her fellow Hispanics. She will be the featured speaker Thursday evening, July 16th at the monthly meeting of Denton County Republicans. The meeting, which is held in the second floor community room of the Lewisville Medical Center, will begin at 7 p.m. and is precede by a 6 p.m. social hour. All area Republicans are welcome to attend.
It’s high time that we learn how to find our common ground with Hispanics, and Adryana is just the person to show us how to do that!
Latina pushes issues in Moreno Valley
Activist raising Latinos' influence in Moreno Valley
By DAN LEE, The Press-Enterprise, July 11, 2009
MORENO VALLEY - School board member and longtime activist Victoria Baca helped elect Moreno Valley's first-ever Latino city councilman and argued in support of a major warehousing project that the City Council recently approved.
Baca's efforts represent the growth in power and influence of a particular faction within the Hispanic community, which makes up more than half of Moreno Valley's population.
But in the process, Baca has become a lightning rod for controversy -- especially when she was arrested May 15 on suspicion of interfering with Moreno Valley police conducting a traffic stop. Baca and others were protesting a police checkpoint.
"Her actions on the night in question put the safety and security of our city and its citizens in jeopardy by alerting and diverting traffic away from a lawful administrative police action aimed at protecting the public at large," resident Gordon Tucker Jr. wrote in an e-mail to the city.
Baca, who is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 4 and declined to comment on the incident, said she supports police stopping drunken drivers, but does not think they should ask innocent motorists for identification.
"I'm not willing to give up my civil liberties so two drunk drivers can be arrested," she said in an interview.
Baca also said she thinks the checkpoints disproportionately affect illegal immigrants who live in Moreno Valley and have children in local schools.
Mayor Richard Stewart said that the courts have upheld the use of checkpoints and that warning signs are placed so motorists can avoid them if they wish. They are an important part of preventing accidents, he said.
BUILDING CLOUT
A Moreno Valley resident for nearly 20 years, Baca headed an advocacy group called the Mexican Political Association.
Louise Palomarez, a longtime resident and friend, credited Baca with helping educate her and other parents about their children's rights in school and empowering them.
"She's a blessing," Palomarez said by phone.
Baca herself was tossed out of a May 1996 school board meeting for violating a rule prohibiting criticism of district officials by name. But a federal judge ruled that the district policy was akin to censorship, leading officials to change it.
Today, Baca sits on the other side of the dais as a school board trustee, having won an election in 2006. But her goals haven't changed.
Baca seeks to expand Latino representation among Moreno Valley's community leaders and served as campaign manager for Jesse Molina, who was elected in November as Moreno Valley's first Latino councilman.
"Before ... we were a faceless and voiceless people," she said. "Who could the Spanish-speaking community go to before if they had an issue at City Hall?"
Baca has found common ground with influential local developer Iddo Benzeevi, for whom she has worked as a consultant on local educational issues.
She supported his eastern Moreno Valley distribution center project, whose main tenant will be shoe company Skechers, arguing that the city needed jobs. Benzeevi donated money to the Moreno Valley Taxpayers Association, which backed Molina over incumbent Charles White.
Benzeevi said Baca decided to support the Skechers project independent of their consultant-client relationship, based on what is best for the community.
Baca downplayed the relationship, saying she works with many different people in the community.
THE NEXT STEP
She speaks of next year backing challengers against longtime incumbents Bonnie Flickinger and Stewart, arguing that changing demographics require new representation.
Stewart said Baca may represent the disenfranchised and undocumented, who do not or cannot vote, but she does not represent mainstream residents.
"My constituency is not the same constituency that supports Victoria Baca," Stewart said by phone.
Flickinger said she welcomed the competition.
"My constituents know me, my constituents trust me ... They're not going to beat me," Flickinger said by phone.
Others say Baca doesn't speak for the entire Hispanic community and her tactics wind up dividing the community along racial lines.
"A good leader represents the whole community, whether they're black, white, Hispanic, Asian or red, white and blue," former city council candidate Mike Rios said at a school board meeting last month.
Baca said she doesn't claim to represent the entire community.
She added that she considers herself Mexican in culture and heritage, but also proudly American, with four brothers who served in the Vietnam War, a father and uncles who served in World War II and Korean War, and a grandfather who served in World War I.
"I care about my country," she said.
By DAN LEE, The Press-Enterprise, July 11, 2009
MORENO VALLEY - School board member and longtime activist Victoria Baca helped elect Moreno Valley's first-ever Latino city councilman and argued in support of a major warehousing project that the City Council recently approved.
Baca's efforts represent the growth in power and influence of a particular faction within the Hispanic community, which makes up more than half of Moreno Valley's population.
But in the process, Baca has become a lightning rod for controversy -- especially when she was arrested May 15 on suspicion of interfering with Moreno Valley police conducting a traffic stop. Baca and others were protesting a police checkpoint.
"Her actions on the night in question put the safety and security of our city and its citizens in jeopardy by alerting and diverting traffic away from a lawful administrative police action aimed at protecting the public at large," resident Gordon Tucker Jr. wrote in an e-mail to the city.
Baca, who is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 4 and declined to comment on the incident, said she supports police stopping drunken drivers, but does not think they should ask innocent motorists for identification.
"I'm not willing to give up my civil liberties so two drunk drivers can be arrested," she said in an interview.
Baca also said she thinks the checkpoints disproportionately affect illegal immigrants who live in Moreno Valley and have children in local schools.
Mayor Richard Stewart said that the courts have upheld the use of checkpoints and that warning signs are placed so motorists can avoid them if they wish. They are an important part of preventing accidents, he said.
BUILDING CLOUT
A Moreno Valley resident for nearly 20 years, Baca headed an advocacy group called the Mexican Political Association.
Louise Palomarez, a longtime resident and friend, credited Baca with helping educate her and other parents about their children's rights in school and empowering them.
"She's a blessing," Palomarez said by phone.
Baca herself was tossed out of a May 1996 school board meeting for violating a rule prohibiting criticism of district officials by name. But a federal judge ruled that the district policy was akin to censorship, leading officials to change it.
Today, Baca sits on the other side of the dais as a school board trustee, having won an election in 2006. But her goals haven't changed.
Baca seeks to expand Latino representation among Moreno Valley's community leaders and served as campaign manager for Jesse Molina, who was elected in November as Moreno Valley's first Latino councilman.
"Before ... we were a faceless and voiceless people," she said. "Who could the Spanish-speaking community go to before if they had an issue at City Hall?"
Baca has found common ground with influential local developer Iddo Benzeevi, for whom she has worked as a consultant on local educational issues.
She supported his eastern Moreno Valley distribution center project, whose main tenant will be shoe company Skechers, arguing that the city needed jobs. Benzeevi donated money to the Moreno Valley Taxpayers Association, which backed Molina over incumbent Charles White.
Benzeevi said Baca decided to support the Skechers project independent of their consultant-client relationship, based on what is best for the community.
Baca downplayed the relationship, saying she works with many different people in the community.
THE NEXT STEP
She speaks of next year backing challengers against longtime incumbents Bonnie Flickinger and Stewart, arguing that changing demographics require new representation.
Stewart said Baca may represent the disenfranchised and undocumented, who do not or cannot vote, but she does not represent mainstream residents.
"My constituency is not the same constituency that supports Victoria Baca," Stewart said by phone.
Flickinger said she welcomed the competition.
"My constituents know me, my constituents trust me ... They're not going to beat me," Flickinger said by phone.
Others say Baca doesn't speak for the entire Hispanic community and her tactics wind up dividing the community along racial lines.
"A good leader represents the whole community, whether they're black, white, Hispanic, Asian or red, white and blue," former city council candidate Mike Rios said at a school board meeting last month.
Baca said she doesn't claim to represent the entire community.
She added that she considers herself Mexican in culture and heritage, but also proudly American, with four brothers who served in the Vietnam War, a father and uncles who served in World War II and Korean War, and a grandfather who served in World War I.
"I care about my country," she said.
Latinos in Gwinnett County vote
Political notebook: Study: Gwinnett Latinos turn out for elections
By Camie Young, Gwinnett Daily Post, 7/12/2009
Gwinnett County has one of the highest Latino populations, and those individuals are engaged in the political process, a report from the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials said.
Statewide, the Latino voting population has reached 145,991 or 3 percent of the electorate, the study found. Of those, 53.8 percent turned out to vote in 2008, compared to a national turnout rate of 49.9 percent.
The study found that U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Duluth, has the highest density of Latino registered voters with 23,185 - 4.6 percent of his electorate. In the 2008 General Election, the Latino turn out rate in his district was 57.7 percent.
"Immigration is an important issue which has increased voter participation and engagement amongst the Latino voters," said Jerry Gonzalez, the executive director of GALEO who authored the report. "Georgia legislators should pay close attention to the Latino voter participation rates. Latino voters have engaged and will continue to exercise their right to vote, while considering the anti-immigrant climate being created by some elected officials.
"As the debate on immigration moves forward, many elected officials are openly discussing the political impact the immigration issue could have in future elections, especially in attracting Latino voters."
Among the findings, Gonzalez said the "non-white" voting population in Gwinnett, which includes black, Latino, Asian, Indian and other categories, has grown at a higher rate than the white voting population. Between January 2003 and June 2009, 111,312 people in the non-white category registered to vote, compared to 37,859 white voters.
Among other local districts, state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, has 7,737 Latino registered voters in her 45th district, according to the report, accounting for 5.4 percent of her electorate. In 2008, that group demonstrated a 60.9 percent voter turn out.
Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Norcross, has 6,252 Latino registered voters in his 5th district, which accounts for 10.7 percent of his electorate.
"The numbers and the analysis presented in this report indicate a significant Latino electorate that is engaging quickly," Gonzalez said. "The Latino electorate cares about the issue of immigration and has demonstrated a capacity to turn out to vote. As the 2010 election unfolds, candidates and elected officials should consider the Latino electorate seriously because Latino voters in Georgia are engaged and participate in elections."
Political Notebook appears in the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Camie Young can be reached via e-mail at camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com.
By Camie Young, Gwinnett Daily Post, 7/12/2009
Gwinnett County has one of the highest Latino populations, and those individuals are engaged in the political process, a report from the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials said.
Statewide, the Latino voting population has reached 145,991 or 3 percent of the electorate, the study found. Of those, 53.8 percent turned out to vote in 2008, compared to a national turnout rate of 49.9 percent.
The study found that U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Duluth, has the highest density of Latino registered voters with 23,185 - 4.6 percent of his electorate. In the 2008 General Election, the Latino turn out rate in his district was 57.7 percent.
"Immigration is an important issue which has increased voter participation and engagement amongst the Latino voters," said Jerry Gonzalez, the executive director of GALEO who authored the report. "Georgia legislators should pay close attention to the Latino voter participation rates. Latino voters have engaged and will continue to exercise their right to vote, while considering the anti-immigrant climate being created by some elected officials.
"As the debate on immigration moves forward, many elected officials are openly discussing the political impact the immigration issue could have in future elections, especially in attracting Latino voters."
Among the findings, Gonzalez said the "non-white" voting population in Gwinnett, which includes black, Latino, Asian, Indian and other categories, has grown at a higher rate than the white voting population. Between January 2003 and June 2009, 111,312 people in the non-white category registered to vote, compared to 37,859 white voters.
Among other local districts, state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, has 7,737 Latino registered voters in her 45th district, according to the report, accounting for 5.4 percent of her electorate. In 2008, that group demonstrated a 60.9 percent voter turn out.
Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Norcross, has 6,252 Latino registered voters in his 5th district, which accounts for 10.7 percent of his electorate.
"The numbers and the analysis presented in this report indicate a significant Latino electorate that is engaging quickly," Gonzalez said. "The Latino electorate cares about the issue of immigration and has demonstrated a capacity to turn out to vote. As the 2010 election unfolds, candidates and elected officials should consider the Latino electorate seriously because Latino voters in Georgia are engaged and participate in elections."
Political Notebook appears in the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Camie Young can be reached via e-mail at camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
GOP will be in the eyes of Hispanics this week
Hispanics have eye on GOP senators' Sotomayor vote
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Efforts to rivet the attention of the Hispanic community on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings next week could complicate Republicans' political ambitions for next year.
The nation's major Spanish-language television networks, Univision and Telemundo, plan beefed-up coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee's proceedings, which begin Monday. And Latino activist groups are lobbying for confirmation of the nation's first Hispanic justice.
All of that creates "a big problem" for Republicans who want to oppose Sotomayor, says Lionel Sosa, a marketing executive whose GOP clients have included former president George W. Bush and John McCain.
Sosa cautions Republicans against opposing a wave of ethnic pride for the nominee: "If you are Latino, you are for Sotomayor."
Hispanic voters have determined the winner in Florida elections since 2000 and in Nevada since 2004, says Luis Fraga, director of the University of Washington's Diversity Research Institute. He credits divisive debates over immigration with turning Hispanics — who helped elect Bush — away from the GOP.
Republicans must defend Senate seats next year in three states that, according to 2008 Census Bureau estimates, have high percentages of Hispanics: Arizona (29.6%), Utah (11.6%) and Florida (20.6%).
In the past, Hispanics of Central American and Latin American origins might not have identified with Sotomayor because of her roots in Puerto Rico, Fraga says, but now they do.
"There is that pride that the nominee is a Latina," says Estuardo Rodriguez, a director of Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary. The coalition, which includes organizations such as the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is organizing events in states where the Hispanic population is high and the senators aren't committed to Sotomayor.
Where Sotomayor supporters see ethnic pride, some Republicans, such as Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, suspect bias.
They point to conservatives who don't like Sotomayor's statement that a "wise Latina" might be better equipped to handle some cases than her white male colleagues, and a case where she sided with a majority of appellate court judges in tossing a Connecticut firefighters' test that did not qualify any blacks and few Hispanics for promotion. The Supreme Court reversed that ruling last month.
Sessions, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern last month that Sotomayor's "policy preferences could influence her decision-making." Sessions also is questioning Sotomayor's 12 years as a director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, a group he calls "outside the mainstream."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has publicly advised fellow Republicans to be cautious about how they criticize Sotomayor.
At least one prominent Judiciary Committee Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, is leaving the door open to backing Sotomayor.
"The only way she can get derailed is if she performs poorly next week," Graham, who is up for re-election in South Carolina, told McClatchy newspapers.
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Efforts to rivet the attention of the Hispanic community on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings next week could complicate Republicans' political ambitions for next year.
The nation's major Spanish-language television networks, Univision and Telemundo, plan beefed-up coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee's proceedings, which begin Monday. And Latino activist groups are lobbying for confirmation of the nation's first Hispanic justice.
All of that creates "a big problem" for Republicans who want to oppose Sotomayor, says Lionel Sosa, a marketing executive whose GOP clients have included former president George W. Bush and John McCain.
Sosa cautions Republicans against opposing a wave of ethnic pride for the nominee: "If you are Latino, you are for Sotomayor."
Hispanic voters have determined the winner in Florida elections since 2000 and in Nevada since 2004, says Luis Fraga, director of the University of Washington's Diversity Research Institute. He credits divisive debates over immigration with turning Hispanics — who helped elect Bush — away from the GOP.
Republicans must defend Senate seats next year in three states that, according to 2008 Census Bureau estimates, have high percentages of Hispanics: Arizona (29.6%), Utah (11.6%) and Florida (20.6%).
In the past, Hispanics of Central American and Latin American origins might not have identified with Sotomayor because of her roots in Puerto Rico, Fraga says, but now they do.
"There is that pride that the nominee is a Latina," says Estuardo Rodriguez, a director of Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary. The coalition, which includes organizations such as the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is organizing events in states where the Hispanic population is high and the senators aren't committed to Sotomayor.
Where Sotomayor supporters see ethnic pride, some Republicans, such as Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, suspect bias.
They point to conservatives who don't like Sotomayor's statement that a "wise Latina" might be better equipped to handle some cases than her white male colleagues, and a case where she sided with a majority of appellate court judges in tossing a Connecticut firefighters' test that did not qualify any blacks and few Hispanics for promotion. The Supreme Court reversed that ruling last month.
Sessions, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern last month that Sotomayor's "policy preferences could influence her decision-making." Sessions also is questioning Sotomayor's 12 years as a director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, a group he calls "outside the mainstream."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has publicly advised fellow Republicans to be cautious about how they criticize Sotomayor.
At least one prominent Judiciary Committee Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, is leaving the door open to backing Sotomayor.
"The only way she can get derailed is if she performs poorly next week," Graham, who is up for re-election in South Carolina, told McClatchy newspapers.
Latinos getting bad deal with Obama policies
Voters' Remorse -- Is Baracklash on the Horizon?
FOXNews.com - July 09, 2009
Since January Obama has failed to help many of his core supporters. Will they soon turn against him?
Call it Baracklash: so far, Barack Obama isn't helping many people who voted for him in high percentages when he was elected president eight months ago.
According to exit polls, Obama beat John McCain for the vote of those under the age of 22 by 66-30 percent. He also generated a lot of enthusiasm among teenage volunteers below the voting age. But in June, unemployment encompassing this group --16 to 19-year-olds -- hit 24 percent, that's up from 20.6 percent at the end of George W. Bush's second term.
Ninety-five percent of blacks voted for Obama. As of June, black unemployment stood at 14.7 percent, up from 11.1 percent when Bush left office. Obama won the Hispanic vote by a 66-31 percent margin. Unemployment for Hispanics in June was 12.2 percent, an increase from 8.8 percent upon Bush's departure.
But it's not only black and Hispanic adults that Obama has so far failed to lift up. It's also their children. Nationwide, only 55 percent of black students and 58 percent of Hispanic students graduate from high school (versus 78 percent for whites). Yet Obama refuses to fight the teachers unions or his fellow Democrats in Congress to enact school choice. In fact, both groups oppose it. Meantime, many minority parents are begging for school choice to get their children out of unsafe, failing schools.
A high school graduate earns $600,000 more over a lifetime than a dropout and high school graduates live up to seven years longer than dropouts. A high school dropout is five to eight times more likely to go to jail than a college graduate. And it's estimated that if the racial gap in American education could be closed it would have led to a 2 to 4 percent increase in GDP in 2008 -- translated into real money that works out to between $310 and $525 billion dollars!
Obama knows that. Nonetheless, he sends his daughters to a private school that he'd shut Washington's minority kids out of. He praises the mother of his Hispanic Supreme Court nominee for working six days a week to pay, in Obama's words, to send "her children to a Catholic school called Cardinal Spellman out of the belief that with a good education here in America all things are possible."
Seventy-eight percent of the Jewish vote and 62 percent of the Asian vote went to Obama. This is despite the reverse discrimination many of their high-achieving children suffer because of the affirmative action quotas Obama favors in college admissions and employment.
Further, while Obama tried to solidify his pro-Israel credentials when he was courting the Jewish vote, since his election he has made far tougher demands on Israel than on its Palestinian and Arab enemies. Last month, in his much-touted address in Cairo to the Muslim world, Obama singled out only Israel for criticism for its settlement policies in the West Bank. His administration has given the impression that Israel's settlement expansion and military self-defense is preventing America from stopping Iran's nuclear buildup.
On July 3, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who supported Obama for president, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "Many American supporters of Israel who voted for Barack Obama now suspect they may have been victims of a bait and switch. Now, some of them apparently have voters' remorse."
What will it take for more of Obama's staunchest backers to join other Americans who have reached that conclusion?
Communications consultant Jon Kraushar is at www.jonkraushar.net
FOXNews.com - July 09, 2009
Since January Obama has failed to help many of his core supporters. Will they soon turn against him?
Call it Baracklash: so far, Barack Obama isn't helping many people who voted for him in high percentages when he was elected president eight months ago.
According to exit polls, Obama beat John McCain for the vote of those under the age of 22 by 66-30 percent. He also generated a lot of enthusiasm among teenage volunteers below the voting age. But in June, unemployment encompassing this group --16 to 19-year-olds -- hit 24 percent, that's up from 20.6 percent at the end of George W. Bush's second term.
Ninety-five percent of blacks voted for Obama. As of June, black unemployment stood at 14.7 percent, up from 11.1 percent when Bush left office. Obama won the Hispanic vote by a 66-31 percent margin. Unemployment for Hispanics in June was 12.2 percent, an increase from 8.8 percent upon Bush's departure.
But it's not only black and Hispanic adults that Obama has so far failed to lift up. It's also their children. Nationwide, only 55 percent of black students and 58 percent of Hispanic students graduate from high school (versus 78 percent for whites). Yet Obama refuses to fight the teachers unions or his fellow Democrats in Congress to enact school choice. In fact, both groups oppose it. Meantime, many minority parents are begging for school choice to get their children out of unsafe, failing schools.
A high school graduate earns $600,000 more over a lifetime than a dropout and high school graduates live up to seven years longer than dropouts. A high school dropout is five to eight times more likely to go to jail than a college graduate. And it's estimated that if the racial gap in American education could be closed it would have led to a 2 to 4 percent increase in GDP in 2008 -- translated into real money that works out to between $310 and $525 billion dollars!
Obama knows that. Nonetheless, he sends his daughters to a private school that he'd shut Washington's minority kids out of. He praises the mother of his Hispanic Supreme Court nominee for working six days a week to pay, in Obama's words, to send "her children to a Catholic school called Cardinal Spellman out of the belief that with a good education here in America all things are possible."
Seventy-eight percent of the Jewish vote and 62 percent of the Asian vote went to Obama. This is despite the reverse discrimination many of their high-achieving children suffer because of the affirmative action quotas Obama favors in college admissions and employment.
Further, while Obama tried to solidify his pro-Israel credentials when he was courting the Jewish vote, since his election he has made far tougher demands on Israel than on its Palestinian and Arab enemies. Last month, in his much-touted address in Cairo to the Muslim world, Obama singled out only Israel for criticism for its settlement policies in the West Bank. His administration has given the impression that Israel's settlement expansion and military self-defense is preventing America from stopping Iran's nuclear buildup.
On July 3, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who supported Obama for president, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "Many American supporters of Israel who voted for Barack Obama now suspect they may have been victims of a bait and switch. Now, some of them apparently have voters' remorse."
What will it take for more of Obama's staunchest backers to join other Americans who have reached that conclusion?
Communications consultant Jon Kraushar is at www.jonkraushar.net
Hispanic immigrants may benefit from DHS rules
DHS Alters Its Illegal Immigrant Program
By Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, July 11, 2009
The Department of Homeland Security will rein in a controversial program that deputizes state and local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws by targeting illegal immigrants who commit major drug or violent crimes, Secretary Janet Napolitano said yesterday.
Civil liberties groups and immigrant advocates have alleged that some police officials have engaged in racial profiling, using their authority to conduct indiscriminate traffic stops or neighborhood sweeps aimed at Latinos and other ethnic groups.
In May, Congress's audit arm faulted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for improperly supervising the enforcement program. It cited cases in which police arrested illegal immigrants for minor infractions such as speeding or urinating in public.
ICE officials said 66 participating agencies, which receive federal grant dollars for their participation, will have 90 days to accept new terms or be dropped from the program.
The newly stated purpose of the program is to catch "criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or danger to the community," ICE said. The changes set priorities for the identification of illegal immigrants who are convicted of or arrested for, respectively, major drug or violent crimes; then, those involving minor drug or property crimes; and those linked with other crimes.
Critics said the changes will undermine local efforts to help enforce federal immigration laws.
"This is another example of the administration making it harder to find and deport illegal immigrants," said Rep. Lamar Smith (Tex.), the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
For example, the new rules require that participating agencies commit agents to perform immigration duties for at least two years and to pursue all charges filed against illegal immigrants to their completion, he said.
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"It is counterproductive to bully them now with this kind of ultimatum," Smith said.
By Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, July 11, 2009
The Department of Homeland Security will rein in a controversial program that deputizes state and local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws by targeting illegal immigrants who commit major drug or violent crimes, Secretary Janet Napolitano said yesterday.
Civil liberties groups and immigrant advocates have alleged that some police officials have engaged in racial profiling, using their authority to conduct indiscriminate traffic stops or neighborhood sweeps aimed at Latinos and other ethnic groups.
In May, Congress's audit arm faulted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for improperly supervising the enforcement program. It cited cases in which police arrested illegal immigrants for minor infractions such as speeding or urinating in public.
ICE officials said 66 participating agencies, which receive federal grant dollars for their participation, will have 90 days to accept new terms or be dropped from the program.
The newly stated purpose of the program is to catch "criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or danger to the community," ICE said. The changes set priorities for the identification of illegal immigrants who are convicted of or arrested for, respectively, major drug or violent crimes; then, those involving minor drug or property crimes; and those linked with other crimes.
Critics said the changes will undermine local efforts to help enforce federal immigration laws.
"This is another example of the administration making it harder to find and deport illegal immigrants," said Rep. Lamar Smith (Tex.), the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
For example, the new rules require that participating agencies commit agents to perform immigration duties for at least two years and to pursue all charges filed against illegal immigrants to their completion, he said.
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"It is counterproductive to bully them now with this kind of ultimatum," Smith said.
Hispanic immigrants again target of budget issues
Illegal immigrants again in the budget spotlight
The economic downturn has activists pushing for a measure that would limit the services Californians provide.
By Anna Gorman and Teresa Watanabe, LA TIMES, July 10, 2009
As California lawmakers struggle with a budget gap that has now grown to $26.3 billion, one of the hottest topics for many taxpayers is the cost to the state of illegal immigrants.
The question of whether taxpayers should provide services to illegal residents became a major political issue in California's last deep recession, culminating in the ballot fight over Proposition 187 in 1994. That history could repeat itself in the current downturn, as activists opposed to illegal immigration have launched a campaign for an initiative that would, among other things, cut off welfare payments to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Those children are eligible for welfare benefits because they are U.S. citizens.
State welfare officials estimate that cutting off payments to illegal immigrants for their U.S.-born children could save about $640 million annually if it survives legal challenges.
California has roughly 2.7 million illegal residents, according to an April 2009 report from the authoritative Pew Hispanic Center, accounting for about 7% of the state's population. State officials estimate that they add between $4 billion and $6 billion in costs, primarily for prisons and jails, schools and emergency rooms. Beyond those services, the illegal population adds to the overall cost of other parts of local government, from police and fire protection to highway maintenance and libraries.
On the other side of the ledger, illegal residents pay taxes -- sales taxes on what they buy, gasoline taxes when they fuel their cars, property taxes if they own homes. The total is hotly debated, although most researchers agree that the short-term costs to state and local government are bigger than the revenues.
Many companies that hire illegal workers also withhold Social Security and income taxes from their paychecks, based on workers' invalid Social Security numbers. That money goes mostly to the federal government, not to localities. The Social Security Administration estimates that in 2007, illegal residents nationwide contributed a net of $12 billion to the system.
The largest costs to California's budget from its illegal residents are in three areas:
* Education: The state has no official count of how many students are in the country illegally because school districts do not ask. But the state legislative analyst estimated, based on data from the Pew Hispanic Center, that the state's 6.3 million public school students include about 300,000 illegal residents. At an annual cost of about $7,626 each, the total comes to nearly $2.3 billion.
* Prisons: In fiscal year 2009-10, California expects to spend about $834 million to incarcerate 19,000 illegal immigrants in the state's prisons. In Los Angeles County, illegal immigrants add between $370 million and $550 million annually to criminal justice costs, including prosecution, defense, probation and jails, according to Supervisor Mike Antonovich.
* Healthcare: The expected state tab for healthcare in fiscal 2009-10 is $703 million for as many as 780,000 illegal immigrants. Of that, $486 million goes to emergency services. But low-income illegal residents are also eligible for some nonemergency health services, including prenatal and postpartum care, abortions, breast and cervical cancer treatment and certain types of long-term care, such as stays in nursing homes. Most of the nonemergency care for illegal immigrants was authorized by the Legislature in the 1980s.
Much of those costs are beyond the control of state officials. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the Constitution forbids school districts to turn away children who are illegal immigrants. And federal law requires emergency rooms to treat everyone, regardless of citizenship.
How serious a problem those costs are is a subject of constant debate. "It is a catastrophic hit . . . on every level of government," Antonovich said.
State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) who heads the Senate budget committee, counters that illegal immigrants are net contributors through their taxes and labor in farming and other industries. Cutting services to illegal residents is "penny wise and pound foolish," Ducheny said.
The Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, based in Palo Alto, has analyzed research on the costs of illegal immigration. Most studies show that at least in the short term, illegal immigrants, who tend to be poorer and have more children than average, use more in public services than they contribute in taxes, the center found.
But the center's director, Stephen Levy, said some of the long-term effects were positive. Educating illegal immigrant children, for instance, helps them eventually land better jobs and higher salaries, benefiting Californians with increased tax payments and more sophisticated work skills.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said it is wrong to blame illegal immigrants for the state's fiscal problems. He has, however, proposed to limit welfare and nonemergency healthcare for illegal immigrants and their families. So far, the Legislature has rejected his plans.
One of the governor's proposals would place a five-year limit on state welfare payments to the U.S.-citizen children of illegal immigrants. That would affect approximately 100,000 U.S.-born children in about 48,000 California households headed by illegal immigrants, who receive a monthly average of $472. The measure could save $77 million annually, according to the governor's office.
Under another proposal, the governor could commute the sentences of some illegal immigrant felons in state prisons and shift them to federal detention centers. It costs the state $48,000 to incarcerate a prisoner, and the federal government reimburses about 12 cents on the dollar, according to state finance officials. The administration estimates that commuting sentences of 8,500 felons, along with other sentencing changes, could save $182 million, although other state analysts question that.
State cuts in health services could shift costs to counties, some of which have begun denying treatment to illegal immigrants to close their own budget gaps. "It really is a punt," said Farra Bracht of the Legislative Analyst's Office. "We just keep shoving more and more to the counties. . . . They are the providers of truly last resort."
Many state officials have called on the federal government to increase the payments it makes to the state for costs associated with illegal immigrants, because controlling the borders is a federal responsibility. So far, however, Washington lawmakers, faced with large deficits of their own, have not been willing.
And others say the nation's humanitarian traditions and long-term interests compel extending a helping hand to people such as Delia Godinez.
Godinez, a 43-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant, left an abusive family and lives in transitional housing. Four of her five children are citizens and receive a total of about $650 each month from the state's CalWorks program. She also receives about $500 in federal food stamps and other vouchers.
Without the aid, the unemployed Godinez said, she wouldn't be able to provide for her family. She is studying English and hopes one day to open a business and get off welfare.
"I don't want to be my whole life with that help," she said.
Many advocates say the ultimate solution is to reduce illegal immigration, not to cut off critical services that could jeopardize public health and safety.
"When people come into the U.S., even illegally, they cross more than a physical barrier; they cross a moral barrier," said Steven Camarota of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates immigration restrictions. "We don't like it if someone can't go to the emergency room. That's just our way."
anna.gorman@latimes.com
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
The economic downturn has activists pushing for a measure that would limit the services Californians provide.
By Anna Gorman and Teresa Watanabe, LA TIMES, July 10, 2009
As California lawmakers struggle with a budget gap that has now grown to $26.3 billion, one of the hottest topics for many taxpayers is the cost to the state of illegal immigrants.
The question of whether taxpayers should provide services to illegal residents became a major political issue in California's last deep recession, culminating in the ballot fight over Proposition 187 in 1994. That history could repeat itself in the current downturn, as activists opposed to illegal immigration have launched a campaign for an initiative that would, among other things, cut off welfare payments to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Those children are eligible for welfare benefits because they are U.S. citizens.
State welfare officials estimate that cutting off payments to illegal immigrants for their U.S.-born children could save about $640 million annually if it survives legal challenges.
California has roughly 2.7 million illegal residents, according to an April 2009 report from the authoritative Pew Hispanic Center, accounting for about 7% of the state's population. State officials estimate that they add between $4 billion and $6 billion in costs, primarily for prisons and jails, schools and emergency rooms. Beyond those services, the illegal population adds to the overall cost of other parts of local government, from police and fire protection to highway maintenance and libraries.
On the other side of the ledger, illegal residents pay taxes -- sales taxes on what they buy, gasoline taxes when they fuel their cars, property taxes if they own homes. The total is hotly debated, although most researchers agree that the short-term costs to state and local government are bigger than the revenues.
Many companies that hire illegal workers also withhold Social Security and income taxes from their paychecks, based on workers' invalid Social Security numbers. That money goes mostly to the federal government, not to localities. The Social Security Administration estimates that in 2007, illegal residents nationwide contributed a net of $12 billion to the system.
The largest costs to California's budget from its illegal residents are in three areas:
* Education: The state has no official count of how many students are in the country illegally because school districts do not ask. But the state legislative analyst estimated, based on data from the Pew Hispanic Center, that the state's 6.3 million public school students include about 300,000 illegal residents. At an annual cost of about $7,626 each, the total comes to nearly $2.3 billion.
* Prisons: In fiscal year 2009-10, California expects to spend about $834 million to incarcerate 19,000 illegal immigrants in the state's prisons. In Los Angeles County, illegal immigrants add between $370 million and $550 million annually to criminal justice costs, including prosecution, defense, probation and jails, according to Supervisor Mike Antonovich.
* Healthcare: The expected state tab for healthcare in fiscal 2009-10 is $703 million for as many as 780,000 illegal immigrants. Of that, $486 million goes to emergency services. But low-income illegal residents are also eligible for some nonemergency health services, including prenatal and postpartum care, abortions, breast and cervical cancer treatment and certain types of long-term care, such as stays in nursing homes. Most of the nonemergency care for illegal immigrants was authorized by the Legislature in the 1980s.
Much of those costs are beyond the control of state officials. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the Constitution forbids school districts to turn away children who are illegal immigrants. And federal law requires emergency rooms to treat everyone, regardless of citizenship.
How serious a problem those costs are is a subject of constant debate. "It is a catastrophic hit . . . on every level of government," Antonovich said.
State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) who heads the Senate budget committee, counters that illegal immigrants are net contributors through their taxes and labor in farming and other industries. Cutting services to illegal residents is "penny wise and pound foolish," Ducheny said.
The Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, based in Palo Alto, has analyzed research on the costs of illegal immigration. Most studies show that at least in the short term, illegal immigrants, who tend to be poorer and have more children than average, use more in public services than they contribute in taxes, the center found.
But the center's director, Stephen Levy, said some of the long-term effects were positive. Educating illegal immigrant children, for instance, helps them eventually land better jobs and higher salaries, benefiting Californians with increased tax payments and more sophisticated work skills.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said it is wrong to blame illegal immigrants for the state's fiscal problems. He has, however, proposed to limit welfare and nonemergency healthcare for illegal immigrants and their families. So far, the Legislature has rejected his plans.
One of the governor's proposals would place a five-year limit on state welfare payments to the U.S.-citizen children of illegal immigrants. That would affect approximately 100,000 U.S.-born children in about 48,000 California households headed by illegal immigrants, who receive a monthly average of $472. The measure could save $77 million annually, according to the governor's office.
Under another proposal, the governor could commute the sentences of some illegal immigrant felons in state prisons and shift them to federal detention centers. It costs the state $48,000 to incarcerate a prisoner, and the federal government reimburses about 12 cents on the dollar, according to state finance officials. The administration estimates that commuting sentences of 8,500 felons, along with other sentencing changes, could save $182 million, although other state analysts question that.
State cuts in health services could shift costs to counties, some of which have begun denying treatment to illegal immigrants to close their own budget gaps. "It really is a punt," said Farra Bracht of the Legislative Analyst's Office. "We just keep shoving more and more to the counties. . . . They are the providers of truly last resort."
Many state officials have called on the federal government to increase the payments it makes to the state for costs associated with illegal immigrants, because controlling the borders is a federal responsibility. So far, however, Washington lawmakers, faced with large deficits of their own, have not been willing.
And others say the nation's humanitarian traditions and long-term interests compel extending a helping hand to people such as Delia Godinez.
Godinez, a 43-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant, left an abusive family and lives in transitional housing. Four of her five children are citizens and receive a total of about $650 each month from the state's CalWorks program. She also receives about $500 in federal food stamps and other vouchers.
Without the aid, the unemployed Godinez said, she wouldn't be able to provide for her family. She is studying English and hopes one day to open a business and get off welfare.
"I don't want to be my whole life with that help," she said.
Many advocates say the ultimate solution is to reduce illegal immigration, not to cut off critical services that could jeopardize public health and safety.
"When people come into the U.S., even illegally, they cross more than a physical barrier; they cross a moral barrier," said Steven Camarota of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates immigration restrictions. "We don't like it if someone can't go to the emergency room. That's just our way."
anna.gorman@latimes.com
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Latino education an economic urgency
The economic urgency of Latino higher education
By Vince Vasquez, SDDT, July 8, 2009
Two key papers released last month highlight how shifting demographics will place Latinos front and center in the discussion about our state and nation's economic future. Preparing for the challenges ahead will require not only that Latino teens hit the books, but will also require their parents to advance their own education.
The first of these reports, "50+ Hispanic Workers" from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), revealed unique characteristics of the older Latino workforce. AARP found that Hispanics, on the whole, work longer hours, miss fewer work-days and have higher job satisfaction than their non-Latino peers. However, 58 percent of Latinos work in mostly physically-demanding, low-skilled occupations such as construction trades, manufacturing and the service sector, and will find it physically difficult to continue working into their 60s. Few have attained management or professional positions in their later years, resulting in lower earnings potential and a notable retirement security gap.
Older Hispanic workers also receive less wages and benefits than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The median annual earnings for senior Latino males in the workforce was approximately $30,400, far less than the $50,600 and $36,400 made by Caucasian and African-American men, respectively. Fewer than half (49 percent) receive health care benefits, and only 38 percent had access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while more than 60 percent of Caucasian and African-American workers had access to both. Over a lifetime, this allows for limited opportunities to accumulate wealth; a previous 2007 study found that older Hispanics have a $100,000 shortfall in net worth compared to non-Hispanics.
A lifetime of low pay and benefits also results in the absence of a retirement security net for Hispanic households, leaving them unnecessarily vulnerable to involuntary job separations via layoffs, health problems and family needs. In fact, the AARP report found that Hispanics were the only subset of older American workers who were mostly separated from their job due to layoffs or medical reasons (32 percent and 22 percent, respectively) -- only about a third (35 percent) actually left the workplace to retire. This stands in strong contrast to the majority of American seniors, of which 47 percent leave to retire willingly, while 40 percent received pink slips or had health issues. The reasons behind the Latino retirement security gap are wide-ranging and complex, but some important patterns do emerge that indicate the advanced skill sets lacking among Latino immigrants have economic consequences.
The AARP study found a strong correlation between non-U.S. origins, low education levels and poor English skills, revealing that economic equality is elusive among the 57 percent of older Latino workers who are foreign-born, who principally arrive to America lacking high school diplomas and little mastery of the English language. Overall, 41 percent of senior Hispanics do not hold a high school diploma, and only 12 percent earned a bachelor's degree, all to ruinous results; as the report highlighted, "lifetime earnings are about 20 percent higher for high school graduates than those who did not complete high school and about twice as high for college graduated as high school dropouts."
Most troubling is that lower educational achievement is persisting past first generation immigration. A June 2009 report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that one out of three Latinos fail to graduate high school, while among the overall population the drop out rate is only 25 percent. With Latinos comprising 49 percent of all students enrolled in the state's K-12 system, addressing the drop out epidemic is critical to our state's economic future. As the PPIC authors noted, absent better graduation rates, there "will not be enough young adults with a college education to meet the increase (in) demand for highly educated workers after the baby boomers retire."
Dealing with this challenge does not just require policy changes in the classroom. While a sensitive subject, the use of Spanish at home is also having a detrimental impact on Latino achievement. According to a 2004 paper, "What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants" by Dr. Hoyt Bleakley and Dr. Aimee Chin, "parental English-language skills can account for 60 percent of the difference in dropout rates between non-Hispanic whites and U.S.-born Hispanic children of immigrants." AARP researchers found that the 20 percent of older U.S.-born Latino workers who didn't complete high school also did not speak English well. For the next generation to succeed, foreign-born Latino parents must do their part and attain greater fluency in English.
Low-skill work dries up faster than other occupations; according to May 2009 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate of Americans lacking a high school diploma was more than three times greater than the rate for those with bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees. The future for California Latinos will be through academic achievement and English fluency. Though the message is often repeated, the maxim is never worn -- with higher education come higher earnings and greater job security, particularly in these difficult economic times.
Vasquez is the senior policy analyst at the National University System Institute for Policy Research. Send comments to editor@sddt.com. Letters may be published as Letters to the Editor.
By Vince Vasquez, SDDT, July 8, 2009
Two key papers released last month highlight how shifting demographics will place Latinos front and center in the discussion about our state and nation's economic future. Preparing for the challenges ahead will require not only that Latino teens hit the books, but will also require their parents to advance their own education.
The first of these reports, "50+ Hispanic Workers" from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), revealed unique characteristics of the older Latino workforce. AARP found that Hispanics, on the whole, work longer hours, miss fewer work-days and have higher job satisfaction than their non-Latino peers. However, 58 percent of Latinos work in mostly physically-demanding, low-skilled occupations such as construction trades, manufacturing and the service sector, and will find it physically difficult to continue working into their 60s. Few have attained management or professional positions in their later years, resulting in lower earnings potential and a notable retirement security gap.
Older Hispanic workers also receive less wages and benefits than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The median annual earnings for senior Latino males in the workforce was approximately $30,400, far less than the $50,600 and $36,400 made by Caucasian and African-American men, respectively. Fewer than half (49 percent) receive health care benefits, and only 38 percent had access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while more than 60 percent of Caucasian and African-American workers had access to both. Over a lifetime, this allows for limited opportunities to accumulate wealth; a previous 2007 study found that older Hispanics have a $100,000 shortfall in net worth compared to non-Hispanics.
A lifetime of low pay and benefits also results in the absence of a retirement security net for Hispanic households, leaving them unnecessarily vulnerable to involuntary job separations via layoffs, health problems and family needs. In fact, the AARP report found that Hispanics were the only subset of older American workers who were mostly separated from their job due to layoffs or medical reasons (32 percent and 22 percent, respectively) -- only about a third (35 percent) actually left the workplace to retire. This stands in strong contrast to the majority of American seniors, of which 47 percent leave to retire willingly, while 40 percent received pink slips or had health issues. The reasons behind the Latino retirement security gap are wide-ranging and complex, but some important patterns do emerge that indicate the advanced skill sets lacking among Latino immigrants have economic consequences.
The AARP study found a strong correlation between non-U.S. origins, low education levels and poor English skills, revealing that economic equality is elusive among the 57 percent of older Latino workers who are foreign-born, who principally arrive to America lacking high school diplomas and little mastery of the English language. Overall, 41 percent of senior Hispanics do not hold a high school diploma, and only 12 percent earned a bachelor's degree, all to ruinous results; as the report highlighted, "lifetime earnings are about 20 percent higher for high school graduates than those who did not complete high school and about twice as high for college graduated as high school dropouts."
Most troubling is that lower educational achievement is persisting past first generation immigration. A June 2009 report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that one out of three Latinos fail to graduate high school, while among the overall population the drop out rate is only 25 percent. With Latinos comprising 49 percent of all students enrolled in the state's K-12 system, addressing the drop out epidemic is critical to our state's economic future. As the PPIC authors noted, absent better graduation rates, there "will not be enough young adults with a college education to meet the increase (in) demand for highly educated workers after the baby boomers retire."
Dealing with this challenge does not just require policy changes in the classroom. While a sensitive subject, the use of Spanish at home is also having a detrimental impact on Latino achievement. According to a 2004 paper, "What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants" by Dr. Hoyt Bleakley and Dr. Aimee Chin, "parental English-language skills can account for 60 percent of the difference in dropout rates between non-Hispanic whites and U.S.-born Hispanic children of immigrants." AARP researchers found that the 20 percent of older U.S.-born Latino workers who didn't complete high school also did not speak English well. For the next generation to succeed, foreign-born Latino parents must do their part and attain greater fluency in English.
Low-skill work dries up faster than other occupations; according to May 2009 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate of Americans lacking a high school diploma was more than three times greater than the rate for those with bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees. The future for California Latinos will be through academic achievement and English fluency. Though the message is often repeated, the maxim is never worn -- with higher education come higher earnings and greater job security, particularly in these difficult economic times.
Vasquez is the senior policy analyst at the National University System Institute for Policy Research. Send comments to editor@sddt.com. Letters may be published as Letters to the Editor.
First Hispanic AG to teach at Texas Tech
Alberto Gonzales, First Hispanic Attorney General, To Teach At Texas Tech
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor, July 8, 2009
Austin, TX (AHN) - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales begins teaching at Texas Tech this fall, exactly two years after he resigned in the wake of a controversial wiretapping program and allegations of perjury and politically-motivated dismissals of prosecutors.
The 53-year-old Gonzales, who majored in Political Science at Rice University before finishing at Harvard Law School, will teach a junior-level course called "Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch" under the Political Science Department at Texas Tech.
Apart from his teaching duties, he will assist the university and Angelo State University with the recruitment and retention of first generation and underrepresented students. He will also work with the Texas Tech Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement in developing a first generation and minority student leadership training program.
Gonzales served as Texas Secretary of State and a judge in the state Supreme Court before being appointed by former President George W. Bush in February 2005 as the first Hispanic attorney general. He stepped down in 2007 amid allegations of perjury in connection with a congressional probe on the firings of nine federal prosecutors in 2006.
Following his disgraceful exit, he reportedly had difficulties finding work, but was able to make a living through speaking engagements. Last year, a report by the Justice Department inspector general found that he had mishandled highly classified information about the nation's top national security programs.
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor, July 8, 2009
Austin, TX (AHN) - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales begins teaching at Texas Tech this fall, exactly two years after he resigned in the wake of a controversial wiretapping program and allegations of perjury and politically-motivated dismissals of prosecutors.
The 53-year-old Gonzales, who majored in Political Science at Rice University before finishing at Harvard Law School, will teach a junior-level course called "Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch" under the Political Science Department at Texas Tech.
Apart from his teaching duties, he will assist the university and Angelo State University with the recruitment and retention of first generation and underrepresented students. He will also work with the Texas Tech Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement in developing a first generation and minority student leadership training program.
Gonzales served as Texas Secretary of State and a judge in the state Supreme Court before being appointed by former President George W. Bush in February 2005 as the first Hispanic attorney general. He stepped down in 2007 amid allegations of perjury in connection with a congressional probe on the firings of nine federal prosecutors in 2006.
Following his disgraceful exit, he reportedly had difficulties finding work, but was able to make a living through speaking engagements. Last year, a report by the Justice Department inspector general found that he had mishandled highly classified information about the nation's top national security programs.
Denver Hispanic Bar announces new President
DGS’ Arguello to lead Colorado Hispanic Bar
Denver Business Journal
Attorney Damian Arguello of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP has been elected 2010 president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, the Denver law firm announced Wednesday.
Arguello formerly was CHBA’s treasurer.
“I am honored that CHBA’s members have entrusted me with this responsibility. I hope to build on my predecessors’ fine efforts in serving the Colorado Hispanic community,” Arguello said.
At DGS, Arguello’s practice focuses on risk-management issues, particularly insurance coverage and environmental, health and safety matters.
The Denver native earned his law degree from the University of Denver in 2004.
Denver Business Journal
Attorney Damian Arguello of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP has been elected 2010 president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, the Denver law firm announced Wednesday.
Arguello formerly was CHBA’s treasurer.
“I am honored that CHBA’s members have entrusted me with this responsibility. I hope to build on my predecessors’ fine efforts in serving the Colorado Hispanic community,” Arguello said.
At DGS, Arguello’s practice focuses on risk-management issues, particularly insurance coverage and environmental, health and safety matters.
The Denver native earned his law degree from the University of Denver in 2004.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Hispanic males majority in Arizona county jails
Hispanic males are now majority in county jails
By JJ Hensley - The Arizona Republic, Jul. 7, 2009
There's a shift under way in the Maricopa County jails.
The population of White male inmates, after growing steadily for more than a decade, has dropped in the past five years, while the population of Hispanic male inmates has increased to the point that they make up the ethnic majority, according Sheriff's Office data.
Experts say the explanation for the increase is largely due to overall population trends coupled with a series of recent laws and policy decisions targeting illegal immigrants.
The majority of Hispanics in county jails are not in the country illegally. However, most of the illegal immigrants jailed as a result of immigration-enforcement efforts are Latino.
In 2006, County Attorney Andrew Thomas issued an opinion allowing prosecutors to charge illegal immigrants as co-conspirators in their own smuggling. Voters also approved Proposition 100, which denies bail to illegal immigrants.
In 2007, the Sheriff's Office, Phoenix police and the state Department of Public Safety entered into agreements allowing officers and deputies to receive Immigration and Customs Enforcement training. Voters approved the Legal Arizona Workers Act, the state's employer-sanctions law.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has used ICE-trained deputies to conduct crime sweeps in neighborhoods with high Hispanic populations and work-site raids, which frequently result in arrests for warrants and other crimes that have nothing to do with immigration.
Arpaio pointed to his policy decisions and the new laws as a reason for the jail-population shift, particularly the denial of bail to illegal immigrants.
"They're staying there. They're not getting the revolving door. When we arrest them, they can't get right out on bond," Arpaio said.
On average, about 12 percent of the inmates in county jails have immigration holds. Some of those inmates are picked up on suspicion of crimes such as identity theft or illegal entry, while other inmates with immigration holds are brought in for outstanding warrants or crimes such as DUI.
"These numbers don't represent a pattern of crime, they reflect a pattern of enforcement," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the Arizona ACLU, a group that is suing the Sheriff's Office over allegations of racial profiling.
Arpaio said his deputies and other law-enforcement agencies weren't looking to arrest minorities and pointed to the Hispanic population's rapid growth.
Still, putting large numbers of police officers and deputies in Latino neighborhoods would clearly result in more Latinos going to jail, said Nastassia Walsh, a research analyst with the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.,-based group that advocates alternatives to incarceration.
"What you see across the country, and probably one of the main reasons why there is so much of a disproportionate minority portion of the prison population is because law enforcement tends to focus on lower-income communities and communities of color when they're doing their enforcement," Walsh said.
About 8,000 men are in county jails each day, a number that's remained unchanged in the past five years.
• The number of Hispanic men in county jails increased by more than 28 percent between 2004 and 2008, from 2,751 in 2004 to more than 3,500 last year. The number of Hispanics in Maricopa County increased by more than 20 percent, from 982,000 in 2004 to more than 1.18 million in 2007, the last year with ethnic data available from the U.S. Census.
• The number of White men in county jails fell nearly 18 percent, from 3,580 to 2,938 in that same time span, while the number of Whites in the county rose by almost 7 percent.
• The number of Black men in county jails continued to increase, from 986 to 1,158 in that five-year period, and now make up more than 14 percent of the jails' male population. Blacks make up about 4 percent of the county's population.
Jail officials said those population shifts have led to increasing ethnic tensions among inmates. Officials instituted a pair of rare systemwide lockdowns in the past two months, including one last week after intelligence indicated a large-scale disturbance between Black and Hispanic inmates, officials said.
The lockdown was lifted on Thursday and a small disturbance erupted the following day. Arpaio described the incident as "racially motivated," and officials locked down a unit of the Lower Buckeye Jail.
These population shifts have occurred while Maricopa County, like the rest of the country, has seen an overall decline in violent crime.
Walsh said a similar pattern emerged during the late 1990s, when violent crime was on the decline and incarceration numbers continued to rise. "Law enforcement focused their efforts on drug crime (in the 1990s) and because they're a 'victimless crime,' they're very rarely reported as crime," she said. "Because crime is going down, police have more time to go look for people who are here illegally, or for people who are selling drugs."
But the raw data makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about the types of crimes residents of different ethnic backgrounds commit.
"I can only go on statistics in the jail, but that doesn't mean that everybody committing crime is arrested, there could be 1,000 people committing a crime that aren't arrested," Arpaio said. "That's pretty tough to try to make that qualification (about race and crime), you can't just go by what we got in jail."
Republic reporter Daniel González contributed to this article.
By JJ Hensley - The Arizona Republic, Jul. 7, 2009
There's a shift under way in the Maricopa County jails.
The population of White male inmates, after growing steadily for more than a decade, has dropped in the past five years, while the population of Hispanic male inmates has increased to the point that they make up the ethnic majority, according Sheriff's Office data.
Experts say the explanation for the increase is largely due to overall population trends coupled with a series of recent laws and policy decisions targeting illegal immigrants.
The majority of Hispanics in county jails are not in the country illegally. However, most of the illegal immigrants jailed as a result of immigration-enforcement efforts are Latino.
In 2006, County Attorney Andrew Thomas issued an opinion allowing prosecutors to charge illegal immigrants as co-conspirators in their own smuggling. Voters also approved Proposition 100, which denies bail to illegal immigrants.
In 2007, the Sheriff's Office, Phoenix police and the state Department of Public Safety entered into agreements allowing officers and deputies to receive Immigration and Customs Enforcement training. Voters approved the Legal Arizona Workers Act, the state's employer-sanctions law.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has used ICE-trained deputies to conduct crime sweeps in neighborhoods with high Hispanic populations and work-site raids, which frequently result in arrests for warrants and other crimes that have nothing to do with immigration.
Arpaio pointed to his policy decisions and the new laws as a reason for the jail-population shift, particularly the denial of bail to illegal immigrants.
"They're staying there. They're not getting the revolving door. When we arrest them, they can't get right out on bond," Arpaio said.
On average, about 12 percent of the inmates in county jails have immigration holds. Some of those inmates are picked up on suspicion of crimes such as identity theft or illegal entry, while other inmates with immigration holds are brought in for outstanding warrants or crimes such as DUI.
"These numbers don't represent a pattern of crime, they reflect a pattern of enforcement," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the Arizona ACLU, a group that is suing the Sheriff's Office over allegations of racial profiling.
Arpaio said his deputies and other law-enforcement agencies weren't looking to arrest minorities and pointed to the Hispanic population's rapid growth.
Still, putting large numbers of police officers and deputies in Latino neighborhoods would clearly result in more Latinos going to jail, said Nastassia Walsh, a research analyst with the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.,-based group that advocates alternatives to incarceration.
"What you see across the country, and probably one of the main reasons why there is so much of a disproportionate minority portion of the prison population is because law enforcement tends to focus on lower-income communities and communities of color when they're doing their enforcement," Walsh said.
About 8,000 men are in county jails each day, a number that's remained unchanged in the past five years.
• The number of Hispanic men in county jails increased by more than 28 percent between 2004 and 2008, from 2,751 in 2004 to more than 3,500 last year. The number of Hispanics in Maricopa County increased by more than 20 percent, from 982,000 in 2004 to more than 1.18 million in 2007, the last year with ethnic data available from the U.S. Census.
• The number of White men in county jails fell nearly 18 percent, from 3,580 to 2,938 in that same time span, while the number of Whites in the county rose by almost 7 percent.
• The number of Black men in county jails continued to increase, from 986 to 1,158 in that five-year period, and now make up more than 14 percent of the jails' male population. Blacks make up about 4 percent of the county's population.
Jail officials said those population shifts have led to increasing ethnic tensions among inmates. Officials instituted a pair of rare systemwide lockdowns in the past two months, including one last week after intelligence indicated a large-scale disturbance between Black and Hispanic inmates, officials said.
The lockdown was lifted on Thursday and a small disturbance erupted the following day. Arpaio described the incident as "racially motivated," and officials locked down a unit of the Lower Buckeye Jail.
These population shifts have occurred while Maricopa County, like the rest of the country, has seen an overall decline in violent crime.
Walsh said a similar pattern emerged during the late 1990s, when violent crime was on the decline and incarceration numbers continued to rise. "Law enforcement focused their efforts on drug crime (in the 1990s) and because they're a 'victimless crime,' they're very rarely reported as crime," she said. "Because crime is going down, police have more time to go look for people who are here illegally, or for people who are selling drugs."
But the raw data makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about the types of crimes residents of different ethnic backgrounds commit.
"I can only go on statistics in the jail, but that doesn't mean that everybody committing crime is arrested, there could be 1,000 people committing a crime that aren't arrested," Arpaio said. "That's pretty tough to try to make that qualification (about race and crime), you can't just go by what we got in jail."
Republic reporter Daniel González contributed to this article.
Study will look at Latino community leadership
Local study will examine Latino perspective
By: Laura Grevas, Worthington Daily Globe, July 08 2009
WORTHINGTON — A new study by the University of Minnesota Extension will examine the customer service and public participation experiences of Hispanics.
And it’s happening right here in Worthington.
“There’s a growing need to find an understanding,” said Extension intern Alena Rivera, who is helping organize the study. “We’re looking for more (Latino) voices to be heard in schools and in the community. And (researchers) want to know why the number is disproportionate in civic engagement. Why people aren’t involved.”
Researchers are seeking two groups of adult Latinos to participate in two-hour focus group sessions in mid-July. One group will be those who have lived in Worthington for two years or fewer, the other will be made of residents of five years or more.
“They’re expecting to have different results from people who are new to the community than those who are settled here,” Rivera explained.
The results of the study will be used for the Worthington Community Leadership Program, which is scheduled for September through December of this year. One of its sessions, “At Your Service,” will teach participants “strategies to meet the needs and expectations of diverse customers.”
“We can say ‘Hey, this is what they’re expecting from you; This is how you can improve you business or organization,’” Rivera explained.
Program participants may include community, business and organization leaders, as well as interested community members.
Those interested in applying for the leadership program may contact Darlene Macklin, director of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce at 372-2919. Those interested in participating in the study may contact Alena Rivera or Toby Spanier at (507) 337-2813.
By: Laura Grevas, Worthington Daily Globe, July 08 2009
WORTHINGTON — A new study by the University of Minnesota Extension will examine the customer service and public participation experiences of Hispanics.
And it’s happening right here in Worthington.
“There’s a growing need to find an understanding,” said Extension intern Alena Rivera, who is helping organize the study. “We’re looking for more (Latino) voices to be heard in schools and in the community. And (researchers) want to know why the number is disproportionate in civic engagement. Why people aren’t involved.”
Researchers are seeking two groups of adult Latinos to participate in two-hour focus group sessions in mid-July. One group will be those who have lived in Worthington for two years or fewer, the other will be made of residents of five years or more.
“They’re expecting to have different results from people who are new to the community than those who are settled here,” Rivera explained.
The results of the study will be used for the Worthington Community Leadership Program, which is scheduled for September through December of this year. One of its sessions, “At Your Service,” will teach participants “strategies to meet the needs and expectations of diverse customers.”
“We can say ‘Hey, this is what they’re expecting from you; This is how you can improve you business or organization,’” Rivera explained.
Program participants may include community, business and organization leaders, as well as interested community members.
Those interested in applying for the leadership program may contact Darlene Macklin, director of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce at 372-2919. Those interested in participating in the study may contact Alena Rivera or Toby Spanier at (507) 337-2813.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Latina lends a hand to Hispanic community
Nilda Alejandro is a helping hand for Hispanics
She aids growing segment of community in getting involved
By Tonyaa Weathersbee, Jacksonville Times-Union, Jul. 6, 2009
When Nilda Alejandro moved to Middleburg in 2003, one of her first purchases was a rooster.
It was also one of her first disappointments.
"The rooster was like, well, he was weak," Alejandro said, with a laugh. "He went, 'coo, coo, coo.' He wasn't very loud."
But what didn't disappoint was the neighborly atmosphere created by the rooster, chickens, hens, exotic birds and other animals on her 3-acre spread.
"My doorbell started ringing, and there were the children of all the families here asking if they could feed the animals," Alejandro said. "It was amazing."
Alejandro was glad to let the children share in what her backyard had to offer. After all, sharing is what they do in her native land of Puerto Rico, a place where she grew up on a farm amid the watchful eyes of parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Now, as president of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida and president of El Concilio Jacksonville - the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations - Alejandro works to help Hispanic people share their culture and connect with the rest of the community.
It's a task that Alejandro, 53, revels in - and others appreciate.
"I knew her since she came here five years ago," said Maria Torres, a volunteer who was recognized by the chamber for her work in helping with the Puerto Rican Day parades. "Anything having to do with the community, she's there.
In fact, when Alejandro tried to award Torres for her work with the chamber, Torres tried to demur.
"I don't need recognition to help her," she said.
Alejandro's original plan, however, wasn't to start a non-profit geared toward helping Hispanic people find their way around Northeast Florida.
Now divorced, she had planned to operate a lawn care business with her former husband. They moved to Middleburg, she said, to escape Pennsylvania's winters.
"After 13 years, I decided I couldn't handle any more of the cold and snow," she said. "I said, 'I think it's time for us to move to Florida.' "
They thought about moving to Orlando, but they settled on Middleburg "because it's country, and we could have animals."
Alejandro liked the change in climate and the friendliness of her neighbors. But trying to connect to the Hispanic community was difficult and frustrating. Unlike in the North, where Hispanic communities tend to be concentrated in urban areas, here it was spread out.
"Once we moved here, I did not know anybody at all," Alejandro said. "So I turned on the radio and found a Spanish radio station, and I found out that they were having a festival, the Hispanic Heritage Month festival."
Alejandro saw that as her chance to become involved, so she asked to do a presentation with 21 Hispanic girls who would represent the 21 Spanish-speaking countries. The station, she said, allowed her to introduce herself on the air to ask for girls to participate.
"The following week, I had 21 girls here, at my house, with all the families to get the dresses and everything," Alejandro said. "This is how it all started."
But Alejandro soon learned that the families wanted more than just a chance to involve their daughters in the pageantry of a festival. Many wanted help in connecting to transportation and health services, as well as education and business resources, she said.
So she started a chapter of El Concilio, a non-profit whose mission is to serve the Spanish-speaking community and the community as a whole in the areas of education, health, employment and housing, she said.
Since 2005, El Concilio has also been the driving force behind the annual Jacksonville Puerto Rican Parade, an event that drew more than 17,000 people to the Jacksonville Landing last year.
"It's the biggest Hispanic event, and it has opened the doors to so many people and families," said Alejandro, who estimates that around 65,000 Puerto Ricans live in Northeast Florida. Census estimates show that more than 100,000 Hispanics live in Clay, Duval, Putnam, Flagler, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The Puerto Rico Chamber recently celebrated its first anniversary.
"When I saw the numbers of Puerto Ricans trying to open their own businesses here, I knew it was time to start a chamber," said Alejandro. "These are people who are working. ... They are working to make Jacksonville's economy grow."
Business consultant William Mora knew it was time as well. He became the first to join.
"I think it's a good idea, because it's a niche of the market that needs to be filled," Mora said.
On top of that, the majority of the Jacksonville Port Authority's trade is with Puerto Rico. So to Alejandro, it made sense to not just start a chamber, but to celebrate the area's ties to the Caribbean nation - and to educate others about it as well.
"I personally hear a lot of people ask us for our green card," she said. "I want to say: 'Did you go to school? Do you know history? Do you know that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States? Do you know that we now have a Puerto Rico quarter? ...'
"It's such a small island making such a big difference."
tonyaa.weathersbee@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4251
She aids growing segment of community in getting involved
By Tonyaa Weathersbee, Jacksonville Times-Union, Jul. 6, 2009
When Nilda Alejandro moved to Middleburg in 2003, one of her first purchases was a rooster.
It was also one of her first disappointments.
"The rooster was like, well, he was weak," Alejandro said, with a laugh. "He went, 'coo, coo, coo.' He wasn't very loud."
But what didn't disappoint was the neighborly atmosphere created by the rooster, chickens, hens, exotic birds and other animals on her 3-acre spread.
"My doorbell started ringing, and there were the children of all the families here asking if they could feed the animals," Alejandro said. "It was amazing."
Alejandro was glad to let the children share in what her backyard had to offer. After all, sharing is what they do in her native land of Puerto Rico, a place where she grew up on a farm amid the watchful eyes of parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Now, as president of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida and president of El Concilio Jacksonville - the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations - Alejandro works to help Hispanic people share their culture and connect with the rest of the community.
It's a task that Alejandro, 53, revels in - and others appreciate.
"I knew her since she came here five years ago," said Maria Torres, a volunteer who was recognized by the chamber for her work in helping with the Puerto Rican Day parades. "Anything having to do with the community, she's there.
In fact, when Alejandro tried to award Torres for her work with the chamber, Torres tried to demur.
"I don't need recognition to help her," she said.
Alejandro's original plan, however, wasn't to start a non-profit geared toward helping Hispanic people find their way around Northeast Florida.
Now divorced, she had planned to operate a lawn care business with her former husband. They moved to Middleburg, she said, to escape Pennsylvania's winters.
"After 13 years, I decided I couldn't handle any more of the cold and snow," she said. "I said, 'I think it's time for us to move to Florida.' "
They thought about moving to Orlando, but they settled on Middleburg "because it's country, and we could have animals."
Alejandro liked the change in climate and the friendliness of her neighbors. But trying to connect to the Hispanic community was difficult and frustrating. Unlike in the North, where Hispanic communities tend to be concentrated in urban areas, here it was spread out.
"Once we moved here, I did not know anybody at all," Alejandro said. "So I turned on the radio and found a Spanish radio station, and I found out that they were having a festival, the Hispanic Heritage Month festival."
Alejandro saw that as her chance to become involved, so she asked to do a presentation with 21 Hispanic girls who would represent the 21 Spanish-speaking countries. The station, she said, allowed her to introduce herself on the air to ask for girls to participate.
"The following week, I had 21 girls here, at my house, with all the families to get the dresses and everything," Alejandro said. "This is how it all started."
But Alejandro soon learned that the families wanted more than just a chance to involve their daughters in the pageantry of a festival. Many wanted help in connecting to transportation and health services, as well as education and business resources, she said.
So she started a chapter of El Concilio, a non-profit whose mission is to serve the Spanish-speaking community and the community as a whole in the areas of education, health, employment and housing, she said.
Since 2005, El Concilio has also been the driving force behind the annual Jacksonville Puerto Rican Parade, an event that drew more than 17,000 people to the Jacksonville Landing last year.
"It's the biggest Hispanic event, and it has opened the doors to so many people and families," said Alejandro, who estimates that around 65,000 Puerto Ricans live in Northeast Florida. Census estimates show that more than 100,000 Hispanics live in Clay, Duval, Putnam, Flagler, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The Puerto Rico Chamber recently celebrated its first anniversary.
"When I saw the numbers of Puerto Ricans trying to open their own businesses here, I knew it was time to start a chamber," said Alejandro. "These are people who are working. ... They are working to make Jacksonville's economy grow."
Business consultant William Mora knew it was time as well. He became the first to join.
"I think it's a good idea, because it's a niche of the market that needs to be filled," Mora said.
On top of that, the majority of the Jacksonville Port Authority's trade is with Puerto Rico. So to Alejandro, it made sense to not just start a chamber, but to celebrate the area's ties to the Caribbean nation - and to educate others about it as well.
"I personally hear a lot of people ask us for our green card," she said. "I want to say: 'Did you go to school? Do you know history? Do you know that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States? Do you know that we now have a Puerto Rico quarter? ...'
"It's such a small island making such a big difference."
tonyaa.weathersbee@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4251
GOP attacks on Latina nominee could alienate all women
Republican Attacks on Sotomayor Could Alienate Women As Well as Hispanics
By Bonnie Erbe, US News, July 06, 2009
Message to GOP: On Sotomayor, give it up. With Judge Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings set to begin next week, Republicans are still peering under every pillow in Washington, seeking issues to use against her during those hearings. Most of the media attention on Judge Sotomayor's record has been on her position on civil rights. Wily GOP strategists are realizing her position on that issue is a nonstarter.
Most media reports focus on the possibility of the GOP further alienating Hispanics by going after Judge Sotomayor. Take this from the AP:
In recent days, GOP senators have faulted her for her stance on gun rights, her ruling against white firefighters who alleged reversed discrimination, and her participation in the Puerto Rican legal advocacy group. They've raised questions about her ability to be "colorblind."
Still, they've had to reach to score points against Sotomayor.
What the media don't focus on is an even larger, more important group of voters who could also see an attack on Judge Sotomayor as an attack on themselves. Women represent 50.7 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics comprise 1 in 6 Americans or just under 47 million, versus more than 150 million women.
Not only will Judge Sotomayor be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court—if she is confirmed—she will also be one of two women (with Ruth Bader Ginsberg), following the trail blazed by now retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whose seat former President George W. Bush filled with a man. Republicans already have the white male vote. If they wage war on Judge Sotomayor's nomination, they reinforce their base but lose voters whose support they sorely need.
By Bonnie Erbe, US News, July 06, 2009
Message to GOP: On Sotomayor, give it up. With Judge Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings set to begin next week, Republicans are still peering under every pillow in Washington, seeking issues to use against her during those hearings. Most of the media attention on Judge Sotomayor's record has been on her position on civil rights. Wily GOP strategists are realizing her position on that issue is a nonstarter.
Most media reports focus on the possibility of the GOP further alienating Hispanics by going after Judge Sotomayor. Take this from the AP:
In recent days, GOP senators have faulted her for her stance on gun rights, her ruling against white firefighters who alleged reversed discrimination, and her participation in the Puerto Rican legal advocacy group. They've raised questions about her ability to be "colorblind."
Still, they've had to reach to score points against Sotomayor.
What the media don't focus on is an even larger, more important group of voters who could also see an attack on Judge Sotomayor as an attack on themselves. Women represent 50.7 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics comprise 1 in 6 Americans or just under 47 million, versus more than 150 million women.
Not only will Judge Sotomayor be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court—if she is confirmed—she will also be one of two women (with Ruth Bader Ginsberg), following the trail blazed by now retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whose seat former President George W. Bush filled with a man. Republicans already have the white male vote. If they wage war on Judge Sotomayor's nomination, they reinforce their base but lose voters whose support they sorely need.
Hispanics able to rebound faster than non-Hispanics
Hispanics have a wild card to play
Jack Dunning, Examiner, July 6, 2009
Did you know that Hispanics are less impacted by the recession, and their overall outlook about the condition of our economy is more optimistic? They are also more avid shoppers and have a tendency to react better to TV advertising than the general population. The Hispanic consumer is able to rebound quicker to trends than their non-Hispanic counterparts. In other words, they are prime prospects in today’s troubled marketplace.Hispanic Shoppers
Years ago in junk mail, we discovered that many Spanish-speaking potential customers wanted to be contacted in their native language, so linguists were hired in the copy-writing field to translate junk mail offers into Spanish. It worked gangbusters, and the concept has once again been confirmed by a study done on Hispanics for Univision Communications, the premier Spanish-language media company in the U.S.
Here are some figures you probably did not know. Just 45 percent of Hispanics carry credit cards compared to 71 percent for non-Hispanics. And even a lesser amount take out loans, only 34 percent versus 53 percent for non-Hispanics. They shop more frequently than non-Hispanics, take more brand prescriptions, and pay more attention to advertising. Univision says that marketers have determined recently that Hispanic sales have outdone non-Hispanic sales.
The buying power of the Hispanic community is growing at a rate 50 percent faster than non-Hispanic, and Univision predicts it will hit $1 trillion by 2010. Some of the reasons might be that Hispanics are more optimistic about their finances by almost 10 percentage points, the same margin being optimistic about the economy. About twice as many Hispanics rent their home compared to non-Hispanic, therefore, less are affected by the wave of foreclosures.
On the surface, it looks like Hispanics are better able to manage their finances, and more prominent in the marketplace as shoppers than non-Hispanics. So why isn’t the Hispanic community using this buying power to negotiate better rights for their families and friends? They made a good start in the 2008 Presidential election as they got out the vote that gave Barack Obama a margin of 56 percent over John McCain’s 41 percent in Arizona. Nationwide it was 67 percent Obama, 31 percent McCain.
Hispanics cast 9.7 million votes in 2008 (7.3%) out of 132.6 million voters nationally. There were 19.5 million eligible Hispanic voters in 2008, and less than 50 percent of those registered to vote actually went to the polls. You’ll have to do better than that, Hispanic Demonstrationeven though the total turnout was only 56.8 percent. You’ll have to beat the general population if you want to make your point and convince this Congress that you are serious about your rights. In Arizona, Hispanics represent 13 percent of the vote.
On July 2, I did an article on why Republican dominance is on its way out in Arizona, “The elephant has left the room Arizona so you’d better get used to it,” that emphasized the new Independent voter impact—more Democrat, more moderate—as well as the increase in the Hispanic vote. Washington, D.C. think Tank, NDN, believes Hispanic voters could turn Arizona into a Blue state.
A comment from the above article asked me to define a “fair” immigration law, and inquired why I skirted the word amnesty. Maybe the day has come for Hispanic activists to join together and “define” exactly what they would consider a “fair” immigration bill and take their thoughts to Congress as a unified group that represents all Hispanics. The current situation is not one we will be able to contain much longer.
Please leave your comments or E-mail me: jack.dundiv@cox.net
Jack Dunning, Examiner, July 6, 2009
Did you know that Hispanics are less impacted by the recession, and their overall outlook about the condition of our economy is more optimistic? They are also more avid shoppers and have a tendency to react better to TV advertising than the general population. The Hispanic consumer is able to rebound quicker to trends than their non-Hispanic counterparts. In other words, they are prime prospects in today’s troubled marketplace.Hispanic Shoppers
Years ago in junk mail, we discovered that many Spanish-speaking potential customers wanted to be contacted in their native language, so linguists were hired in the copy-writing field to translate junk mail offers into Spanish. It worked gangbusters, and the concept has once again been confirmed by a study done on Hispanics for Univision Communications, the premier Spanish-language media company in the U.S.
Here are some figures you probably did not know. Just 45 percent of Hispanics carry credit cards compared to 71 percent for non-Hispanics. And even a lesser amount take out loans, only 34 percent versus 53 percent for non-Hispanics. They shop more frequently than non-Hispanics, take more brand prescriptions, and pay more attention to advertising. Univision says that marketers have determined recently that Hispanic sales have outdone non-Hispanic sales.
The buying power of the Hispanic community is growing at a rate 50 percent faster than non-Hispanic, and Univision predicts it will hit $1 trillion by 2010. Some of the reasons might be that Hispanics are more optimistic about their finances by almost 10 percentage points, the same margin being optimistic about the economy. About twice as many Hispanics rent their home compared to non-Hispanic, therefore, less are affected by the wave of foreclosures.
On the surface, it looks like Hispanics are better able to manage their finances, and more prominent in the marketplace as shoppers than non-Hispanics. So why isn’t the Hispanic community using this buying power to negotiate better rights for their families and friends? They made a good start in the 2008 Presidential election as they got out the vote that gave Barack Obama a margin of 56 percent over John McCain’s 41 percent in Arizona. Nationwide it was 67 percent Obama, 31 percent McCain.
Hispanics cast 9.7 million votes in 2008 (7.3%) out of 132.6 million voters nationally. There were 19.5 million eligible Hispanic voters in 2008, and less than 50 percent of those registered to vote actually went to the polls. You’ll have to do better than that, Hispanic Demonstrationeven though the total turnout was only 56.8 percent. You’ll have to beat the general population if you want to make your point and convince this Congress that you are serious about your rights. In Arizona, Hispanics represent 13 percent of the vote.
On July 2, I did an article on why Republican dominance is on its way out in Arizona, “The elephant has left the room Arizona so you’d better get used to it,” that emphasized the new Independent voter impact—more Democrat, more moderate—as well as the increase in the Hispanic vote. Washington, D.C. think Tank, NDN, believes Hispanic voters could turn Arizona into a Blue state.
A comment from the above article asked me to define a “fair” immigration law, and inquired why I skirted the word amnesty. Maybe the day has come for Hispanic activists to join together and “define” exactly what they would consider a “fair” immigration bill and take their thoughts to Congress as a unified group that represents all Hispanics. The current situation is not one we will be able to contain much longer.
Please leave your comments or E-mail me: jack.dundiv@cox.net
Latino voters growing in L.A.
Balance of whites, nonwhites on L.A. voter rolls closer to reality, Times poll finds
LA Times | July 6, 2009
A decade ago, political analysts talked about a significant gap between the population of the city of Los Angeles (mostly Latino and black) and its voters (mostly white).
Today, there is almost no gap -- at least not between registered voters and the citizen population -- according to Census data and a recently released Los Angeles Times Poll. The poll was conducted for the Times by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies.
The city of Los Angeles has almost 2.9 million residents 18 or older, according to the latest Census data. Not quite 2 million of those residents are U.S. citizens. And of those, about 1.6 million (or roughly 80%) were registered to vote last month, according to the latest data from the California secretary of state’s office.
That rate of voter registration is somewhat higher than the national average. Whites still make up a bigger share of registered voters than of the voting-age citizen population, according to the poll, and the voter share for Latinos is just a bit lower than their share of the eligible population. But in both cases, the gaps are just barely larger than the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
According to the poll, 49% of the registered voters surveyed identified themselves as white. Among the voting age citizen population, whites are 44%. Latinos were 26% of the poll sample and are 29% of the citizen population 18 or older. There was no gap for blacks, who make up 14% of the registered voter pool. There was a somewhat larger gap for people of Asian ancestry -- 5% in the poll and 11% among the voting-age citizen population.
Latinos overall are 43% of the city’s population 18 and older, but the gap between that figure and the Latino share of the voting population no longer reflects a lower level of voter registration, but rather is a function of citizenship. About 23% of the city’s Latino residents 18 or older are not citizens, making them ineligible to vote.
LA Times | July 6, 2009
A decade ago, political analysts talked about a significant gap between the population of the city of Los Angeles (mostly Latino and black) and its voters (mostly white).
Today, there is almost no gap -- at least not between registered voters and the citizen population -- according to Census data and a recently released Los Angeles Times Poll. The poll was conducted for the Times by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies.
The city of Los Angeles has almost 2.9 million residents 18 or older, according to the latest Census data. Not quite 2 million of those residents are U.S. citizens. And of those, about 1.6 million (or roughly 80%) were registered to vote last month, according to the latest data from the California secretary of state’s office.
That rate of voter registration is somewhat higher than the national average. Whites still make up a bigger share of registered voters than of the voting-age citizen population, according to the poll, and the voter share for Latinos is just a bit lower than their share of the eligible population. But in both cases, the gaps are just barely larger than the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
According to the poll, 49% of the registered voters surveyed identified themselves as white. Among the voting age citizen population, whites are 44%. Latinos were 26% of the poll sample and are 29% of the citizen population 18 or older. There was no gap for blacks, who make up 14% of the registered voter pool. There was a somewhat larger gap for people of Asian ancestry -- 5% in the poll and 11% among the voting-age citizen population.
Latinos overall are 43% of the city’s population 18 and older, but the gap between that figure and the Latino share of the voting population no longer reflects a lower level of voter registration, but rather is a function of citizenship. About 23% of the city’s Latino residents 18 or older are not citizens, making them ineligible to vote.
Monday, July 6, 2009
No language access for Latinos, others in courts
Study Finds Gaps in Aid for Non-English Speakers in State Civil Courts
By JOHN SCHWARTZ, NY Times, July 3, 2009
When Maythe Ramirez went to Superior Court in Contra Costa, Calif., for a child custody hearing in 2006, she wanted to tell the judge that her husband beat her and should not be allowed broad visitation rights. The court did not provide an interpreter for her, however, and Ms. Ramirez, who speaks almost no English, could not follow the arcane proceeding, much less participate.
“It is really as if you are doing nothing in court,” she said in Spanish through an interpreter, “standing still and not being able to explain what’s really happening.”
Ms. Ramirez, who came to the United States from Mexico, later divorced her husband and had the visitation rules modified with the help of a lawyer from Bay Area Legal Aid, who got her interpreters for other hearings.
The court system can be a bewildering place for anyone, but it can be terrifying for those who do not understand English. Federal law requires civil and criminal courts that receive federal financing to provide free interpreters for those with limited proficiency in English. But while interpreters are commonly offered in criminal cases, many states do not require the services in all civil cases. The state of California, where Ms. Ramirez’s case was heard, provides interpreters in some civil cases and not others.
A new study of civil courts, from the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University law school, examined the 35 states with the highest immigrant populations and found that interpreter services are not always provided, or not provided well, and are not keeping up with growing demand. Of those states, 46 percent do not require that interpreters be provided in all cases, and 80 percent fail to guarantee that the courts will pay for the interpreter, as the Department of Justice’s view of the law requires.
Thirty-seven percent of those states do not require that the interpreters have proper credentials. The result is a national patchwork of varying rights from state to state.
“This must change,” the report concluded. “Federal law, principles of fundamental fairness, and our need for equal access to the justice system all demand it.”
The disparity in services for non-English speakers between civil and criminal cases makes little sense in light of the high stakes also in civil court, said Richard S. Brown, a state appellate judge in Wisconsin.
“Civil cases can involve denial of constitutional property rights, termination of parental rights, statutory rights to be free from harassment and stalking, consumer transactions, foreclosures and a host of other matters,” Judge Brown said. “If a person cannot understand what is happening in the courtroom proceeding, an unfair result might occur. And that is contradictory to what we want our courts to do: administer justice, fairly and impartially.”
In family law cases, which deal with issues like divorce, child custody and abuse, the lack of language help “can mean the difference between justice and injustice,” said Purvi Shah, executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Women, an organization concerned with domestic violence among South Asians in the United States.
“Your testimony on the experience of abuse is what needs to be articulated to be able to access remedies,” Ms. Shah said.
States that do not provide interpreters in civil court are violating federal law, said Laura Abel, deputy director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center and the author of the new report. “The law is very clear,” Ms. Abel said, adding that while some states have made progress in the last decade, “the state courts are just slow to comply.”
Wanda Romberger, manager of court interpreting services at the National Center for State Courts, said states were trying to rise to the challenge, but were struggling to find enough qualified interpreters. Forty states have joined a consortium that promotes language access to the courts and sets standards for training and testing interpreters. But progress is uneven, Ms. Romberger said, and many states have barely begun.
Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, introduced a bill last week to provide $15 million a year in seed money for states to develop or improve their court interpreter programs.
The federal requirement to provide interpreters in federally financed programs goes back to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and was underscored by the Clinton administration in an executive order in 2000 requiring agencies to take “reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access” to services. It was followed up with guidelines issued two years later by the Department of Justice.
Loretta King, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, restated the policy in April at a federal meeting devoted to language skills issues. “Even in tough economic times,” Ms. King said, “assertions of lack of resources will not provide carte blanche for failure to provide language access. Language access is essential and is not to be treated as a ‘frill’ when determining what to cut in a budget.”
The states, however, face daunting costs and challenges to bring language aid to their courts. In New York, where state law requires interpreters to be offered in all civil and criminal cases, costs have been rising, from nearly $18 million in the 2004-5 fiscal year to more than $24 million in the 2008-9 fiscal year, with 282,000 hours of interpretation in nearly 90 languages, including Kurdish, Wolof and Cajun French. According to a recent article by Ms. Romberger from the National Center for State Courts, California civil courts provided more than 160,000 days of court interpreter services in 2004-5 in Spanish alone, and provided thousands of days in more than 20 other languages, including Samoan, Romanian and Jhindu.
California’s costs for interpreter services have risen 12 percent a year since 2004. Arkansas’s costs have risen by 74 percent a year since 2003, according to the state courts group.
Federal court costs are rising as well, with $23 million spent on interpreters in the 2007 fiscal year, up from $18 million in 2004, according to the administrative office of the federal courts.
Such figures gall those who oppose permissive immigration policies. “We accommodate for language too much, and that sends a very clear message that it’s O.K. not to learn English,” said Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, a nonprofit group that seeks to limit immigration. “This is an inevitable cost of massive immigration that is never taken into account when making policy.”
The idea that immigrants should simply learn English, however, does not sit well with Judge Brown.
“I wonder aloud how many immigrants from the 1840s through the 1920s lost their liberty, lost their property, lost their homes, their livelihood, all because they could not yet understand the English language to the fullest,” he said in an e-mail interview.
Judge Brown, who is deaf, said, “I think we are a better country because we are now acknowledging what we did not acknowledge in the 19th and early 20th centuries.”
By JOHN SCHWARTZ, NY Times, July 3, 2009
When Maythe Ramirez went to Superior Court in Contra Costa, Calif., for a child custody hearing in 2006, she wanted to tell the judge that her husband beat her and should not be allowed broad visitation rights. The court did not provide an interpreter for her, however, and Ms. Ramirez, who speaks almost no English, could not follow the arcane proceeding, much less participate.
“It is really as if you are doing nothing in court,” she said in Spanish through an interpreter, “standing still and not being able to explain what’s really happening.”
Ms. Ramirez, who came to the United States from Mexico, later divorced her husband and had the visitation rules modified with the help of a lawyer from Bay Area Legal Aid, who got her interpreters for other hearings.
The court system can be a bewildering place for anyone, but it can be terrifying for those who do not understand English. Federal law requires civil and criminal courts that receive federal financing to provide free interpreters for those with limited proficiency in English. But while interpreters are commonly offered in criminal cases, many states do not require the services in all civil cases. The state of California, where Ms. Ramirez’s case was heard, provides interpreters in some civil cases and not others.
A new study of civil courts, from the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University law school, examined the 35 states with the highest immigrant populations and found that interpreter services are not always provided, or not provided well, and are not keeping up with growing demand. Of those states, 46 percent do not require that interpreters be provided in all cases, and 80 percent fail to guarantee that the courts will pay for the interpreter, as the Department of Justice’s view of the law requires.
Thirty-seven percent of those states do not require that the interpreters have proper credentials. The result is a national patchwork of varying rights from state to state.
“This must change,” the report concluded. “Federal law, principles of fundamental fairness, and our need for equal access to the justice system all demand it.”
The disparity in services for non-English speakers between civil and criminal cases makes little sense in light of the high stakes also in civil court, said Richard S. Brown, a state appellate judge in Wisconsin.
“Civil cases can involve denial of constitutional property rights, termination of parental rights, statutory rights to be free from harassment and stalking, consumer transactions, foreclosures and a host of other matters,” Judge Brown said. “If a person cannot understand what is happening in the courtroom proceeding, an unfair result might occur. And that is contradictory to what we want our courts to do: administer justice, fairly and impartially.”
In family law cases, which deal with issues like divorce, child custody and abuse, the lack of language help “can mean the difference between justice and injustice,” said Purvi Shah, executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Women, an organization concerned with domestic violence among South Asians in the United States.
“Your testimony on the experience of abuse is what needs to be articulated to be able to access remedies,” Ms. Shah said.
States that do not provide interpreters in civil court are violating federal law, said Laura Abel, deputy director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center and the author of the new report. “The law is very clear,” Ms. Abel said, adding that while some states have made progress in the last decade, “the state courts are just slow to comply.”
Wanda Romberger, manager of court interpreting services at the National Center for State Courts, said states were trying to rise to the challenge, but were struggling to find enough qualified interpreters. Forty states have joined a consortium that promotes language access to the courts and sets standards for training and testing interpreters. But progress is uneven, Ms. Romberger said, and many states have barely begun.
Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, introduced a bill last week to provide $15 million a year in seed money for states to develop or improve their court interpreter programs.
The federal requirement to provide interpreters in federally financed programs goes back to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and was underscored by the Clinton administration in an executive order in 2000 requiring agencies to take “reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access” to services. It was followed up with guidelines issued two years later by the Department of Justice.
Loretta King, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, restated the policy in April at a federal meeting devoted to language skills issues. “Even in tough economic times,” Ms. King said, “assertions of lack of resources will not provide carte blanche for failure to provide language access. Language access is essential and is not to be treated as a ‘frill’ when determining what to cut in a budget.”
The states, however, face daunting costs and challenges to bring language aid to their courts. In New York, where state law requires interpreters to be offered in all civil and criminal cases, costs have been rising, from nearly $18 million in the 2004-5 fiscal year to more than $24 million in the 2008-9 fiscal year, with 282,000 hours of interpretation in nearly 90 languages, including Kurdish, Wolof and Cajun French. According to a recent article by Ms. Romberger from the National Center for State Courts, California civil courts provided more than 160,000 days of court interpreter services in 2004-5 in Spanish alone, and provided thousands of days in more than 20 other languages, including Samoan, Romanian and Jhindu.
California’s costs for interpreter services have risen 12 percent a year since 2004. Arkansas’s costs have risen by 74 percent a year since 2003, according to the state courts group.
Federal court costs are rising as well, with $23 million spent on interpreters in the 2007 fiscal year, up from $18 million in 2004, according to the administrative office of the federal courts.
Such figures gall those who oppose permissive immigration policies. “We accommodate for language too much, and that sends a very clear message that it’s O.K. not to learn English,” said Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, a nonprofit group that seeks to limit immigration. “This is an inevitable cost of massive immigration that is never taken into account when making policy.”
The idea that immigrants should simply learn English, however, does not sit well with Judge Brown.
“I wonder aloud how many immigrants from the 1840s through the 1920s lost their liberty, lost their property, lost their homes, their livelihood, all because they could not yet understand the English language to the fullest,” he said in an e-mail interview.
Judge Brown, who is deaf, said, “I think we are a better country because we are now acknowledging what we did not acknowledge in the 19th and early 20th centuries.”
Latina appointee overcame surmounting obstacles
As Labor Secretary, Finding Influence in Her Past
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, NY Times, July 5, 2009
Hilda L. Solis often recalls some advice her high school guidance counselor gave her mother: “Your daughter is not college material. Maybe she should follow the career of her older sister and become a secretary.”
Telling that story recently at the Hunter College commencement in Manhattan, Ms. Solis roared into the microphone that she, the daughter of immigrants, did become a secretary — the nation’s labor secretary. The crowd thundered with applause.
After surmounting many obstacles, Ms. Solis, a former four-term congresswoman, has become the first Hispanic woman to serve as a cabinet member. The third of seven children, she grew up in a modest home near a giant landfill just east of Los Angeles. Her mother worked in a toy factory, her father in a battery recycling plant, where he contracted lead poisoning.
Like President Obama and Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whose confirmation to the Supreme Court would make her the first Hispanic justice, Ms. Solis, 51, pulled herself up through her own drive and intelligence. Now, she is hoping to use those qualities to reinvigorate the Labor Department, which she said became a neglected, atrophied, often pro-business backwater under President George W. Bush.
She has promised a vigorous campaign to combat workplace violations, after government auditors found that the Bush Labor Department sometimes did not follow up on complaints of minimum wage, overtime and child labor violations. She said she planned to hire 250 more investigators and conduct a nationwide outreach program so that workers knew their rights and employers knew their obligations.
“There are so many people I knew when I was growing up who were not even paid the minimum wage,” Ms. Solis said. “People wouldn’t know where to go to lodge a complaint. And if you didn’t speak good English, forget it.”
Her goal of restoring morale and efficiency to the 17,000-employee department would not be easy, she said, partly because so many dedicated people had quit in recent years. When she spoke at a church in Miami in March, she pledged to increase workplace enforcement and used a much-applauded line: “There’s a new sheriff in town.” The next day, John Sweeney, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., gave her a plastic badge that read “sheriff.”
But such enthusiastic support is far from universal, particularly among Republicans.
“She is anti-business and extremely pro-labor,” said Ray Haynes, a Republican former state senator in California who often clashed with Ms. Solis when she was a lawmaker in Sacramento. “From my experience with Hilda, she has always been doctrinaire. Hilda does not hear the other side of the story.”
Ms. Solis said she planned to make the Labor Department a major player in fixing the pension system and creating green jobs. And with unemployment climbing above 14.5 million, she has vowed to strengthen job-training programs.
When Mr. Obama offered her a cabinet post, she recalled, “he said if I wanted to work for him, you’re going to be the voice for working families and organized labor.”
For her that seems to run in the family. At the dinner table, she said, her father, an immigrant from Mexico, used to hold forth about factory conditions and how he, a Teamster shop steward, pushed to improve them.
“My father spoke to management and fought for the workers’ health and safety,” she said. “That is something I bring to the Department of Labor. Those values my father shared with me.”
Her mother, an immigrant from Nicaragua who often stood 10 hours a day at the toy factory, was so outspoken about working conditions that she would have been fired if the union had not protected her, Ms. Solis said.
Following her parents’ example, Ms. Solis has become a fighter — for immigrants, workers, minorities and women. “I’ve always been about seeking social justice and combating discrimination and racism,” she said. “I always wanted to stand up and fight for the underdog.”
Labor leaders said they hoped Ms. Solis would push to enact their No. 1 objective, legislation that would make it easier to unionize. At the time she was nominated to be labor secretary, Ms. Solis was the only member of Congress serving on the board of a pro-union group, American Rights at Work, a move that some supporters said caused Republicans to delay her confirmation.
With the Obama administration focused on fighting the recession and overhauling the health care system, she, like the president, has at least for now left it to Democratic senators to try to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster on the unionization bill.
Ms. Solis majored in political science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and then obtained a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, she interned at the White House under Jimmy Carter and soon landed a job with the Office of Management and Budget.
Returning to California, she was hired to run a state program that helped poor students in the San Gabriel Valley go to college. Friends urged her to run for office, and at age 28, she was elected to the board of Rio Hondo Community College.
In 1992, she won a seat in the California State Assembly and two years later she was elected to the State Senate, becoming California’s first Latina state senator.
Remembering her malodorous hometown, La Puente, where there is a federal Superfund site and eight landfills, she sponsored a landmark environmental bill, which required the State Environmental Protection Agency to adopt regulations ensuring fair treatment of people of all races and incomes with respect to environmental laws.
Impressed by the legislation, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded her the Profile in Courage Award in 2000; she was the first woman to win it.
“This legislation was groundbreaking,” Caroline Kennedy said in a telephone interview. “The bill didn’t succeed the first time, but she came back and worked with the business community, compromised, and ultimately succeeded.”
That same year, Ms. Solis challenged a nine-term congressman, Matthew Martinez, in the Democratic primary, angering many Hispanic leaders. Even though Mr. Martinez had a generally liberal voting record, she accused him of being out of touch with his constituency.
Unhappy about Mr. Martinez’s free-trade voting record, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor endorsed her, with its president calling her a “warrior for working families.” She won the primary 62 percent to 29 percent and ran unopposed that November.
One of her mentors, Dolores Huerta, a founder of the United Farm Workers, said she was mystified by one thing about Ms. Solis. “I often went to Washington, and I always wondered why Hilda never said, ‘Stay at my place,’ ” Ms. Huerta said. “One night we had dinner, and she had to stop at her apartment to pick up something. Her apartment was tiny. There was barely enough room for a bed. I thought, ‘This is how a nun lives.’ ”
Ms. Solis is married; her husband, Sam Sayyad, runs an auto repair business outside Los Angeles.
At the Hunter commencement, Ms. Solis concluded by returning to her own story.
“People always say that women, people of color, Latinas, they’re not ready to go to college, they’re not ready to be in those big positions,” she said. “There are probably a dozen of you in this hall who are future Sonia Sotomayors, and there are probably two dozen future Hilda Solises. You have to have the ganas — the desire — to do it.”
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, NY Times, July 5, 2009
Hilda L. Solis often recalls some advice her high school guidance counselor gave her mother: “Your daughter is not college material. Maybe she should follow the career of her older sister and become a secretary.”
Telling that story recently at the Hunter College commencement in Manhattan, Ms. Solis roared into the microphone that she, the daughter of immigrants, did become a secretary — the nation’s labor secretary. The crowd thundered with applause.
After surmounting many obstacles, Ms. Solis, a former four-term congresswoman, has become the first Hispanic woman to serve as a cabinet member. The third of seven children, she grew up in a modest home near a giant landfill just east of Los Angeles. Her mother worked in a toy factory, her father in a battery recycling plant, where he contracted lead poisoning.
Like President Obama and Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whose confirmation to the Supreme Court would make her the first Hispanic justice, Ms. Solis, 51, pulled herself up through her own drive and intelligence. Now, she is hoping to use those qualities to reinvigorate the Labor Department, which she said became a neglected, atrophied, often pro-business backwater under President George W. Bush.
She has promised a vigorous campaign to combat workplace violations, after government auditors found that the Bush Labor Department sometimes did not follow up on complaints of minimum wage, overtime and child labor violations. She said she planned to hire 250 more investigators and conduct a nationwide outreach program so that workers knew their rights and employers knew their obligations.
“There are so many people I knew when I was growing up who were not even paid the minimum wage,” Ms. Solis said. “People wouldn’t know where to go to lodge a complaint. And if you didn’t speak good English, forget it.”
Her goal of restoring morale and efficiency to the 17,000-employee department would not be easy, she said, partly because so many dedicated people had quit in recent years. When she spoke at a church in Miami in March, she pledged to increase workplace enforcement and used a much-applauded line: “There’s a new sheriff in town.” The next day, John Sweeney, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., gave her a plastic badge that read “sheriff.”
But such enthusiastic support is far from universal, particularly among Republicans.
“She is anti-business and extremely pro-labor,” said Ray Haynes, a Republican former state senator in California who often clashed with Ms. Solis when she was a lawmaker in Sacramento. “From my experience with Hilda, she has always been doctrinaire. Hilda does not hear the other side of the story.”
Ms. Solis said she planned to make the Labor Department a major player in fixing the pension system and creating green jobs. And with unemployment climbing above 14.5 million, she has vowed to strengthen job-training programs.
When Mr. Obama offered her a cabinet post, she recalled, “he said if I wanted to work for him, you’re going to be the voice for working families and organized labor.”
For her that seems to run in the family. At the dinner table, she said, her father, an immigrant from Mexico, used to hold forth about factory conditions and how he, a Teamster shop steward, pushed to improve them.
“My father spoke to management and fought for the workers’ health and safety,” she said. “That is something I bring to the Department of Labor. Those values my father shared with me.”
Her mother, an immigrant from Nicaragua who often stood 10 hours a day at the toy factory, was so outspoken about working conditions that she would have been fired if the union had not protected her, Ms. Solis said.
Following her parents’ example, Ms. Solis has become a fighter — for immigrants, workers, minorities and women. “I’ve always been about seeking social justice and combating discrimination and racism,” she said. “I always wanted to stand up and fight for the underdog.”
Labor leaders said they hoped Ms. Solis would push to enact their No. 1 objective, legislation that would make it easier to unionize. At the time she was nominated to be labor secretary, Ms. Solis was the only member of Congress serving on the board of a pro-union group, American Rights at Work, a move that some supporters said caused Republicans to delay her confirmation.
With the Obama administration focused on fighting the recession and overhauling the health care system, she, like the president, has at least for now left it to Democratic senators to try to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster on the unionization bill.
Ms. Solis majored in political science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and then obtained a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, she interned at the White House under Jimmy Carter and soon landed a job with the Office of Management and Budget.
Returning to California, she was hired to run a state program that helped poor students in the San Gabriel Valley go to college. Friends urged her to run for office, and at age 28, she was elected to the board of Rio Hondo Community College.
In 1992, she won a seat in the California State Assembly and two years later she was elected to the State Senate, becoming California’s first Latina state senator.
Remembering her malodorous hometown, La Puente, where there is a federal Superfund site and eight landfills, she sponsored a landmark environmental bill, which required the State Environmental Protection Agency to adopt regulations ensuring fair treatment of people of all races and incomes with respect to environmental laws.
Impressed by the legislation, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded her the Profile in Courage Award in 2000; she was the first woman to win it.
“This legislation was groundbreaking,” Caroline Kennedy said in a telephone interview. “The bill didn’t succeed the first time, but she came back and worked with the business community, compromised, and ultimately succeeded.”
That same year, Ms. Solis challenged a nine-term congressman, Matthew Martinez, in the Democratic primary, angering many Hispanic leaders. Even though Mr. Martinez had a generally liberal voting record, she accused him of being out of touch with his constituency.
Unhappy about Mr. Martinez’s free-trade voting record, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor endorsed her, with its president calling her a “warrior for working families.” She won the primary 62 percent to 29 percent and ran unopposed that November.
One of her mentors, Dolores Huerta, a founder of the United Farm Workers, said she was mystified by one thing about Ms. Solis. “I often went to Washington, and I always wondered why Hilda never said, ‘Stay at my place,’ ” Ms. Huerta said. “One night we had dinner, and she had to stop at her apartment to pick up something. Her apartment was tiny. There was barely enough room for a bed. I thought, ‘This is how a nun lives.’ ”
Ms. Solis is married; her husband, Sam Sayyad, runs an auto repair business outside Los Angeles.
At the Hunter commencement, Ms. Solis concluded by returning to her own story.
“People always say that women, people of color, Latinas, they’re not ready to go to college, they’re not ready to be in those big positions,” she said. “There are probably a dozen of you in this hall who are future Sonia Sotomayors, and there are probably two dozen future Hilda Solises. You have to have the ganas — the desire — to do it.”
Closing education gap critical for Latinos
Panel aims to close the 'cultural competence' gap
By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- While students are doing slightly better each year on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the success rates of African-American, American Indian, Latino and Pacific Islander students shows Washington has a long way to go in improving school achievement for everyone.
Despite a lack of state money for new initiatives, the Washington Legislature has formed a new committee to tackle the "achievement gap."
But instead of focusing on tutoring or other special services for students, the committee is charged with helping teachers improve their "cultural competence."
"Quality education is not something we can sell as a one-size-fits-all model," says House Education Committee Chair Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, a lawmaker appointed to the committee. "If we're serious about helping every student succeed, we must take into account the unique cultural and community influences that affect how students learn."
Parents, advocacy groups and Washington education officials have long discussed the state's "achievement gap." Will the work of another committee make a difference?
Erin Jones, director of the Center for Improvement of Student Learning at the state education office, is hopeful it will. She is staffing the committee and appears to be one of its first cheerleaders.
"This work is really unique and it's very exciting," she said.
The aim of the project is to create a teacher training module to prepare educators work in diverse communities. Jones believes this training and other ideas coming out of the Legislature and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction will lead to improvements in student test scores.
Spring WASL scores showed most ethnic groups were meeting the state high school standard for reading and writing at close to the rate for all students, but on-time graduation rates remain low for American Indian, Pacific Islander, African-American, Hispanic and multiracial students.
Seven out of 10 Washington students graduate on time, but only half of American Indian students and 60 percent of African-American and Hispanic students get a diploma after four years of high school.
Jones describes the cultural competence training by pointing out the different ways children are taught to show respect to adults. She says white Americans are taught to look a person in the eye when they are talking to you, but many Asian children and some African-American kids are trained to look down when being reprimanded by an adult.
During her 15 years in the classroom, Jones saw more kids get kicked out of class for not looking a teacher in the eye than almost anything else. She expects the training will be practical and benefit teachers, students and their families.
The Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee also is assigned the task of taking the findings and recommendations of five study groups from 2008 - one each for the African-American, Native American, Latino, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities - and combining them into one document.
The groups came up with a number of similar recommendations, including the cultural competence training. Other common ideas included family and community engagement, more focus on standard English, and recruiting and training teachers who come from the diverse ethnic groups of Washington.
The work will be done with support of the Professional Educator Standards Board and the state Board of Education.
One of their long-term goals is to attract federal dollars to push the program along.
"We're really hoping at OSPI to get some attention here in Washington state," she said.
By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- While students are doing slightly better each year on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the success rates of African-American, American Indian, Latino and Pacific Islander students shows Washington has a long way to go in improving school achievement for everyone.
Despite a lack of state money for new initiatives, the Washington Legislature has formed a new committee to tackle the "achievement gap."
But instead of focusing on tutoring or other special services for students, the committee is charged with helping teachers improve their "cultural competence."
"Quality education is not something we can sell as a one-size-fits-all model," says House Education Committee Chair Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, a lawmaker appointed to the committee. "If we're serious about helping every student succeed, we must take into account the unique cultural and community influences that affect how students learn."
Parents, advocacy groups and Washington education officials have long discussed the state's "achievement gap." Will the work of another committee make a difference?
Erin Jones, director of the Center for Improvement of Student Learning at the state education office, is hopeful it will. She is staffing the committee and appears to be one of its first cheerleaders.
"This work is really unique and it's very exciting," she said.
The aim of the project is to create a teacher training module to prepare educators work in diverse communities. Jones believes this training and other ideas coming out of the Legislature and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction will lead to improvements in student test scores.
Spring WASL scores showed most ethnic groups were meeting the state high school standard for reading and writing at close to the rate for all students, but on-time graduation rates remain low for American Indian, Pacific Islander, African-American, Hispanic and multiracial students.
Seven out of 10 Washington students graduate on time, but only half of American Indian students and 60 percent of African-American and Hispanic students get a diploma after four years of high school.
Jones describes the cultural competence training by pointing out the different ways children are taught to show respect to adults. She says white Americans are taught to look a person in the eye when they are talking to you, but many Asian children and some African-American kids are trained to look down when being reprimanded by an adult.
During her 15 years in the classroom, Jones saw more kids get kicked out of class for not looking a teacher in the eye than almost anything else. She expects the training will be practical and benefit teachers, students and their families.
The Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee also is assigned the task of taking the findings and recommendations of five study groups from 2008 - one each for the African-American, Native American, Latino, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities - and combining them into one document.
The groups came up with a number of similar recommendations, including the cultural competence training. Other common ideas included family and community engagement, more focus on standard English, and recruiting and training teachers who come from the diverse ethnic groups of Washington.
The work will be done with support of the Professional Educator Standards Board and the state Board of Education.
One of their long-term goals is to attract federal dollars to push the program along.
"We're really hoping at OSPI to get some attention here in Washington state," she said.
Latino center hurt by economy, lawsuits
Lawsuits add to Centro Latino's woes
Court: Centro Latino denies wrongful firings, contract accusations
BRENT CHAMPACO; The News Tribune, 07/05/09
Legal battles, brought on by two former managers who claim they were fired unjustly, hang over Tacoma’s leading Hispanic social service agency.
After harsh accusations from all sides, the lawsuits come as money for nonprofits becomes scarce and Centro Latino tries to cling to its traditional sources of cash, including money from Pierce County.
Frank Munoz, the agency’s former director of family support services, claims Centro Latino fired him last October to cover up a conflict of interest by one of its board of directors in the retrofit of its building, according to his lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court in April.
Centro Latino denied those claims a month later in its response.
Munoz’s lawsuit also claims the agency’s board of directors falsely accused him and former executive director Joy Gomez-Gonzalez, his supervisor at Centro Latino, of having an inappropriate relationship. Gomez-Gonzalez brought her own wrongful termination lawsuit against Centro Latino last November.
The agency again denied most of Munoz’s claim.
Munoz suit is scheduled to go to trial next year. His claims mirror allegations by Gomez-Gonzalez. Her trial is scheduled for November.
Centro Latino, based on Tacoma’s Hilltop, provides job training, youth mentoring and family services to the South Sound Hispanic community and others in need. In June, the agency helped local residents having problems with the transition to digital television.
While fending off lawsuits, Centro Latino has had a difficult year financially. The Pierce County Council in June voted not to give Centro Latino almost $20,000, citing county budget concerns. The county had frozen about $30,000 in funding six months earlier in the wake of Gomez-Gonzalez’s lawsuit.
Tacoma lawyer Thaddeus Martin represents both Munoz and Gomez-Gonzalez, who share many of the same claims.
Both accuse board member David Almonte of having a conflict of interest in the retrofit of Centro Latino’s building, 1208 S. 10th St., because he was allegedly trying to win a contract for his friend, as well as secure a $150,000 contract for his furniture business. The suits claim the board knew about the conflict but didn’t deal with it.
Centro Latino denies that it entered into any illegal contracts, and Almonte flatly denied the conflict-of-interest accusations in a November interview with The News Tribune.
Records obtained by the newspaper show the renovation project’s budget in June 2008 included $138,000 for “office furniture.”
The lawsuits also claim the board falsely alleged Munoz and Gomez-Gonzalez had an improper relationship that led to a job promotion for Munoz. The two deny any inappropriate relationship.
In response to Gomez- Gonzalez’s lawsuit in November, Centro Latino maintained an improper relationship existed between Munoz and Gomez- Gonzalez, but they have denied spreading rumors about it.
In the same court papers, Centro Latino claimed she engaged in the inappropriate relationship knowing it could “influence and impact her ability to perform her position as executive director.”
The agency also accused her of downloading and storing “multiple photographs of herself in semi-dressed to unclothed states,” which she denies.
In an April interview, Munoz told The News Tribune that there’s a culture of lying and distrust at Centro Latino.
In addition to wrongful termination, Munoz claims emotional distress, race and gender discrimination, and defamation.
Munoz’s court papers detail the wedge between him and Centro Latino’s board:
• Centro Latino hired Munoz in December 2007 as a family support worker. After failing on the first try, he was promoted to director of family support services 10 months later.
• Both lawsuits claim that over a monthlong period starting in September, Gomez-Gonzalez asserted that the Centro Latino board had entrusted her to make decisions about the building retrofit.
She twice expressed concerns about Almonte’s alleged involvement in the project, and the board told her it would confront him, according to court documents.
• At Gomez-Gonzalez’s performance evaluation Oct. 20, board members suggested “that an inappropriate relationship had occurred between the executive director and the plaintiff that had resulted in the plaintiff’s promotion to director of Family Support Services,” according to Munoz’s lawsuit.
The next day, Gomez-Gonzalez gave documents to the board denying the alleged relationship, and also told the board that she was planning to meet with state Rep. Dennis Flannigan on Oct. 24 to discuss her concerns about the building retrofit, according to the suit.
• On Oct. 24, the board fired Gomez-Gonzalez and, according to Munoz’s lawsuit, held an off-site meeting with agency staff without him.
• Three days later, Munoz sent an e-mail requesting a meeting with the board to discuss the relationship allegation, the off-site meeting with staff and the hostile work environment he said the board had created.
At a hastily called meeting, “The board responded, ‘You’re fired. You have 30 minutes to clean out your office,’” court papers state.
In a response filed May 27, Joseph Diaz, Centro Latino’s attorney, denied almost all of Munoz’s claims.
The board acknowledged that both Gomez-Gonzalez and Munoz were frustrated and that some meetings with each of them had taken place, but it denied the allegations about the building project and the inappropriate relationship rumor, according to the lawyer’s response.
Artis referred questions from The News Tribune to Diaz, Centro Latino’s attorney.
He did not return phone messages left at his office last week.
Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653
brent.champaco@thenewstribune.com
Court: Centro Latino denies wrongful firings, contract accusations
BRENT CHAMPACO; The News Tribune, 07/05/09
Legal battles, brought on by two former managers who claim they were fired unjustly, hang over Tacoma’s leading Hispanic social service agency.
After harsh accusations from all sides, the lawsuits come as money for nonprofits becomes scarce and Centro Latino tries to cling to its traditional sources of cash, including money from Pierce County.
Frank Munoz, the agency’s former director of family support services, claims Centro Latino fired him last October to cover up a conflict of interest by one of its board of directors in the retrofit of its building, according to his lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court in April.
Centro Latino denied those claims a month later in its response.
Munoz’s lawsuit also claims the agency’s board of directors falsely accused him and former executive director Joy Gomez-Gonzalez, his supervisor at Centro Latino, of having an inappropriate relationship. Gomez-Gonzalez brought her own wrongful termination lawsuit against Centro Latino last November.
The agency again denied most of Munoz’s claim.
Munoz suit is scheduled to go to trial next year. His claims mirror allegations by Gomez-Gonzalez. Her trial is scheduled for November.
Centro Latino, based on Tacoma’s Hilltop, provides job training, youth mentoring and family services to the South Sound Hispanic community and others in need. In June, the agency helped local residents having problems with the transition to digital television.
While fending off lawsuits, Centro Latino has had a difficult year financially. The Pierce County Council in June voted not to give Centro Latino almost $20,000, citing county budget concerns. The county had frozen about $30,000 in funding six months earlier in the wake of Gomez-Gonzalez’s lawsuit.
Tacoma lawyer Thaddeus Martin represents both Munoz and Gomez-Gonzalez, who share many of the same claims.
Both accuse board member David Almonte of having a conflict of interest in the retrofit of Centro Latino’s building, 1208 S. 10th St., because he was allegedly trying to win a contract for his friend, as well as secure a $150,000 contract for his furniture business. The suits claim the board knew about the conflict but didn’t deal with it.
Centro Latino denies that it entered into any illegal contracts, and Almonte flatly denied the conflict-of-interest accusations in a November interview with The News Tribune.
Records obtained by the newspaper show the renovation project’s budget in June 2008 included $138,000 for “office furniture.”
The lawsuits also claim the board falsely alleged Munoz and Gomez-Gonzalez had an improper relationship that led to a job promotion for Munoz. The two deny any inappropriate relationship.
In response to Gomez- Gonzalez’s lawsuit in November, Centro Latino maintained an improper relationship existed between Munoz and Gomez- Gonzalez, but they have denied spreading rumors about it.
In the same court papers, Centro Latino claimed she engaged in the inappropriate relationship knowing it could “influence and impact her ability to perform her position as executive director.”
The agency also accused her of downloading and storing “multiple photographs of herself in semi-dressed to unclothed states,” which she denies.
In an April interview, Munoz told The News Tribune that there’s a culture of lying and distrust at Centro Latino.
In addition to wrongful termination, Munoz claims emotional distress, race and gender discrimination, and defamation.
Munoz’s court papers detail the wedge between him and Centro Latino’s board:
• Centro Latino hired Munoz in December 2007 as a family support worker. After failing on the first try, he was promoted to director of family support services 10 months later.
• Both lawsuits claim that over a monthlong period starting in September, Gomez-Gonzalez asserted that the Centro Latino board had entrusted her to make decisions about the building retrofit.
She twice expressed concerns about Almonte’s alleged involvement in the project, and the board told her it would confront him, according to court documents.
• At Gomez-Gonzalez’s performance evaluation Oct. 20, board members suggested “that an inappropriate relationship had occurred between the executive director and the plaintiff that had resulted in the plaintiff’s promotion to director of Family Support Services,” according to Munoz’s lawsuit.
The next day, Gomez-Gonzalez gave documents to the board denying the alleged relationship, and also told the board that she was planning to meet with state Rep. Dennis Flannigan on Oct. 24 to discuss her concerns about the building retrofit, according to the suit.
• On Oct. 24, the board fired Gomez-Gonzalez and, according to Munoz’s lawsuit, held an off-site meeting with agency staff without him.
• Three days later, Munoz sent an e-mail requesting a meeting with the board to discuss the relationship allegation, the off-site meeting with staff and the hostile work environment he said the board had created.
At a hastily called meeting, “The board responded, ‘You’re fired. You have 30 minutes to clean out your office,’” court papers state.
In a response filed May 27, Joseph Diaz, Centro Latino’s attorney, denied almost all of Munoz’s claims.
The board acknowledged that both Gomez-Gonzalez and Munoz were frustrated and that some meetings with each of them had taken place, but it denied the allegations about the building project and the inappropriate relationship rumor, according to the lawyer’s response.
Artis referred questions from The News Tribune to Diaz, Centro Latino’s attorney.
He did not return phone messages left at his office last week.
Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653
brent.champaco@thenewstribune.com
Latino lawmakers to stop Census boycott
Latino lawmakers aim to head off Census boycott
By John Canalis, Contra Costa Times, 07/04/2009
Rep. Linda Sanchez and a cadre of Latino lawmakers from greater Southern California are working to stop a boycott of the 2010 Census by immigrant rights activists.
Sanchez, D-Lakewood, has joined the effort to persuade immigrants, documented or undocumented, to allow themselves to be counted.
In hopes of accurately tracking population, Census workers are not allowed to report immigration status to other agencies. Census data are confidential.
But the issue currently circling is not so much about deportation concerns as pressuring Congress and the president to change U.S. immigration policy.
The effort to boycott the Census is being led by Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, to "prod the federal government to overhaul immigration laws," according to Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.
Rivera told the newspaper that at least 1 million people so far have agreed not to participate in the Census.
"I hope members of Congress will also sit down and look at these numbers (of potential boycotters) and say `Hey, this is really serious," Rivera said. "That means they have to fix (immigration policy)."
Sanchez was traveling over the holiday weekend and could not be reached for comment.
However, she and U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, and Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, issued a joint statement:
"As members of Congress from California, we have been working for years to ensure that the Census 2010 provides a fair and equal count of all our communities." they wrote. "Without an accurate portrait of our state, we cannot address the needs of our diverse population.
"A boycott would be a significant step backward in the progress we have made to make sure Latinos, and indeed, all minorities, are treated equally."
The lawmakers also explained that an inaccurate count can hurt communities because federal funding for schools, health care, job training and infrastructure is calculated in part by population.
In addition, the lawmakers pointed out, the loss of federal funding can hurt programs that directly benefit recent immigrants and their children, such as Head Start, day care, school lunches, public transportation and the emergency rooms used to treat those without health insurance.
Census data are also used in apportioning Congressional seats.
john.canalis@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1273
By John Canalis, Contra Costa Times, 07/04/2009
Rep. Linda Sanchez and a cadre of Latino lawmakers from greater Southern California are working to stop a boycott of the 2010 Census by immigrant rights activists.
Sanchez, D-Lakewood, has joined the effort to persuade immigrants, documented or undocumented, to allow themselves to be counted.
In hopes of accurately tracking population, Census workers are not allowed to report immigration status to other agencies. Census data are confidential.
But the issue currently circling is not so much about deportation concerns as pressuring Congress and the president to change U.S. immigration policy.
The effort to boycott the Census is being led by Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, to "prod the federal government to overhaul immigration laws," according to Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.
Rivera told the newspaper that at least 1 million people so far have agreed not to participate in the Census.
"I hope members of Congress will also sit down and look at these numbers (of potential boycotters) and say `Hey, this is really serious," Rivera said. "That means they have to fix (immigration policy)."
Sanchez was traveling over the holiday weekend and could not be reached for comment.
However, she and U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, and Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, issued a joint statement:
"As members of Congress from California, we have been working for years to ensure that the Census 2010 provides a fair and equal count of all our communities." they wrote. "Without an accurate portrait of our state, we cannot address the needs of our diverse population.
"A boycott would be a significant step backward in the progress we have made to make sure Latinos, and indeed, all minorities, are treated equally."
The lawmakers also explained that an inaccurate count can hurt communities because federal funding for schools, health care, job training and infrastructure is calculated in part by population.
In addition, the lawmakers pointed out, the loss of federal funding can hurt programs that directly benefit recent immigrants and their children, such as Head Start, day care, school lunches, public transportation and the emergency rooms used to treat those without health insurance.
Census data are also used in apportioning Congressional seats.
john.canalis@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1273
Census vital, Hispanics told
2010 census vital, Hispanics told
Minister urges taking part to win funds for community
Jahna Berry - The Arizona Republic, Jul. 5, 2009
A Valley religious leader urged Latinos to take part in the upcoming 2010 census so that Phoenix neighborhoods can get the federal money they need for schools and other services.
"I know in Arizona we need money for education, health care and public safety," said the Rev. Eve Nuñez, who spoke to a crowd of about 100 parents and children at a pro-census event at a West Phoenix church Saturday.
The event comes amid a growing anti-census sentiment within the Valley's Latino community.
Immigration activists - and even some clergy - have urged Latinos to shun census workers in retaliation for immigration crackdowns, said Nuñez, a vice president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference.
The Latino community's political battle over the census could have a big impact in Arizona. Arizona is home to thousands of Latino residents, and it has a large undocumented population. Ongoing immigration crackdowns have led to the arrest and deportation of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants.
If large numbers of people are overlooked in the census count, Arizona could lose millions of dollars in federal funding for roads, schools, redevelopment and other projects, U.S. Census Bureau officials have said.
During the Saturday morning program at Azusa World Ministries, Nuñez emphasized the census, but focused on children and biblical teachings. There were backpacks with census logos for the kids. The group also prayed and sang.
"An undercount will do a lot of damage to our community and neighborhoods," Nuñez told the crowd. "In the Book of Luke, we talk about how even Jesus has had to be counted."
Phoenix resident Mariella Johnson brought her 10-year-old daughter, Jasmine, and her 9-year-old son, Jason, to the event.
"I think that it's important to be counted," Johnson said.
"I heard that (the census) gives us a lot of benefits, like for schools."
Minister urges taking part to win funds for community
Jahna Berry - The Arizona Republic, Jul. 5, 2009
A Valley religious leader urged Latinos to take part in the upcoming 2010 census so that Phoenix neighborhoods can get the federal money they need for schools and other services.
"I know in Arizona we need money for education, health care and public safety," said the Rev. Eve Nuñez, who spoke to a crowd of about 100 parents and children at a pro-census event at a West Phoenix church Saturday.
The event comes amid a growing anti-census sentiment within the Valley's Latino community.
Immigration activists - and even some clergy - have urged Latinos to shun census workers in retaliation for immigration crackdowns, said Nuñez, a vice president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference.
The Latino community's political battle over the census could have a big impact in Arizona. Arizona is home to thousands of Latino residents, and it has a large undocumented population. Ongoing immigration crackdowns have led to the arrest and deportation of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants.
If large numbers of people are overlooked in the census count, Arizona could lose millions of dollars in federal funding for roads, schools, redevelopment and other projects, U.S. Census Bureau officials have said.
During the Saturday morning program at Azusa World Ministries, Nuñez emphasized the census, but focused on children and biblical teachings. There were backpacks with census logos for the kids. The group also prayed and sang.
"An undercount will do a lot of damage to our community and neighborhoods," Nuñez told the crowd. "In the Book of Luke, we talk about how even Jesus has had to be counted."
Phoenix resident Mariella Johnson brought her 10-year-old daughter, Jasmine, and her 9-year-old son, Jason, to the event.
"I think that it's important to be counted," Johnson said.
"I heard that (the census) gives us a lot of benefits, like for schools."
Hispanic court nominee trips GOP
Analysis: GOP struggles for anti-Sotomayor message
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associate Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A week before her Senate hearings, Republicans are floundering in their efforts to trip up Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, unable to find an effective message about why she's not fit to serve.
Blame the tricky politics of opposing the woman who would be the first Hispanic justice, especially for a party struggling to broaden its base and whose chief spokesman on Sotomayor has a troubled history of racism allegations.
Add to that the mathematical impossibility of Republicans' rejecting President Barack Obama's first high court nominee, and it's a recipe for a weak-kneed response.
Conservative activists have noticed, and they're not happy.
"Too many Republicans and conservatives planned to lose instead of planning to win" the debate over Sotomayor, said Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch. His group has mounted strong opposition to the federal appeals court judge.
About half the Senate's Republicans are willing to raise serious questions about Sotomayor and there's "a sizable minority who — partly because she's Hispanic — just want this to go away," said Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice.
Conservative groups have sought to convince Senate Republicans that they can benefit politically by strongly opposing Sotomayor. But many of their leaders complain the message isn't getting through.
During recent confrontations, some activists have told GOP senators, "Don't throw away yet another conservative agenda item when it's a successful one for you. Your base cares about this and you should, too," said former Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., who's advising some outside groups on Sotomayor's nomination. "It was kind of a blunt message."
There are good reasons for Republicans to be holding back, wondering what their best approach is to opposing a nominee who's broadly acknowledged to be qualified and whose past rulings make it difficult to pigeonhole her as a liberal crusader.
The GOP has just 40 votes in the Senate — well short of the majority they would need to defeat Sotomayor or to sustain a drawn-out effort to block a final vote to confirm her.
Even if they could stall Sotomayor's nomination, though, it's evident that many Republicans don't think it's politically prudent to take on a Hispanic woman, given the GOP's low standing in the polls and its efforts to appeal to women and minorities. Those groups traditionally have shunned the party.
The issue of race and ethnicity has proven a toxic one for the key Republican carrying the party message on Sotomayor: Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the senior GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which begins hearings on Sotomayor on July 13.
Sessions' own nomination for a federal judgeship in 1986 was scuttled by allegations that he made racist comments and targeted black civil rights leaders as a federal prosecutor in Alabama.
He denied those charges. But he did acknowledge making what he called some off-color "jokes," such as calling civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People "un-American."
Sessions has spoken in similar terms recently about a Puerto Rican legal advocacy group on whose board Sotomayor sat from 1980 until 1992.
"This is a group that has taken some very shocking positions with respect to terrorism," Sessions said of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, citing its defense in 1990 of Puerto Rican nationalists who 36 years earlier had wounded five lawmakers during an attack on the House while it was in session.
Sessions said Thursday the group's stances on issues from capital punishment to race were "extreme." His staff raised concern about its ties with the community organizing group ACORN, which Republicans routinely describe as a radical organization.
Democrats said the GOP was grasping at straws.
It's not that Republicans aren't criticizing Sotomayor. Early on, they went out of their way to treat her gently, trying to distinguish themselves from party firebrands such as radio host Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who called her a racist.
In recent days, GOP senators have faulted her for her stance on gun rights, her ruling against white firefighters who alleged reversed discrimination, and her participation in the Puerto Rican legal advocacy group. They've raised questions about her ability to be "colorblind."
Still, they've had to reach to score points against Sotomayor.
For instance, Republicans recently banded together to raise concerns about her position on gun rights. They held a news conference about an appeals court decision Sotomayor joined that said the Second Amendment's protection against curbs on bearing arms applies only to the federal government — not to states.
That was in line with Supreme Court precedent on the issue, Sessions acknowledged, and presumably in keeping with GOP views that judges should be restrained.
But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, criticized Sotomayor for taking a "cramped and restricted view of a basic civil liberty." At the same time, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Sotomayor had been too expansive in her ruling on the right to keep and bear arms. "I wish Judge Sotomayor had been similarly restrained on these issues" as other courts that ruled differently, he said.
The message was as clear as mud.
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associate Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A week before her Senate hearings, Republicans are floundering in their efforts to trip up Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, unable to find an effective message about why she's not fit to serve.
Blame the tricky politics of opposing the woman who would be the first Hispanic justice, especially for a party struggling to broaden its base and whose chief spokesman on Sotomayor has a troubled history of racism allegations.
Add to that the mathematical impossibility of Republicans' rejecting President Barack Obama's first high court nominee, and it's a recipe for a weak-kneed response.
Conservative activists have noticed, and they're not happy.
"Too many Republicans and conservatives planned to lose instead of planning to win" the debate over Sotomayor, said Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch. His group has mounted strong opposition to the federal appeals court judge.
About half the Senate's Republicans are willing to raise serious questions about Sotomayor and there's "a sizable minority who — partly because she's Hispanic — just want this to go away," said Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice.
Conservative groups have sought to convince Senate Republicans that they can benefit politically by strongly opposing Sotomayor. But many of their leaders complain the message isn't getting through.
During recent confrontations, some activists have told GOP senators, "Don't throw away yet another conservative agenda item when it's a successful one for you. Your base cares about this and you should, too," said former Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., who's advising some outside groups on Sotomayor's nomination. "It was kind of a blunt message."
There are good reasons for Republicans to be holding back, wondering what their best approach is to opposing a nominee who's broadly acknowledged to be qualified and whose past rulings make it difficult to pigeonhole her as a liberal crusader.
The GOP has just 40 votes in the Senate — well short of the majority they would need to defeat Sotomayor or to sustain a drawn-out effort to block a final vote to confirm her.
Even if they could stall Sotomayor's nomination, though, it's evident that many Republicans don't think it's politically prudent to take on a Hispanic woman, given the GOP's low standing in the polls and its efforts to appeal to women and minorities. Those groups traditionally have shunned the party.
The issue of race and ethnicity has proven a toxic one for the key Republican carrying the party message on Sotomayor: Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the senior GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which begins hearings on Sotomayor on July 13.
Sessions' own nomination for a federal judgeship in 1986 was scuttled by allegations that he made racist comments and targeted black civil rights leaders as a federal prosecutor in Alabama.
He denied those charges. But he did acknowledge making what he called some off-color "jokes," such as calling civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People "un-American."
Sessions has spoken in similar terms recently about a Puerto Rican legal advocacy group on whose board Sotomayor sat from 1980 until 1992.
"This is a group that has taken some very shocking positions with respect to terrorism," Sessions said of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, citing its defense in 1990 of Puerto Rican nationalists who 36 years earlier had wounded five lawmakers during an attack on the House while it was in session.
Sessions said Thursday the group's stances on issues from capital punishment to race were "extreme." His staff raised concern about its ties with the community organizing group ACORN, which Republicans routinely describe as a radical organization.
Democrats said the GOP was grasping at straws.
It's not that Republicans aren't criticizing Sotomayor. Early on, they went out of their way to treat her gently, trying to distinguish themselves from party firebrands such as radio host Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who called her a racist.
In recent days, GOP senators have faulted her for her stance on gun rights, her ruling against white firefighters who alleged reversed discrimination, and her participation in the Puerto Rican legal advocacy group. They've raised questions about her ability to be "colorblind."
Still, they've had to reach to score points against Sotomayor.
For instance, Republicans recently banded together to raise concerns about her position on gun rights. They held a news conference about an appeals court decision Sotomayor joined that said the Second Amendment's protection against curbs on bearing arms applies only to the federal government — not to states.
That was in line with Supreme Court precedent on the issue, Sessions acknowledged, and presumably in keeping with GOP views that judges should be restrained.
But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, criticized Sotomayor for taking a "cramped and restricted view of a basic civil liberty." At the same time, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Sotomayor had been too expansive in her ruling on the right to keep and bear arms. "I wish Judge Sotomayor had been similarly restrained on these issues" as other courts that ruled differently, he said.
The message was as clear as mud.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Hispanic nominee still safe after court ruling
Opinion: Sotomayor still safe after court ruling
by Adrian Perez, Publisher - The Latino Journal E-NEWS
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the City of New Haven, Connecticut had erred in not recognizing a validated promotional examination for the city fire department because no Blacks were in the top ranks. This ruling is contrary to what Supreme Court Judge nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and two other Second Circuit judges had decided earlier in the same case. So, does this mean Sotomayor is not ready to be a Supreme Court Justice? In the eyes of some, they would say yes, but before anyone rushes out to pass judgment on her, it is critical to look at the actual court case itself.
There is no question that the Ricci v. Stefano case was going to be a high profile because the fire fighters from the New Haven Fire Department alleging discrimination are White. (There was also one Hispanic.) They alleged that their civil rights had been violated after the City of New Haven rejected the scores of the promotional exam after no African Americans placed in the top ranks. The City claimed that the lack of African Americans on the top ranks demonstrated a disparate impact therefore the exam results should be thrown out. Given the history of the City of New Haven towards Blacks, the Second Circuit Court, along with Sotomayor, agreed with the City of New Haven.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects all applicants for employment or promotion. To ensure equal protections, employers conduct validation studies on open and promotional examinations. This process requires that an impartial expert individual or company scan the examination questions to identify any bias. The lack of African Americans on the top ranks of the New Haven Fire Department's promotional exam in 2003 prompted the City to intervene and invalidate the exam. The Second Circuit judges took a broad-brush approach and used the City's poor history of hiring African Americans to side with the city. However, the U.S. Supreme Court took more of a surgical approach, saying the tests had been validated, therefore there was no disparate treatment of African Americans.
In her first key decision as a Supreme Court Justice, Sotomayor sided with three other justices arguing that history or patterns of discrimination play a key role in discrimination cases. The majority of the justices disagreed, saying the test was not biased since it had already been validated.
What is clear from this case is the need to have perspective and understanding of the law at the Supreme Court level and not politics. Sotomayor and the three other dissenting judges brought perspective of inclusion in considering past actions of discrimination, a perspective supported by the fundamentals of the civil rights . The majority decision was focused on a key point of the law, were the tests validated? Both sides were accurate from a legal standpoint, but perspective is also essential, which is what Sotomayor brings to the Supreme Court.
by Adrian Perez, Publisher - The Latino Journal E-NEWS
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the City of New Haven, Connecticut had erred in not recognizing a validated promotional examination for the city fire department because no Blacks were in the top ranks. This ruling is contrary to what Supreme Court Judge nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and two other Second Circuit judges had decided earlier in the same case. So, does this mean Sotomayor is not ready to be a Supreme Court Justice? In the eyes of some, they would say yes, but before anyone rushes out to pass judgment on her, it is critical to look at the actual court case itself.
There is no question that the Ricci v. Stefano case was going to be a high profile because the fire fighters from the New Haven Fire Department alleging discrimination are White. (There was also one Hispanic.) They alleged that their civil rights had been violated after the City of New Haven rejected the scores of the promotional exam after no African Americans placed in the top ranks. The City claimed that the lack of African Americans on the top ranks demonstrated a disparate impact therefore the exam results should be thrown out. Given the history of the City of New Haven towards Blacks, the Second Circuit Court, along with Sotomayor, agreed with the City of New Haven.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects all applicants for employment or promotion. To ensure equal protections, employers conduct validation studies on open and promotional examinations. This process requires that an impartial expert individual or company scan the examination questions to identify any bias. The lack of African Americans on the top ranks of the New Haven Fire Department's promotional exam in 2003 prompted the City to intervene and invalidate the exam. The Second Circuit judges took a broad-brush approach and used the City's poor history of hiring African Americans to side with the city. However, the U.S. Supreme Court took more of a surgical approach, saying the tests had been validated, therefore there was no disparate treatment of African Americans.
In her first key decision as a Supreme Court Justice, Sotomayor sided with three other justices arguing that history or patterns of discrimination play a key role in discrimination cases. The majority of the justices disagreed, saying the test was not biased since it had already been validated.
What is clear from this case is the need to have perspective and understanding of the law at the Supreme Court level and not politics. Sotomayor and the three other dissenting judges brought perspective of inclusion in considering past actions of discrimination, a perspective supported by the fundamentals of the civil rights . The majority decision was focused on a key point of the law, were the tests validated? Both sides were accurate from a legal standpoint, but perspective is also essential, which is what Sotomayor brings to the Supreme Court.
Georgetown's first Hispanic Police Officer retires
Georgetown's first Hispanic police officer retires after 35 years
Robert Hernandez saw the department grow from four officers to about 80.
By Miguel Liscano, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, July 04, 2009
When recently retired Georgetown police Capt. Robert Hernandez was hired by the department in 1974, there wasn't much police work to do in the-then tiny town north of Austin, he said.
Investigations of the very occasional major crimes were handled by the Texas Rangers, and auto accidents in the city were investigated by Department of Public Safety troopers.
That left little more than routine patrols for the four officers, including the chief.
"We almost felt like night watchmen," Hernandez said. "We were just making sure that there were no burglars around."
This week, Hernandez, 65, the city's first Hispanic police officer, began his first week of retirement, leaving behind a 35-year career in which he saw the department grow to a staff of about 80 officers who investigated more than 1,700 new major crime cases last year.
As the department grew up, so did Georgetown, the county seat of Williamson County, one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas. In 1974, Georgetown was home to about 7,600 people. This year, the population is estimated to be 49,400.
Hernandez had worked for about 41⁄2 years as a sheriff's deputy in Cameron County, in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, when he moved to Georgetown with his wife and two children.
He said a trip to Austin to visit a relative that year had persuaded him to move to Central Texas, partly because of the relatively cooler weather.
After about four months on the job, he helped convince then-Police Chief John Shearin that he and his colleagues could handle some of the cases that were being turned over to other law enforcement agencies.
"We started paddling our boat, instead of allowing someone else to do the paddling for us," he said.
In the beginning, he also faced prejudice, he said.
Some residents would say that without the police badge, Hernandez "didn't mean anything to them," he said.
Hernandez said he'd respond by saying all he needed was for them to respect his badge.
"You don't have to respect me to respect the badge," he recalled as his usual response. "I'm the one wearing it."
Today, there are a handful of Hispanic officers at the department.
Hernandez said he was attracted to law enforcement by the idea that he might be able to help people. One reason he stuck with it was the detective work.
"It's the exciting thing of starting with a puzzle," he said. "You don't have anything to work with. But when you start working a case, you start putting pieces together and then see the whole picture of it and make an arrest."
About a decade ago, Hernandez was suspended for a month after he was accused of allowing officers to drink alcoholic beverages after a party for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
He said that the officers were off duty and that he didn't do anything wrong. Still, he calls it "the worst time of my life."
About a year after the incident, he was promoted from lieutenant to captain. Among officers, he was known for his discipline and principled approach.
With Hernandez, "right is right, and wrong is wrong," said Sgt. Bill Pascoe, who's been with the department for 25 years. "Robert is very traditional and very honorable."
Lt. Jerry Pate said of Hernandez: "He was a no-nonsense guy. So as long as you were doing your best, he was always there for you."
Hernandez lives with his wife of 46 years, Norma, and his son, Robert, 41. He says that in retirement, he'll probably spend more time watching Dallas Cowboys football games and playing the guitar with friends.
As a teenager he was in two Brownsville bands, the Blue Valiente and the Staff, that covered tunes by Fats Domino, Ritchie Valens and the Ventures.
"Some of the guys, we get together, and we play music here," he said. "We sometimes make more noise than music, but we enjoy what we do."
mliscano@statesman.com; 246-1150
Robert Hernandez saw the department grow from four officers to about 80.
By Miguel Liscano, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, July 04, 2009
When recently retired Georgetown police Capt. Robert Hernandez was hired by the department in 1974, there wasn't much police work to do in the-then tiny town north of Austin, he said.
Investigations of the very occasional major crimes were handled by the Texas Rangers, and auto accidents in the city were investigated by Department of Public Safety troopers.
That left little more than routine patrols for the four officers, including the chief.
"We almost felt like night watchmen," Hernandez said. "We were just making sure that there were no burglars around."
This week, Hernandez, 65, the city's first Hispanic police officer, began his first week of retirement, leaving behind a 35-year career in which he saw the department grow to a staff of about 80 officers who investigated more than 1,700 new major crime cases last year.
As the department grew up, so did Georgetown, the county seat of Williamson County, one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas. In 1974, Georgetown was home to about 7,600 people. This year, the population is estimated to be 49,400.
Hernandez had worked for about 41⁄2 years as a sheriff's deputy in Cameron County, in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, when he moved to Georgetown with his wife and two children.
He said a trip to Austin to visit a relative that year had persuaded him to move to Central Texas, partly because of the relatively cooler weather.
After about four months on the job, he helped convince then-Police Chief John Shearin that he and his colleagues could handle some of the cases that were being turned over to other law enforcement agencies.
"We started paddling our boat, instead of allowing someone else to do the paddling for us," he said.
In the beginning, he also faced prejudice, he said.
Some residents would say that without the police badge, Hernandez "didn't mean anything to them," he said.
Hernandez said he'd respond by saying all he needed was for them to respect his badge.
"You don't have to respect me to respect the badge," he recalled as his usual response. "I'm the one wearing it."
Today, there are a handful of Hispanic officers at the department.
Hernandez said he was attracted to law enforcement by the idea that he might be able to help people. One reason he stuck with it was the detective work.
"It's the exciting thing of starting with a puzzle," he said. "You don't have anything to work with. But when you start working a case, you start putting pieces together and then see the whole picture of it and make an arrest."
About a decade ago, Hernandez was suspended for a month after he was accused of allowing officers to drink alcoholic beverages after a party for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
He said that the officers were off duty and that he didn't do anything wrong. Still, he calls it "the worst time of my life."
About a year after the incident, he was promoted from lieutenant to captain. Among officers, he was known for his discipline and principled approach.
With Hernandez, "right is right, and wrong is wrong," said Sgt. Bill Pascoe, who's been with the department for 25 years. "Robert is very traditional and very honorable."
Lt. Jerry Pate said of Hernandez: "He was a no-nonsense guy. So as long as you were doing your best, he was always there for you."
Hernandez lives with his wife of 46 years, Norma, and his son, Robert, 41. He says that in retirement, he'll probably spend more time watching Dallas Cowboys football games and playing the guitar with friends.
As a teenager he was in two Brownsville bands, the Blue Valiente and the Staff, that covered tunes by Fats Domino, Ritchie Valens and the Ventures.
"Some of the guys, we get together, and we play music here," he said. "We sometimes make more noise than music, but we enjoy what we do."
mliscano@statesman.com; 246-1150
4th of July for Hispanics too
The Fourth of July is for Hispanics, too
Hispanics fought in the U.S. War of Independence, capturing five British forts in Mississippi Valley
By Andy Porras, La Prensa, July 4, 2009
My mother Pepa and I were grocery shopping in the Texas border town of Del Rio, where I was born and raised, preparing for our regular family’s annual Fourth of July picnic, when a Little League teammate of mine, Bubba, bumped into us.
“Howdy!” roared Bubba, a real big kid for his age. “What y’all doin’ here today?”
When I told him we were preparing for a picnic on the Fourth, he broke into laughter and squeezed the air out of my thin frame with his oversized arm.
“No, no, buddy,” he corrected me. “You guys celebrate Cinco de Mayo, The Fourth of July is for Americans only!”
Gasping as I wrenched from his grasp, I tucked Bubba’s civics lesson away in a corner of my memory.
Clean, pure water-One Water Systems
It wasn’t until the advent of the ’60s and their many reawakening epochs that I came up with a suitable rejoinder. Deep in my post-graduate studies, my re-education by then had shaped me into a Chicano who could take pride in possessing two cultures. Vale más quien sabe dos. Two are twice as good as one.
I still utilize the incident when I deliver my addresses on Hidden Hispanic History. It makes an incisive entry into open minds. After I relate that early episode of my life, I tell my bewildered audience that I wish Bubba were in the room so he could hear my reasons for celebrating my Americanism.
“I’m more American than the flag Betsy Ross never made!” I shout out.
I don’t explain the statement (Google “Francis Hopkinson”) until deep into the lecture.
In the meantime, I hurl Hispanic historical data at them like fireworks at that Porras family picnic my mom and I were plotting when Bubba appeared. I tell my captive audience stories they never read in school.
I share the one about the Spanish intervention during the Revolution and how it saved George Washington’s quest for independence from England.
Simply, I question whether there would ever have been a Fourth to celebrate if it hadn’t been for the
Spaniards and friendly natives - la raza cósmica. It’s a national disgrace, I thunder, that few norteamericanos know anything about these actualities.
Then, grinning, I suggest it’s time to add a tad of brown to the red, white and blue of the Fourth.
Many of my heroines and heroes are of Mexican and Spanish descent. The late folk historian José Antonio Burciaga called them “indo-hispanics.” They gave their all during this young nation’s fight for freedom. The startling fact remains that historians slighted these early Spanish-speaking patriots.
One only has to research about the brilliant and gallant Gen. Bernardo de Galvez, who formed an army that would make our special forces proud. Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Native Americans and Mexicans resembled the elite Army Rangers and Navy Seals as they prepared to repel the Redcoats.
In one big swoop. Galvez and his gallant men captured five British forts along the Mississippi Valley and what is now Mobile Bay. They also seized 11 English ships and relieved them of their cargoes; rerouting the supplies to the General Washington-led forces, who were stranded at Valley Forge without much assistance from the locals.
Because only one-third of the Colonists took-up arms in the independence effort, this led to our early government accepting help from other counties, and it was both Hispanic Worlds, the old and the new, that provided most of it.
General Galvez not only helped supply Washington’s troops with arms, gunpowder, clothing and food. He also raised money, much contributed by philanthropic Cuban and Mexican women. They offered jewelry, heirlooms and gold coins to be melted down and converted into payments for the revolutionary soldiers.
When Galvez’s guerrillas took the most important British stronghold on the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola, the battle was so fierce that even the general was injured. But it was the Brits who were fatally wounded. The Pensacola loss broke their back; it was there they were preparing to regroup and head north to Yorktown.
Instead Galvez stripped their ships and sent the captured supplies to the colonists. The Yorktown showdown was the final episode of the War of Independence.
The rest, they say, is history - history stripped of its Hispanic heroes.
Bubba was right. The Fourth of July is a holiday for real Americans. Like all the ones who fought for its independence. And all their descendants.
Porras is a retired journalism teacher who freelances from his home in West Sacramento, CA. Along with his family, he publishes CAlifas, a bilingual monthly. This story appeared in La Prensa.
Hispanics fought in the U.S. War of Independence, capturing five British forts in Mississippi Valley
By Andy Porras, La Prensa, July 4, 2009
My mother Pepa and I were grocery shopping in the Texas border town of Del Rio, where I was born and raised, preparing for our regular family’s annual Fourth of July picnic, when a Little League teammate of mine, Bubba, bumped into us.
“Howdy!” roared Bubba, a real big kid for his age. “What y’all doin’ here today?”
When I told him we were preparing for a picnic on the Fourth, he broke into laughter and squeezed the air out of my thin frame with his oversized arm.
“No, no, buddy,” he corrected me. “You guys celebrate Cinco de Mayo, The Fourth of July is for Americans only!”
Gasping as I wrenched from his grasp, I tucked Bubba’s civics lesson away in a corner of my memory.
Clean, pure water-One Water Systems
It wasn’t until the advent of the ’60s and their many reawakening epochs that I came up with a suitable rejoinder. Deep in my post-graduate studies, my re-education by then had shaped me into a Chicano who could take pride in possessing two cultures. Vale más quien sabe dos. Two are twice as good as one.
I still utilize the incident when I deliver my addresses on Hidden Hispanic History. It makes an incisive entry into open minds. After I relate that early episode of my life, I tell my bewildered audience that I wish Bubba were in the room so he could hear my reasons for celebrating my Americanism.
“I’m more American than the flag Betsy Ross never made!” I shout out.
I don’t explain the statement (Google “Francis Hopkinson”) until deep into the lecture.
In the meantime, I hurl Hispanic historical data at them like fireworks at that Porras family picnic my mom and I were plotting when Bubba appeared. I tell my captive audience stories they never read in school.
I share the one about the Spanish intervention during the Revolution and how it saved George Washington’s quest for independence from England.
Simply, I question whether there would ever have been a Fourth to celebrate if it hadn’t been for the
Spaniards and friendly natives - la raza cósmica. It’s a national disgrace, I thunder, that few norteamericanos know anything about these actualities.
Then, grinning, I suggest it’s time to add a tad of brown to the red, white and blue of the Fourth.
Many of my heroines and heroes are of Mexican and Spanish descent. The late folk historian José Antonio Burciaga called them “indo-hispanics.” They gave their all during this young nation’s fight for freedom. The startling fact remains that historians slighted these early Spanish-speaking patriots.
One only has to research about the brilliant and gallant Gen. Bernardo de Galvez, who formed an army that would make our special forces proud. Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Native Americans and Mexicans resembled the elite Army Rangers and Navy Seals as they prepared to repel the Redcoats.
In one big swoop. Galvez and his gallant men captured five British forts along the Mississippi Valley and what is now Mobile Bay. They also seized 11 English ships and relieved them of their cargoes; rerouting the supplies to the General Washington-led forces, who were stranded at Valley Forge without much assistance from the locals.
Because only one-third of the Colonists took-up arms in the independence effort, this led to our early government accepting help from other counties, and it was both Hispanic Worlds, the old and the new, that provided most of it.
General Galvez not only helped supply Washington’s troops with arms, gunpowder, clothing and food. He also raised money, much contributed by philanthropic Cuban and Mexican women. They offered jewelry, heirlooms and gold coins to be melted down and converted into payments for the revolutionary soldiers.
When Galvez’s guerrillas took the most important British stronghold on the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola, the battle was so fierce that even the general was injured. But it was the Brits who were fatally wounded. The Pensacola loss broke their back; it was there they were preparing to regroup and head north to Yorktown.
Instead Galvez stripped their ships and sent the captured supplies to the colonists. The Yorktown showdown was the final episode of the War of Independence.
The rest, they say, is history - history stripped of its Hispanic heroes.
Bubba was right. The Fourth of July is a holiday for real Americans. Like all the ones who fought for its independence. And all their descendants.
Porras is a retired journalism teacher who freelances from his home in West Sacramento, CA. Along with his family, he publishes CAlifas, a bilingual monthly. This story appeared in La Prensa.
Latinos growth seen in Twin Cities
Three-Sixty: Latinos widen their Twin Cities influence
By ADY PEREZ, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, July 3, 2009
It's hard to miss the green, white and red exterior of Don Panchos Bakery. The sweet aroma of freshly baked conchas greets you at the door of the shop on St. Paul's west side.
In the back, Efrain Perez squeezes frosting into two-inch pink roses on a tres leches cake. He cuts bolillos and puts them in the oven. He chats with customers as he bags bread.
Perez, 42, said that when he opened the family-owned bakery 11 years ago, most of his customers were Latinos. Now he says his clients are more diverse.
Don Panchos Bakery is part of a vibrant and growing Latino business community in Minnesota. More than that, it reflects the growing presence of Latinos in the United States as a whole.
Latinos first arrived in the Twin Cities in the 1860s, mostly in St. Paul, according to the Minneapolis Foundation. In 2002, there were an estimated 205,896 residents of Latino descent in the state, according to the Minnesota Chicano Latino Affairs Council.
Latinos are expected to be 25 percent of the state's projected population of 6.45 million by 2035, according to the state's Demographic Center.
St. Paul's West Side has long been a destination for the Latino community. But other areas -- particularly East Lake Street in Minneapolis -- are becoming major business and residential hot spots.
Latinos have become such a part of the community that even major supermarket chains such as Rainbow and Cub Foods stock their shelves with not only Wonder Bread, but tortillas, as well as beans, tropical drinks, salsa and other traditional and popular Latino food items.
Alberto Monserrate, president of Latino Communications Network, a media company in Minneapolis, said that the Latino community was very small decades ago. Most of the Latinos who were here were undocumented and worked in meat plants.
By ADY PEREZ, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, July 3, 2009
It's hard to miss the green, white and red exterior of Don Panchos Bakery. The sweet aroma of freshly baked conchas greets you at the door of the shop on St. Paul's west side.
In the back, Efrain Perez squeezes frosting into two-inch pink roses on a tres leches cake. He cuts bolillos and puts them in the oven. He chats with customers as he bags bread.
Perez, 42, said that when he opened the family-owned bakery 11 years ago, most of his customers were Latinos. Now he says his clients are more diverse.
Don Panchos Bakery is part of a vibrant and growing Latino business community in Minnesota. More than that, it reflects the growing presence of Latinos in the United States as a whole.
Latinos first arrived in the Twin Cities in the 1860s, mostly in St. Paul, according to the Minneapolis Foundation. In 2002, there were an estimated 205,896 residents of Latino descent in the state, according to the Minnesota Chicano Latino Affairs Council.
Latinos are expected to be 25 percent of the state's projected population of 6.45 million by 2035, according to the state's Demographic Center.
St. Paul's West Side has long been a destination for the Latino community. But other areas -- particularly East Lake Street in Minneapolis -- are becoming major business and residential hot spots.
Latinos have become such a part of the community that even major supermarket chains such as Rainbow and Cub Foods stock their shelves with not only Wonder Bread, but tortillas, as well as beans, tropical drinks, salsa and other traditional and popular Latino food items.
Alberto Monserrate, president of Latino Communications Network, a media company in Minneapolis, said that the Latino community was very small decades ago. Most of the Latinos who were here were undocumented and worked in meat plants.
A Latina to be proud of, no matter your heritage
A Latina to be proud of, no matter your heritage
THE LATINO JOURNAL E-NEWS
It was during World War II when Sonia Sotomayor's parents arrived and settled in Bronx, New York from Puerto Rico. Her father worked as a tool and die maker, while her mother found work as a nurse in a methadone clinic.
The Sotomayor's spoke primarily Spanish and lived in the housing projects. By age 8, Sonia was found to have diabetes (Type I), which could be controlled by taking insulin. But by age 9, tragedy struck when Sonia's father passed away, leaving her mother to care for Sonia and her brother Juan.
Although finding it difficult to make ends meet, Sonia's mother found a way to put her and her brother through Catholic school. Sonia excelled in school, finding herself in the undergraduate program at the prestigious school of Princeton, a life that agreed with her, achieving awards with honors including membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor give to undergraduates at Princeton.
In 1976, Sonia married Kevin Edward Noonan, a marriage that lasted until 1983.
After graduation from Princeton, Sonia enrolled at Yale Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1979. While at Yale, she had the distinction of being the editor of the Yale University Law Review and managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order in 1979.
Upon obtaining her law degree and passing the bar, Sonia served as a prosecutor in New York County District Attorney's Office from 1979 to 1984. In 1984, Sonia opened her own private practice in New York City from 1984 to 1992 as an associate and partner at Pavia and Harcourt in New York City.
It was November 27, 1991, when Sonia was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as a federal judge, receiving Senate confirmation on August 11 of 1992. And on June 25, 1997, Sonia was nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, by President William J. Clinton, and was confirmed by the Senate on October 2, 1998, after a long delay by Senate Republicans. Known as the judge that saved baseball, Sonia has served in this capacity until her recent nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama.
As Sonia's confirmation hearing approaches, Republicans in the Senate have exhibited little political will to attack the first Hispanic nominee for the Supreme Court, a lifetime appointment. However, the nomination could not be without drama as her decision on a recent high profile discrimination court case will add to the political fire she will face at her hearing. Political pundits believe Sotomayor will be confirmed with 70 senators, including 11 Republicans, to assure her seat in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Upon Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation, people who have roots from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Puerto Rico, or other Central/South American countries can say, we have a lifetime member on the U.S. Supreme Court that shares our heritage.
THE LATINO JOURNAL E-NEWS
It was during World War II when Sonia Sotomayor's parents arrived and settled in Bronx, New York from Puerto Rico. Her father worked as a tool and die maker, while her mother found work as a nurse in a methadone clinic.
The Sotomayor's spoke primarily Spanish and lived in the housing projects. By age 8, Sonia was found to have diabetes (Type I), which could be controlled by taking insulin. But by age 9, tragedy struck when Sonia's father passed away, leaving her mother to care for Sonia and her brother Juan.
Although finding it difficult to make ends meet, Sonia's mother found a way to put her and her brother through Catholic school. Sonia excelled in school, finding herself in the undergraduate program at the prestigious school of Princeton, a life that agreed with her, achieving awards with honors including membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor give to undergraduates at Princeton.
In 1976, Sonia married Kevin Edward Noonan, a marriage that lasted until 1983.
After graduation from Princeton, Sonia enrolled at Yale Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1979. While at Yale, she had the distinction of being the editor of the Yale University Law Review and managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order in 1979.
Upon obtaining her law degree and passing the bar, Sonia served as a prosecutor in New York County District Attorney's Office from 1979 to 1984. In 1984, Sonia opened her own private practice in New York City from 1984 to 1992 as an associate and partner at Pavia and Harcourt in New York City.
It was November 27, 1991, when Sonia was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as a federal judge, receiving Senate confirmation on August 11 of 1992. And on June 25, 1997, Sonia was nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, by President William J. Clinton, and was confirmed by the Senate on October 2, 1998, after a long delay by Senate Republicans. Known as the judge that saved baseball, Sonia has served in this capacity until her recent nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama.
As Sonia's confirmation hearing approaches, Republicans in the Senate have exhibited little political will to attack the first Hispanic nominee for the Supreme Court, a lifetime appointment. However, the nomination could not be without drama as her decision on a recent high profile discrimination court case will add to the political fire she will face at her hearing. Political pundits believe Sotomayor will be confirmed with 70 senators, including 11 Republicans, to assure her seat in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Upon Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation, people who have roots from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Puerto Rico, or other Central/South American countries can say, we have a lifetime member on the U.S. Supreme Court that shares our heritage.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Latino kids helped by mentoring program
Mentoring program helps Latino students
By Rodrigo Muzell, Inquirer Staff Writer
Wender Ozuma, 18, is prepared to face the world and his future.
"I want to manage a company," Ozuma said recently, attired in blue shirt and a black tie. "I feel comfortable in an office environment, dressed up professionally."
Ozuma and others recently attended a celebration on the 43d floor of the Comcast Center marking the third anniversary of the Professional Mentoring Network run by the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
It is a venture that Ozuma and others described as allowing Latino youths to believe in their dreams.
"It's just up to you," said Ozuma, who recently graduated from Thomas Edison High School and will begin studies in business administration this fall at East Stroudsburg University. "I could have just given up and dropped out, but I opted to become top of my class."
The program connects students with Latino business people and executives from large corporations, such as Bank of America and Comcast, who serve as mentors. The youths attend seminars and other activities that stress career goals. The program also mentors Latino business professionals, who are advised by other high-level corporate executives.
Varsovia Fernandez, president of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the youth program stresses the message that it's "OK to be Hispanic and be successful."
Nearly 200 students have been mentored by the business community. Fernandez estimated that from 35 to 60 youths will participate in the program this year.
Fernandez said successful role models are important to fight the perception that a Latino heritage can be a disadvantage in the quest for a career.
"Some Latino girls say they were told by people that they are not college material," said Fernandez. "But in fact, I've seen many of them going to college."
Clarissa Velazquez, 18, who just graduated from Edison, joined the mentoring program last year and is headed to Holy Family University in the fall.
In high school, she considered becoming a doctor. After attending career seminars offered by the mentoring network, she said, she sees other opportunities.
"The business classes opened my eyes to different things I can do and the variety of successful positions I can have," she said. "There are so many things going on, and you just have to say yes. You can't close the doors and just lock yourself out of things just because where you came from."
At the recent anniversary celebration, David L. Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast, was honored for his work with the Professional Mentoring Network.
He said companies that "truly represent the cultural diversity of America" will be the successful ones in the future, and embracing programs like the mentoring network is "the right thing to do."
"The kids blow me away every time. This program shows what they can be if they work hard and finish school. They can end up working in a building like this," Cohen said.
Ozuma, preparing for a business career, agreed. And his dreams go even further.
"My dream would be to become an executive like David Cohen. I want to be at where he is now - or higher."
By Rodrigo Muzell, Inquirer Staff Writer
Wender Ozuma, 18, is prepared to face the world and his future.
"I want to manage a company," Ozuma said recently, attired in blue shirt and a black tie. "I feel comfortable in an office environment, dressed up professionally."
Ozuma and others recently attended a celebration on the 43d floor of the Comcast Center marking the third anniversary of the Professional Mentoring Network run by the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
It is a venture that Ozuma and others described as allowing Latino youths to believe in their dreams.
"It's just up to you," said Ozuma, who recently graduated from Thomas Edison High School and will begin studies in business administration this fall at East Stroudsburg University. "I could have just given up and dropped out, but I opted to become top of my class."
The program connects students with Latino business people and executives from large corporations, such as Bank of America and Comcast, who serve as mentors. The youths attend seminars and other activities that stress career goals. The program also mentors Latino business professionals, who are advised by other high-level corporate executives.
Varsovia Fernandez, president of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the youth program stresses the message that it's "OK to be Hispanic and be successful."
Nearly 200 students have been mentored by the business community. Fernandez estimated that from 35 to 60 youths will participate in the program this year.
Fernandez said successful role models are important to fight the perception that a Latino heritage can be a disadvantage in the quest for a career.
"Some Latino girls say they were told by people that they are not college material," said Fernandez. "But in fact, I've seen many of them going to college."
Clarissa Velazquez, 18, who just graduated from Edison, joined the mentoring program last year and is headed to Holy Family University in the fall.
In high school, she considered becoming a doctor. After attending career seminars offered by the mentoring network, she said, she sees other opportunities.
"The business classes opened my eyes to different things I can do and the variety of successful positions I can have," she said. "There are so many things going on, and you just have to say yes. You can't close the doors and just lock yourself out of things just because where you came from."
At the recent anniversary celebration, David L. Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast, was honored for his work with the Professional Mentoring Network.
He said companies that "truly represent the cultural diversity of America" will be the successful ones in the future, and embracing programs like the mentoring network is "the right thing to do."
"The kids blow me away every time. This program shows what they can be if they work hard and finish school. They can end up working in a building like this," Cohen said.
Ozuma, preparing for a business career, agreed. And his dreams go even further.
"My dream would be to become an executive like David Cohen. I want to be at where he is now - or higher."
Lone Hispanic fire fighter speaks out
Bias Suit a Test of Resolve for Hispanic Man
By A. G. SULZBERGER, NY Times, July 2, 2009
NEW HAVEN — The two dozen firefighters who packed into Humphrey’s East Restaurant were celebrating a coming marriage, drinking and jawboning in the boisterous style of large men with risky jobs, but Lt. Ben Vargas spent the evening trying to escape the tension surrounding his presence.
A clipping depicting the first major fire that Lt. Ben Vargas fought.
During a trip to the bathroom, he found himself facing another man. Without warning, the first punch landed. When Lieutenant Vargas awoke, bloodied and splayed on the grimy floor, he was taken to the hospital.
Lieutenant Vargas believes the attack, five years ago, was orchestrated by a black firefighter in retaliation for his having joined a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city over its tossing out of an exam for promotion that few minority firefighters passed. (No arrests were made in the attack, and the black firefighter vigorously denies having been involved.)
When the Hispanic firefighters’ association and its members — including Lieutenant Vargas’s brother — refused to publicly stand behind him, he quit the organization.
Lieutenant Vargas, who posted the sixth-highest score on the exam, was ridiculed as a token, a turncoat and an Uncle Tom — all of which, he said, “made my resolve that much stronger.”
When the United States Supreme Court ruled this week in the firefighters’ favor, Lieutenant Vargas, 40, the son of Puerto Rican parents, found himself celebrating amid an awkward racial dynamic: As the lone Hispanic among the 18 plaintiffs who had challenged an affirmative action policy, he had also challenged an appeals court decision joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court.
“She’s from Puerto Rico, and I’m from Puerto Rico,” he said. “She obviously feels differently than I do.”
The Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision is expected to have repercussions on employment discrimination law that go well beyond fire departments, where minority groups have been woefully underrepresented, particularly in leadership positions. On the steps of the federal courthouse in New Haven on Monday, a lawyer for the firefighters, Karen Lee Torre, said they had “become a symbol for millions of Americans who have grown tired of seeing individual achievement and merit take a back seat to race and ethnicity.”
For Lieutenant Vargas, the ruling will probably mean a long-awaited promotion to captain in a 350-member department that he has admired since childhood but that has been plagued for decades by racial tension and recriminations.
“I consider myself an American — I was born and raised here,” he said in an interview on the porch of his home in the wooded suburb of Wallingford. “I love my people. I love my culture. I love our rice and beans, our salsa music, our language — everything my parents raised us with. But I am so grateful for the opportunity only the United States can give.”
He grew up in the troubled Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven, a complicated city known for Yale University but also for urban decay, high crime rates and failed prospects, roots he sees as similar to Judge Sotomayor’s in a Bronx public housing project.
His father was a factory worker, and his mother took care of the couple’s three children. (In addition to his brother, David, who did not respond to interview requests, he has a sister who now lives in Puerto Rico.) The family spoke Spanish at home, making his adjustment to school “traumatic,” he said.
Lieutenant Vargas decided to follow the path of an older friend, John Marquez, whom he looked up to. Mr. Marquez had worked his way out of the neighborhood by joining the Fire Department.
“I used to tell him, ‘You know where I came from — if I can make it, anyone can,’ ” Mr. Marquez, now a deputy chief in the department, said in an interview. “ ‘But don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Work for it.’ ”
But Lieutenant Vargas’s aspirations were stymied by a 1988 lawsuit, filed by black firefighters, that shut down hiring for years. The lawsuit challenged a written test that relatively few nonwhites passed. In 1994, the city agreed to disregard the test, over union complaints, and hire 40 firefighters — 20 white, 10 black and 10 Hispanic, according to The New Haven Register.
Lieutenant Vargas was among those hired. That later led some people to criticize him as trying to shut the door that welcomed him, though he maintained that it was impossible to know how he would have done under the old hiring process.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2000, and he now leads a four-person crew at a red-brick single-engine firehouse not far from where he grew up. He also works part time as a consultant for a company that sells equipment for firefighters.
“When I leave the firehouse, I bring it home with me,” he said. “I read about it. Think about it. I love this job. I don’t think there’s anything else I could do better.”
In 2003, Lieutenant Vargas was one of 56 people in the department who passed a test for promotion; 15 were black or Hispanic. When city officials discovered that only two of those were likely to be immediately promoted, they decided to throw out the test, citing concerns that minority candidates might again sue, alleging discrimination.
Instead, a group of white firefighters sued. The results had been posted by race, without names, and when Lieutenant Vargas learned that a Hispanic firefighter had scored sixth among 41 lieutenants on the test to become a captain, he joined the suit. Only later did he discover that the score was his.
“I would have carried the load all by myself,” he said of filing the suit. “Luckily there were enough people out there who felt like I did that we could stand together.”
But Lieutenant Vargas bore more than his share of the criticism, said Lt. Matthew Marcarelli, who was among the plaintiffs and has known Lieutenant Vargas since they were classmates at the fire academy. “Why the other guys viewed him as a turncoat I really don’t understand. He did it because he’s principled and he thought it was the right thing to do. Benny’s nobody’s token.”
Chief Marquez said his old protégé was “an easy target because he didn’t fall in line.”
“It seems that if you’re not the right type of minority, you get hammered,” he said.
The president of the black firefighters’ group in New Haven did not return calls seeking comment.
Despite the ugly episode at Humphrey’s East shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Lieutenant Vargas said that little tension remained in the department, and that he was hopeful that the court decision would end the rest.
He noted that the Hispanic firefighters’ association reversed course in February, after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and publicly endorsed his position.
Gesturing toward his three young sons, Lieutenant Vargas explained why he had no regrets. “I want them to have a fair shake, to get a job on their merits and not because they’re Hispanic or they fill a quota,” he said. “What a lousy way to live.”
By A. G. SULZBERGER, NY Times, July 2, 2009
NEW HAVEN — The two dozen firefighters who packed into Humphrey’s East Restaurant were celebrating a coming marriage, drinking and jawboning in the boisterous style of large men with risky jobs, but Lt. Ben Vargas spent the evening trying to escape the tension surrounding his presence.
A clipping depicting the first major fire that Lt. Ben Vargas fought.
During a trip to the bathroom, he found himself facing another man. Without warning, the first punch landed. When Lieutenant Vargas awoke, bloodied and splayed on the grimy floor, he was taken to the hospital.
Lieutenant Vargas believes the attack, five years ago, was orchestrated by a black firefighter in retaliation for his having joined a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city over its tossing out of an exam for promotion that few minority firefighters passed. (No arrests were made in the attack, and the black firefighter vigorously denies having been involved.)
When the Hispanic firefighters’ association and its members — including Lieutenant Vargas’s brother — refused to publicly stand behind him, he quit the organization.
Lieutenant Vargas, who posted the sixth-highest score on the exam, was ridiculed as a token, a turncoat and an Uncle Tom — all of which, he said, “made my resolve that much stronger.”
When the United States Supreme Court ruled this week in the firefighters’ favor, Lieutenant Vargas, 40, the son of Puerto Rican parents, found himself celebrating amid an awkward racial dynamic: As the lone Hispanic among the 18 plaintiffs who had challenged an affirmative action policy, he had also challenged an appeals court decision joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court.
“She’s from Puerto Rico, and I’m from Puerto Rico,” he said. “She obviously feels differently than I do.”
The Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision is expected to have repercussions on employment discrimination law that go well beyond fire departments, where minority groups have been woefully underrepresented, particularly in leadership positions. On the steps of the federal courthouse in New Haven on Monday, a lawyer for the firefighters, Karen Lee Torre, said they had “become a symbol for millions of Americans who have grown tired of seeing individual achievement and merit take a back seat to race and ethnicity.”
For Lieutenant Vargas, the ruling will probably mean a long-awaited promotion to captain in a 350-member department that he has admired since childhood but that has been plagued for decades by racial tension and recriminations.
“I consider myself an American — I was born and raised here,” he said in an interview on the porch of his home in the wooded suburb of Wallingford. “I love my people. I love my culture. I love our rice and beans, our salsa music, our language — everything my parents raised us with. But I am so grateful for the opportunity only the United States can give.”
He grew up in the troubled Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven, a complicated city known for Yale University but also for urban decay, high crime rates and failed prospects, roots he sees as similar to Judge Sotomayor’s in a Bronx public housing project.
His father was a factory worker, and his mother took care of the couple’s three children. (In addition to his brother, David, who did not respond to interview requests, he has a sister who now lives in Puerto Rico.) The family spoke Spanish at home, making his adjustment to school “traumatic,” he said.
Lieutenant Vargas decided to follow the path of an older friend, John Marquez, whom he looked up to. Mr. Marquez had worked his way out of the neighborhood by joining the Fire Department.
“I used to tell him, ‘You know where I came from — if I can make it, anyone can,’ ” Mr. Marquez, now a deputy chief in the department, said in an interview. “ ‘But don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Work for it.’ ”
But Lieutenant Vargas’s aspirations were stymied by a 1988 lawsuit, filed by black firefighters, that shut down hiring for years. The lawsuit challenged a written test that relatively few nonwhites passed. In 1994, the city agreed to disregard the test, over union complaints, and hire 40 firefighters — 20 white, 10 black and 10 Hispanic, according to The New Haven Register.
Lieutenant Vargas was among those hired. That later led some people to criticize him as trying to shut the door that welcomed him, though he maintained that it was impossible to know how he would have done under the old hiring process.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2000, and he now leads a four-person crew at a red-brick single-engine firehouse not far from where he grew up. He also works part time as a consultant for a company that sells equipment for firefighters.
“When I leave the firehouse, I bring it home with me,” he said. “I read about it. Think about it. I love this job. I don’t think there’s anything else I could do better.”
In 2003, Lieutenant Vargas was one of 56 people in the department who passed a test for promotion; 15 were black or Hispanic. When city officials discovered that only two of those were likely to be immediately promoted, they decided to throw out the test, citing concerns that minority candidates might again sue, alleging discrimination.
Instead, a group of white firefighters sued. The results had been posted by race, without names, and when Lieutenant Vargas learned that a Hispanic firefighter had scored sixth among 41 lieutenants on the test to become a captain, he joined the suit. Only later did he discover that the score was his.
“I would have carried the load all by myself,” he said of filing the suit. “Luckily there were enough people out there who felt like I did that we could stand together.”
But Lieutenant Vargas bore more than his share of the criticism, said Lt. Matthew Marcarelli, who was among the plaintiffs and has known Lieutenant Vargas since they were classmates at the fire academy. “Why the other guys viewed him as a turncoat I really don’t understand. He did it because he’s principled and he thought it was the right thing to do. Benny’s nobody’s token.”
Chief Marquez said his old protégé was “an easy target because he didn’t fall in line.”
“It seems that if you’re not the right type of minority, you get hammered,” he said.
The president of the black firefighters’ group in New Haven did not return calls seeking comment.
Despite the ugly episode at Humphrey’s East shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Lieutenant Vargas said that little tension remained in the department, and that he was hopeful that the court decision would end the rest.
He noted that the Hispanic firefighters’ association reversed course in February, after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and publicly endorsed his position.
Gesturing toward his three young sons, Lieutenant Vargas explained why he had no regrets. “I want them to have a fair shake, to get a job on their merits and not because they’re Hispanic or they fill a quota,” he said. “What a lousy way to live.”
Latino U.S. citizenship promoted by advocate groups
Human Rights Campaign to help Latinos residents become U.S. citizens
Kathy Young, Phoenix LGBT Issues Examiner
The Human Rights Campaign will be participating in the “Ya Es Hora” campaign in Arizona. The campaign is working to help get 1 million Latinos that are eligible legal permanent residents to become U.S. citizens during 2009 and 2010. “Ya Es Hora” has helped process U.S. Citizenship applications for more than 1.4 million Latinos since 2007. Ya Es Hora is a multi-layered integrated campaign which provides a comprehensive approach that links naturalization to voter participation and Census enumeration under a single message: “it’s time.” HRC will be working with Mi Familia Vota, National Council of La Raza, NALEO Education Fund, SEIU, Somos America, Campesina, AILA, and ACORN.
After the recent election, HRC has realized that the time for coalition building has never been greater. Cynthia Leigh Lewis, HRC Arizona Political Co-Chair, comments,
“The time has come to unite the LGBT and Hispanic Community. We have more in common than differences and we should work on our common issues. We need more legal residents becoming citizens so they can vote and make the much needed changes in both communities, especially related to civil rights and immigration.” Lewis continues, “Our communities have endured the use of wedge issues used against us by socially conservative politicians and civic leaders. In 2004, we saw gay marriage used as a divisive issue. In 2006, social conservatives resorted to “illegal immigration” to drum up their base, creating a terrible backlash among Latino voters against the Republican Party. The use of wedge issues will continue to be used against us and urgently requires us to develop a strategy to blunt the effectiveness of wedge issues by building new allies and coalitions.”
Arizona is just one of a handful of pilot locations for HRC to participate in the Ya Es Hora event. Other locations include Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Washington, DC/Northern Virginia/Maryland, Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte and Raleigh, NC. Mi Familia Vota’s goal is to draw 200 people to the fair and HRC is planning to recruit 20-30 volunteers. Volunteers are needed to assist Latino/a individuals and families in completing their applications to become US citizens.
Saturday, July 11
Iglesia Discípulos del Reino
116 N Lindsay Rd, Suite 9
Mesa, AZ 85204
Or
Somerton Middle School
AWC Learning Center.
1011 N Somerton Avenue,
Somerton, AZ 85350
Volunteers needed: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 5 p.m. or both shifts
(Workshop is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Spanish fluency helpful, but not necessary.
Volunteers are required to attend the following trainings:
For the Mesa location:
SEIU
3707 N 7th St, Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85014
July 6, 6 p.m. for general volunteers
July 7, 6 p.m. for lawyers
For the Somerton location:
Public Safety Building (Yuma)
July 8, 6 p.m. for all volunteers
If interested, please RSVP to Kathy Young at kjkicks@gmail.com by July 5.
Kathy Young, Phoenix LGBT Issues Examiner
The Human Rights Campaign will be participating in the “Ya Es Hora” campaign in Arizona. The campaign is working to help get 1 million Latinos that are eligible legal permanent residents to become U.S. citizens during 2009 and 2010. “Ya Es Hora” has helped process U.S. Citizenship applications for more than 1.4 million Latinos since 2007. Ya Es Hora is a multi-layered integrated campaign which provides a comprehensive approach that links naturalization to voter participation and Census enumeration under a single message: “it’s time.” HRC will be working with Mi Familia Vota, National Council of La Raza, NALEO Education Fund, SEIU, Somos America, Campesina, AILA, and ACORN.
After the recent election, HRC has realized that the time for coalition building has never been greater. Cynthia Leigh Lewis, HRC Arizona Political Co-Chair, comments,
“The time has come to unite the LGBT and Hispanic Community. We have more in common than differences and we should work on our common issues. We need more legal residents becoming citizens so they can vote and make the much needed changes in both communities, especially related to civil rights and immigration.” Lewis continues, “Our communities have endured the use of wedge issues used against us by socially conservative politicians and civic leaders. In 2004, we saw gay marriage used as a divisive issue. In 2006, social conservatives resorted to “illegal immigration” to drum up their base, creating a terrible backlash among Latino voters against the Republican Party. The use of wedge issues will continue to be used against us and urgently requires us to develop a strategy to blunt the effectiveness of wedge issues by building new allies and coalitions.”
Arizona is just one of a handful of pilot locations for HRC to participate in the Ya Es Hora event. Other locations include Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Washington, DC/Northern Virginia/Maryland, Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte and Raleigh, NC. Mi Familia Vota’s goal is to draw 200 people to the fair and HRC is planning to recruit 20-30 volunteers. Volunteers are needed to assist Latino/a individuals and families in completing their applications to become US citizens.
Saturday, July 11
Iglesia Discípulos del Reino
116 N Lindsay Rd, Suite 9
Mesa, AZ 85204
Or
Somerton Middle School
AWC Learning Center.
1011 N Somerton Avenue,
Somerton, AZ 85350
Volunteers needed: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 5 p.m. or both shifts
(Workshop is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Spanish fluency helpful, but not necessary.
Volunteers are required to attend the following trainings:
For the Mesa location:
SEIU
3707 N 7th St, Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85014
July 6, 6 p.m. for general volunteers
July 7, 6 p.m. for lawyers
For the Somerton location:
Public Safety Building (Yuma)
July 8, 6 p.m. for all volunteers
If interested, please RSVP to Kathy Young at kjkicks@gmail.com by July 5.
Utah law promotes Latino racial profiling
Latino leader says new immigration law led to racial-profiling incident
KSL.COM, July 2nd, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY -- Leaders of the Latino community held an emergency meeting Thursday. Many immigrants are afraid of what the new law, formerly Senate Bill 81, means for law enforcement and them during a routine traffic stop.
Now Hispanic community leader Tony Yapias says Utah has it's first case of racial profiling thanks to enforcement of the new law.
Yapias says an officer in Utah County went too far Thursday morning when he stopped a mother and son near Benjamin because they were driving with their lights on high-beam.
The officer then asked about their legal status and put them in the Utah County Jail on what's called an "INS" hold.
"They better be doing that to every single person regardless of their color of skin or what they look like, because to only arrest people who look brown and Latino, I mean, that is racial profiling," Yapias said.
In the last couple of days, community leaders and immigration attorneys have received hundreds of calls from immigrants concerned about this very issue. At Thursday's meeting, many came to get their questions answered.
"This is the Constitution of the United States, in English and in Spanish. Everybody has the right to remain silent. You never have to give information that can or will be used against you," immigration attorney Mark Alvarez told the group.
Right now, only officers in Weber and Washington counties have fulfilled federal requirements to handle illegal immigrants if they are arrested.
"In the state of Utah, we allow them to have a driver privilege card, it's mandatory to have insurance and they have proper registration. So, if they are complying with, if it's a traffic violation, the most that they should get is a traffic ticket," Yapias said.
Hesays they'll be ready legally for rogue police officers. "If there's an overzealous police officer out there who thinks he's the law and he's going to go enforce the law and question someone's legal status, we have some safety measures for that where the community can report these police officers," Yapias said.
Those at the gathering were told again and again: As long as they obey the law, they have nothing to worry about.
"They are not actively on the streets looking for people who violate immigration laws, so a subject is only questioned, as to their immigration status, after having been arrested for a state violation," explained Steven Branch, ICE field office director.
Those words brought relief to some, but most are confused about how individual police officers will treat them. Many who have lived and worked in Utah for at least 15 years are still hoping to reach legal status.
"I think this is the best country in the world; but like I said before, they need to work better, they need to think about humans, about human rights," Arsenio Gonzales said.
The majority of immigrants remain concerned about how police officers will handle them as individuals.
Story compiled with contributions from Carole Mikita and Andrew Adams.
KSL.COM, July 2nd, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY -- Leaders of the Latino community held an emergency meeting Thursday. Many immigrants are afraid of what the new law, formerly Senate Bill 81, means for law enforcement and them during a routine traffic stop.
Now Hispanic community leader Tony Yapias says Utah has it's first case of racial profiling thanks to enforcement of the new law.
Yapias says an officer in Utah County went too far Thursday morning when he stopped a mother and son near Benjamin because they were driving with their lights on high-beam.
The officer then asked about their legal status and put them in the Utah County Jail on what's called an "INS" hold.
"They better be doing that to every single person regardless of their color of skin or what they look like, because to only arrest people who look brown and Latino, I mean, that is racial profiling," Yapias said.
In the last couple of days, community leaders and immigration attorneys have received hundreds of calls from immigrants concerned about this very issue. At Thursday's meeting, many came to get their questions answered.
"This is the Constitution of the United States, in English and in Spanish. Everybody has the right to remain silent. You never have to give information that can or will be used against you," immigration attorney Mark Alvarez told the group.
Right now, only officers in Weber and Washington counties have fulfilled federal requirements to handle illegal immigrants if they are arrested.
"In the state of Utah, we allow them to have a driver privilege card, it's mandatory to have insurance and they have proper registration. So, if they are complying with, if it's a traffic violation, the most that they should get is a traffic ticket," Yapias said.
Hesays they'll be ready legally for rogue police officers. "If there's an overzealous police officer out there who thinks he's the law and he's going to go enforce the law and question someone's legal status, we have some safety measures for that where the community can report these police officers," Yapias said.
Those at the gathering were told again and again: As long as they obey the law, they have nothing to worry about.
"They are not actively on the streets looking for people who violate immigration laws, so a subject is only questioned, as to their immigration status, after having been arrested for a state violation," explained Steven Branch, ICE field office director.
Those words brought relief to some, but most are confused about how individual police officers will treat them. Many who have lived and worked in Utah for at least 15 years are still hoping to reach legal status.
"I think this is the best country in the world; but like I said before, they need to work better, they need to think about humans, about human rights," Arsenio Gonzales said.
The majority of immigrants remain concerned about how police officers will handle them as individuals.
Story compiled with contributions from Carole Mikita and Andrew Adams.
Latinos comprise 14 percent of Naval Academy class
Plebes report for duty
Home Town Annapolis, 07/02/09
About 1,230 freshman, or plebes, reported to the Naval Academy Wednesday to start their military careers.
Going through in-processing took about 2 1/2 hours, and included physical exams, haircuts, being issued uniforms and learning to salute.
'Sir, yes, sir!' they quickly learned to shout out in response to any and every question, comment or bit of instruction. Later in the day, they took the oath of office.
The next six weeks will be spent in Plebe Summer, or boot camp, a time when, according to an academy statement, 'There is no television, music or leisure time...'
The Class of 2013 is the most diverse in academy history, consisting of about 35 percent ethnic and racial minorities. Blacks make up 10 percent of the class, and Hispanics 14 percent, according to academy officials.
Responding to recent accusations that the academy was lowering its standards, officials noted that SAT scores for African-American plebes were in the top 6 percent of those for all college-bound blacks, while Hispanic plebes scored in the top 5 percent of all college-bound Hispanics. White freshmen ranked in the top 11 percent nationally.
Home Town Annapolis, 07/02/09
About 1,230 freshman, or plebes, reported to the Naval Academy Wednesday to start their military careers.
Going through in-processing took about 2 1/2 hours, and included physical exams, haircuts, being issued uniforms and learning to salute.
'Sir, yes, sir!' they quickly learned to shout out in response to any and every question, comment or bit of instruction. Later in the day, they took the oath of office.
The next six weeks will be spent in Plebe Summer, or boot camp, a time when, according to an academy statement, 'There is no television, music or leisure time...'
The Class of 2013 is the most diverse in academy history, consisting of about 35 percent ethnic and racial minorities. Blacks make up 10 percent of the class, and Hispanics 14 percent, according to academy officials.
Responding to recent accusations that the academy was lowering its standards, officials noted that SAT scores for African-American plebes were in the top 6 percent of those for all college-bound blacks, while Hispanic plebes scored in the top 5 percent of all college-bound Hispanics. White freshmen ranked in the top 11 percent nationally.
Arizona rejects Latino racial profiling bill
Arizona House rejects immigration enforcement bill
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House has defeated a bill that would have made it the only state in the nation to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants by expanding its trespassing law.
The House voted 26-15 for the bill to expand Arizona's trespassing law Wednesday morning, but that was five votes short of the 31 needed for passage. The Senate approved the bill 16-11 earlier Wednesday.
Supporters say an expanded trespassing law would provide a second layer of enforcement to help local police catch immigrants who slip past federal agents.
Opponents predicted it would lead to racial profiling for thousands of Latinos who are U.S. citizens.
Illegal immigrants account for an estimated 500,000 people in Arizona's 6.5 million population.
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House has defeated a bill that would have made it the only state in the nation to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants by expanding its trespassing law.
The House voted 26-15 for the bill to expand Arizona's trespassing law Wednesday morning, but that was five votes short of the 31 needed for passage. The Senate approved the bill 16-11 earlier Wednesday.
Supporters say an expanded trespassing law would provide a second layer of enforcement to help local police catch immigrants who slip past federal agents.
Opponents predicted it would lead to racial profiling for thousands of Latinos who are U.S. citizens.
Illegal immigrants account for an estimated 500,000 people in Arizona's 6.5 million population.
Latinos gain training through stimulus funding
Stimulus paying for training in Phila.
By Athena D. Merritt, Philadelphia Business Journal, July 1, 2009
The award of $2.92 million in federal stimulus funds to organizations to provide work force training programs in Philadelphia was announced Wednesday.
The bulk of the funding, which will be administered by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, will go toward training in high-growth industries, including: clean energy; business and financial services; education and social services; hospitality; health care and life sciences; construction, logistics and transportation.
The following programs will receive funding:
Entry-level construction trades: JEVS/Orleans Tech will receive up to $264,000 for telecomm installer and cabler positions. The Mayor’s Office of Re-Entry will receive up to $240,000 for ex-offenders to receive telecomm installer and cabler training.
Health care: District 1199c Training and Education Fund will receive up to $300,000 for certified nursing assistant training and KRA Corp. will receive up to $125,000 for phlebotomy training. Allied Technical Institute of Philadelphia will receive up to $140,000 for medical billing and coding training and Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for similar training.
Education: Congreso de Latinos Unidos will receive up to $300,000 for a childhood development associate program. Holy Family University will receive up to $240,000 for a teacher certification program. Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for a social service assistant program.
Logistics and transportation: Congreso de Latinos Unidos will receive up to $150,000 for a truck driving CDL training program, as will All State Career. Congreso de Latinos Unidos will subcontract its program to All State.
Business and financial services: Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for a network administrator program and the Center for Innovative Training and Education will receive up to $129,000 for a secretarial program.
Also:The Doe Fund (Ready, Willing and Able) will receive up to $108,000 to train homeless men in entry-level work and work readiness skills.
The Maxwell Education Group will receive up to $150,000 for training in solar panel installation and sales.
Educational Data Systems, Inc. will receive up to $60,000 for 50 new job placement slots and Impact will receive $60,000 for 50 retail job placement slots tied to a Kensington economic development project.
By Athena D. Merritt, Philadelphia Business Journal, July 1, 2009
The award of $2.92 million in federal stimulus funds to organizations to provide work force training programs in Philadelphia was announced Wednesday.
The bulk of the funding, which will be administered by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, will go toward training in high-growth industries, including: clean energy; business and financial services; education and social services; hospitality; health care and life sciences; construction, logistics and transportation.
The following programs will receive funding:
Entry-level construction trades: JEVS/Orleans Tech will receive up to $264,000 for telecomm installer and cabler positions. The Mayor’s Office of Re-Entry will receive up to $240,000 for ex-offenders to receive telecomm installer and cabler training.
Health care: District 1199c Training and Education Fund will receive up to $300,000 for certified nursing assistant training and KRA Corp. will receive up to $125,000 for phlebotomy training. Allied Technical Institute of Philadelphia will receive up to $140,000 for medical billing and coding training and Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for similar training.
Education: Congreso de Latinos Unidos will receive up to $300,000 for a childhood development associate program. Holy Family University will receive up to $240,000 for a teacher certification program. Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for a social service assistant program.
Logistics and transportation: Congreso de Latinos Unidos will receive up to $150,000 for a truck driving CDL training program, as will All State Career. Congreso de Latinos Unidos will subcontract its program to All State.
Business and financial services: Community College of Philadelphia will receive up to $120,000 for a network administrator program and the Center for Innovative Training and Education will receive up to $129,000 for a secretarial program.
Also:The Doe Fund (Ready, Willing and Able) will receive up to $108,000 to train homeless men in entry-level work and work readiness skills.
The Maxwell Education Group will receive up to $150,000 for training in solar panel installation and sales.
Educational Data Systems, Inc. will receive up to $60,000 for 50 new job placement slots and Impact will receive $60,000 for 50 retail job placement slots tied to a Kensington economic development project.
Latinos, farmers protest lack of water
Nearly 4,000 people march in Fresno for water
By TRACIE CONE, Associated Press Writer, 07/01/2009
FRESNO, Calif.—Thousands of farmers, farmworkers and their supporters rallied at City Hall on Wednesday, calling on federal officials to ease regulations that have cut water supplies to the nation's most prolific growing region.
"Water makes the difference between the Garden of Eden and Death Valley," said comedian Paul Rodriguez, who acts as a spokesman for the Latino Water Coalition, a group lobbying for changes in water delivery policy regarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The noon rally was organized by the grower-funded group, which also organized an April march from Mendota to the San Luis Reservoir hoping to draw national attention to the issue.
On Wednesday, nearly 4,000 people carrying professionally printed signs proclaiming, "No water, no jobs, no hope, no future," marched through downtown. One man who declined to give us name said his Kettleman City employer had driven him and other workers there and were paying them for their time. Another woman said she came with 50 other employees of a Tulare agriculture contractor for free, to protect their jobs.
Speakers stressed the importance of San Joaquin Valley agriculture, which they said produces more than half of the domestically grown U.S. food supply.
"If you like foreign oil, you'll love foreign food," some signs read.
The rally came on the heels of a visit Sunday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who assigned his chief deputy to stay in California to work full-time on solving the delta's many problems.
Growers, with the help of congressional delegates from the region, have asked officials to ease federal protections for threatened fish that have drastically reduced supplies pumped into the state's vast canal system. Federal agencies have ordered reduced pumping in the delta when the delta smelt are spawning in the area, leaving nearly empty the San Luis Reservoir that stores water for farmers and Southern California municipal users.
Farmers on the west side of Fresno County, the top-producing agriculture county in the U.S., will receive 10 percent of their federal water allocation this year as a result of cutbacks and drought that has led to idled land and layoffs.
Environmental activists and fishing groups say that without protections for the delta, the fishing industry will continue to suffer, as will the ocean species that depend on those fish for survival.
A.G. Kawamura, the director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said he came to march because "without a water system that has predictability," the state's agriculture infrastructure will collapse.
Farmer Joe Del Bosque, who owns 2,500 acres in western Madera County, said he had planted only half of his land this year because he doesn't have a well to supplement this year's water allocation.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. "I'm completely dependent on surface water."
By TRACIE CONE, Associated Press Writer, 07/01/2009
FRESNO, Calif.—Thousands of farmers, farmworkers and their supporters rallied at City Hall on Wednesday, calling on federal officials to ease regulations that have cut water supplies to the nation's most prolific growing region.
"Water makes the difference between the Garden of Eden and Death Valley," said comedian Paul Rodriguez, who acts as a spokesman for the Latino Water Coalition, a group lobbying for changes in water delivery policy regarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The noon rally was organized by the grower-funded group, which also organized an April march from Mendota to the San Luis Reservoir hoping to draw national attention to the issue.
On Wednesday, nearly 4,000 people carrying professionally printed signs proclaiming, "No water, no jobs, no hope, no future," marched through downtown. One man who declined to give us name said his Kettleman City employer had driven him and other workers there and were paying them for their time. Another woman said she came with 50 other employees of a Tulare agriculture contractor for free, to protect their jobs.
Speakers stressed the importance of San Joaquin Valley agriculture, which they said produces more than half of the domestically grown U.S. food supply.
"If you like foreign oil, you'll love foreign food," some signs read.
The rally came on the heels of a visit Sunday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who assigned his chief deputy to stay in California to work full-time on solving the delta's many problems.
Growers, with the help of congressional delegates from the region, have asked officials to ease federal protections for threatened fish that have drastically reduced supplies pumped into the state's vast canal system. Federal agencies have ordered reduced pumping in the delta when the delta smelt are spawning in the area, leaving nearly empty the San Luis Reservoir that stores water for farmers and Southern California municipal users.
Farmers on the west side of Fresno County, the top-producing agriculture county in the U.S., will receive 10 percent of their federal water allocation this year as a result of cutbacks and drought that has led to idled land and layoffs.
Environmental activists and fishing groups say that without protections for the delta, the fishing industry will continue to suffer, as will the ocean species that depend on those fish for survival.
A.G. Kawamura, the director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said he came to march because "without a water system that has predictability," the state's agriculture infrastructure will collapse.
Farmer Joe Del Bosque, who owns 2,500 acres in western Madera County, said he had planted only half of his land this year because he doesn't have a well to supplement this year's water allocation.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. "I'm completely dependent on surface water."
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