NewsTaco

By Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times

TUCSON — Young people granted immigration relief and work permits under a new Obama administration program still won’t be able to obtain driver’s licenses in Arizona, a federal judge has ruled.

Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Philip Barbar, Reuters

(Reuters) – A U.S. federal judge refused on Thursday to block Arizona’s Republican governor, who has long clashed with Washington over immigration reform, from denying driver’s licenses to young immigrants granted temporary legal status by the federal government.

Civil rights groups had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Phoenix in November against Governor Jan Brewer and two state transportation department officials on behalf of five Mexican immigrants who qualify for deferred deportation status under a program pushed by President Barack Obama.

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[Photo by Gage Skidmore]

By Associated Press/Boston Globe

PHOENIX — Arizona ­authorities say a package to ­Sheriff Joe Arpaio would have exploded if opened, leading to serious injuries or death.

Maricopa County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment on Friday .

The package intercepted in Flagstaff on Thursday was addressed to Arpaio at his Phoenix office.

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[Photo by Gage Skidmore]

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By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

The Associated Press reports that the State of Arizona is at it again.

This time the State’s legal arm, along with Gov. Jan Brewer, is defending itself against the federal government that seeks to block a part Arizona’s 2010 immigration law that  outlaws the “harboring” of undocumented immigrants. The feds say that part of the law should be blocked; the state, and Brewer, argue that the “harboring” section doesn’t conflict with federal policies and that there’s no evidence that it has hurt the people who have challenged the law in court.

In July of 2010 a federal judge barred local enforcement of that portion of the law. That’s when this appeal got underway.

At stake is the risk of criminalizing the act of giving aid or shelter to an undocumented person in Arizona.

You can read the full story HERE, or by clicking the picture.

[Photo by Gage Skidmore]

By Jacques Billeaud and Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press/TIME

The Supreme Court will consider the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections.

The high court will hear arguments Monday over the legality of Arizona’s voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal “Motor Voter” voter registration law that doesn’t require such documentation.

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[Photo courtesy c-span]

By Sean Sullivan, Washington Post

Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general who lost a close Senate race in 2012, won’t be running for governor next year, the Democrat has announced.

“I’m not ruling out seeking elected office in the future, but right now isn’t the right time for me or my family to embark on a campaign to become the next Governor of Arizona,” Carmona wrote Monday on his Facebook page.

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[Photo by timnh_os]

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

We’re big fans of Tony Diaz, AKA el Librotraficante, and the work he’s doing to shed light on the issue of banned Latino books.

When the books were banned in Arizona, he became a book trafficker to take (smuggle?) them in…

That’s the kind of thinking that make you take notice, stand, cheer, and ask what you can do to help. So any time we see that Tony is making some waves we try to lend a hand.

He recently did an interview on One Voice Radio. Check it out HERE, or click on the picture to go to the site.

By Amanda J. Crawford, Bloomberg

Arizona lawmakers may make it a felony for community groups or political committees to gather and submit mail ballots before elections, a strategy used by Latino activists and others to boost voter participation.

The measure moving through the Republican-controlled Legislature is among several bills that backers say will help prevent fraud and reduce the burden on election officials. Opponents say they are intended to curb Latino voting, which tends to be Democratic, as Hispanics become a larger percentage of the population while white baby-boomers age.

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[Photo by  functoruser]

By Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto, NBCLatino

These days, voting is largely uneventful.  You show up at the polls, check in, vote, and get your sticker.

Long gone are the days of having to take a literacy test, such as that used in Alabama in 1965 that was a 68 question civics exam that I doubt most of my political science students could ace.   We also no longer have to shell out the equivalent of a day’s wages to cast a vote.  And finally while some of us may experience burdensome lines to vote we are not in physical danger of violence or intimidation to keep us from polls.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act not only outlawed voter suppression through intimidation, poll taxes, and literacy tests, but it provided the government the teeth to implement these enforcements.  The 1965 VRA protected voting rights by not just having the ability to react to the suppression of voting rights but by pro-actively preventing mechanisms that would infringe on an individual’s voting rights.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is the legislation’s hall monitor.  Under this section the most egregious voting rights bullies were put on notice that they’d have to check in and make sure any change in their voting rules didn’t go back to their bullying ways.  Most of the Southern states along with Arizona, Alaska, and a number of counties throughout the nation met thecriteria for needing a little extra vigilance and protection from the VRA hall monitor.

But, it’s no fun to be monitored and to have to raise your hand and ask permission to do something, such as change a voting protocol.  This is exactly the sentiment of one VRA covered jurisdiction, Shelby County, Alabama and they will be appearing before the Supreme Court next week to argue that the Section 5 hall monitor is no longer needed and that good voting rights behavior will follow.

Close to 50 years have gone by since the passage of the Voting Rights Act.  In that time we have seen minority registration and voting increase manifold in the absence of voter suppression devices.  We have also seen a steady growth of minority elected officials, most notably the election of our first African-American president.  At first sight we could say that the protections Section 5 of the VRA provides are outdated and unnecessary, that voter suppression and related negative racial attitudes among whites are a thing of the past.  As a result, Section 5 is not needed anymore.

But not so fast, the research says…

Research collected by legal and political science scholars show that the covered jurisdictions under Section 5 are still more likely than non-covered areas to adopt policies that make voting more difficult for minorities.  For example, half of the states fully covered by section 5 currently have or have pending a requirement that all voters have a photo ID.  Only sixteen percent of states not covered by Section 5 have this requirement.

At first sight, it may not seem like a big deal to have a photo ID, but as it turns out poorer folks, who frequently turn out to be minorities are the least likely to have photo ID and also the least likely to be able to afford the fees associated with IDS.  Covered states are also more restrictive in allowing persons convicted of felonies to vote.  In short, the areas that still fall under Section 5 of the VRA continue to exhibit suppressive voting tendencies toward minorities, although in a less direct manner.

Beyond having more suppressive voting procedures we also see that minorities in covered areas are more economically vulnerable than their counterparts in non-covered jurisdictions.  This economic vulnerability in turn compounds the potential negative effect of changes in voting laws.  And finally, while it’s not pleasant to talk about we do see evidence of greater racial antipathies among whites toward minorities in covered jurisdictions as opposed to non-covered areas.

Voting is the great equalizer.  It doesn’t matter how much money you have or how many elected officials you have on your speed dial.  Everyone is the same the moment we cast our ballot.  However, that equality depends on equal access to the ballot, something which regrettably is not automatic and that must be actively protected.  Perhaps one day we will no longer need Section 5 of the VRA, but today it’s still necessary to keep the hall monitor in place.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Dr. Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto is an NBC Latino and MSNBC contributor, Senior Analyst for Latino Decisions and Fellow at the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, at Austin.

[Photo by nathangibbs]

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

No one said selling immigration reform was going to be easy.

Sure, there seems to be bipartisan agreement that reform should be done, especially after the schooling that the GOP received regarding Latino voters and the future of national elections.

So everyone’s on board, right? All we have to do is wait for Congress to get back to Washington from their little President’s Day vacation, resolve their sequester differences and violá, immigration get’s done…right?

Meanwhile, GOP Representatives and Senators are trying to sell their new-found (and in some cases re-found, again, once more) approval of immigration reform to their more belligerent anti-immigration constituents.

And what would that look like?

Here’s a glimpse of what Senator John McCain confronted in a town hall meeting back in his home state over the weekend. Let’s just say, it wasn’t pleasant, and McCain lost his cool.

The video comes to us courtesy of MSNBC.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[Photo screenshot courtesy MSNBC]

By Bryan Llenas, Fox News Latino

Click on picture to read story.

[Photo by US Department of Labor]

By Latino Rebels

On January 30, the Mexican national soccer team (known as “El Tri”) is scheduled to play Denmark in an international friendly at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. According to Milenio, there is a push by immigration rights supporters to have the team not play in Glendale and choose another U.S. venue outside of Arizona.

The reason? It would send a powerful message to the state known for its harsh anti-immigration laws and culture.

This is what Salvador Reza, director of Tonatierra, told Milenio in Spanish (translation is ours):

We ask the Mexican Soccer Federation to reconsider and not bring the national team to a place where there have been raids, separation of families, deportations, and harsh policies that have led to widespread discrimination against Mexicans.

Sendy Vargas, of the Barrio Defense Committee, added, “This is everyone’s team. And they are going to leave money, through taxes, with a government that has repressed us for three years, the government of [governor] Jan Brewer.”

Another activist, Mario Chihuahua, said that “at least 10%” of the revenue that the Mexican team makes at the match will go to Arizona taxes.

According to Vargas, she has sent several emails to the Mexican Soccer Federation, reminding them of the situation in Arizona, which she said has seen more than 92,000 deportations last year. As of right now, Vargas has not received a reply.

Reza also told Milenio that Glendale is notorious for its racial profiling of Mexican drivers. He added, “There, if you are Latino, there is a greater possibility that you will get stopped. Mexicans run a risk if they come to Glendale. If you are coming from other parts of Arizona or if you are coming from any other state, like California or Nevada, you run the risk of getting stopped. It is a city where racial profiling against Mexicans is conducted rather harshly.”

The article makes mention that Phoenix Police also have jurisdiction in Glendale and that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio coordinates security around Glendale and the university.

Reza concluded by saying the following:

I understand that a lot of people are coming to see the team. But it is important that the Mexican Soccer Federation understand what is happening to us in Arizona and what they are exposing people to.

This article was first published in Latino Rebels.

The Latino Rebels are a collective of social media influentials, bloggers, marketers, journalists, poets, writers, producers, photographers, and marketers. We use humor, commentary, opinions, independent stories, cross-links to others blogs, and our social media platforms to share our universe.

[Photo courtesy femexfut.org.mex]

By Perla Trevizo, Arizona Daily Star

Click on picture to read story.

[Photo by Allen Ormond]

By Griselda Nevárez, Voxxi

Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who ran an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in Arizona last November, is now considering running for governor in 2014.

Carmona, who is of Puerto Rican descent, lost by 3 percentage points to Republican Jeff Flake last year to succeed retiring Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. A victory for Carmona would’ve made him the first Latino to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate and the first Democrat to win the senate seat in more than two decades.

Andy Barr, a spokesperson for Carmona, recently told The Arizona Republic that supporters from the Grand Canyon State and from across the nation are urging Carmona to run for the governor’s seat being vacated by Gov. Jan Brewer.

“He’s looking at all his options,” Barr told the daily newspaper. “I think if he were to run, the infrastructure would be in place, support would be in place, money would be in place for him. He’s gotten a lot of calls from folks encouraging him to run.”

Barr also said that if Carmona decides to run for governor, his announcement to run wouldn’t come any time soon.

What it would take for Richard Carmona to win

Rodolfo Espino, an associate professor of political science at Arizona State University, told VOXXI Richard Carmona’s chances of winning the governor’s seat have increased because he has greater name recognition due to his bid for U.S. Senate.

However, Espino said Carmona would have to start his campaign much earlier than he did during the U.S. Senate race and raise more money. As of Nov. 26, Carmona had raised $6,459,521 in total receipts for his bid for U.S. Senate last year, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Political analysts also contend that Carmona’s lengthy resume—which includes military service and law-enforcement experience—as well as being recruited by former President George W. Bush to serve as surgeon general from 2002 to 2006 helps him attract support from Republicans and Democrats alike.

In 2006, Carmona was also approached by several Republicans who encouraged him to run for governor or Congress. Six years later, President Barack Obama personally called Carmona, who at the time was a registered independent, to encourage him to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat.

Potential candidates for Arizona’s 2014 gubernatorial race

In Arizona, Republicans and Democrats are already lining up to potentially run for the governor’s seat.

But Gov. Brewer, whose second term expires at the end of 2014, is not ruling out the possibility of running for a third term. Arizona law only allows her to serve two consecutive terms. However, she and her attorneys argue that because she inherited her seat in 2009—when then-Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano left to become the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security—she should be allowed to serve a third term.

Her attorneys continue researching the constitutionality of having Brewer serve a third term. Meanwhile, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who is also considering running for governor, said in December that he doesn’t believe the state Constitution allows Brewer to serve a third term.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Griselda Nevárez is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington D.C.

[Photo from Facebook]